and left of them, as if in the act of crossing; the javelin men with their javelins on the thong, and the bowmen with their arrows on the string; but they were not to advance far into the stream.  The order passed to his own men was:  “Wait till you are within sling-shot, and the shield rattles, then sound the paean and charge the enemy.  As soon as he turns, and the bugle from the river sounds for ‘the attack,’ you will face about to the right, the rear rank leading, and the whole detachment falling back and crossing the river as quickly as possible, every one preserving his original rank, so as to avoid tramelling one another:  the bravest man is he who gets to the other side first.”

The Carduchians, seeing that the remnant left was the merest handful 30 (for many even of those whose duty it was to remain had gone off in their anxiety to protect their beasts of burden, or their personal kit, or their mistresses), bore down upon them valorously, and opened fire with slingstones and arrows.  But the Hellenes, raising the battle hymn, dashed at them at a run, and they did not await them; armed well enough for mountain warfare, and with a view to sudden attack followed by speedy flight, they were not by any means sufficiently equipped for an engagement at close quarters.  At this instant the signal of the bugle was heard.  Its notes added wings to the flight of the barbarians, but the Hellenes turned right about in the opposite direction, and betook themselves to the river with what speed they might.  Some of the enemy, here a man and there another, perceived, and running back to the river, let fly their arrows and wounded a few; but the majority, even when the Hellenes were well across, were still to be seen pursuing their flight.  The detachment which came to meet Xenophon’s men, carried away by their valour, advanced further than they had need to, and had to cross back again in the rear of Xenophon’s men, and of these too a few were wounded.

IV

The passage effected, they fell into line about mid-day, and marched 1 through Armenian territory, one long plain with smooth rolling hillocks, not less than five parasangs in distance; for owing to the wars of this people with the Carduchians there were no villages near the river.  The village eventually reached was large, and possessed a palace belonging to the satrap, and most of the houses were crowned with turrets; provisions were plentiful.

From this village they marched two stages—­ten parasangs—­until they had surmounted the sources of the river Tigris; and from this point they marched three stages—­fifteen parasangs—­to the river Teleboas.  This was a fine stream, though not large, and there were many villages about it.  The district was named Western Armenia.  The lieutenant-governor of it was Tiribazus, the king’s friend, and whenever the latter paid a visit, he alone had the privilege of mounting the king upon his horse.