There they chanced to meet Melanthius, the king’s goatherd, driving his fattest goats to the town for the suitors’ feast.  He was a favorite of theirs, and did all he could to please them.  Now as soon as he saw the two he broke out into scoffs and gibes, till the heart of Ulysses grew hot with anger.

“Look there!” he shouted, “one rascal leading another!  Trust a man to find his mate!  A plague on you, swineherd, where are you taking that pitiful wretch?  Another beggar, I suppose, to hang about the doors and cringe for the scraps and spoil our feasts?  Now if you would only let me have him to watch my farm and sweep out my stalls and fetch fodder for my kids, he could drink as much whey as he liked and get some flesh on his bones.  But no!  His tricks have spoilt him for any honest work!”

So he jeered at them in his folly, and as he passed he kicked Ulysses on the thigh, but the king stood firm, and took the blow in silence, though he could have found it in his heart to strike the man dead on the spot.  But Eumaeus turned round fiercely, and cried to the Gods for vengeance.

“Nymphs of the spring,” he prayed, “if ever my master honored you, hear my prayer, and send him home again!  He would make a sweep of all your insolence, you good-for-nothing wretch, loitering here in the city while your flocks are left to ruin!”

“Oho!” cried Melanthius.  “Listen to the foul-mouthed dog!  I must put him on board a ship and sell him in a foreign land, and make some use of him that way!  Why, Ulysses will never see the day of his return!  He is dead and gone; I wish his son would follow him!”

With that he turned on his heel and hastened away to the palace hall, where he sat down with the suitors at their feast.  And the other two followed slowly until they reached the gate.  There they paused, and Ulysses caught the swineherd by the hand, and cried,—­

“Eumaeus, this must be the palace of the king!  No one could mistake it.  See, there is room after room, and a spacious courtyard with a wall and coping-stones and solid double doors to make it safe.  And I am sure that a great company is seated there at the banquet, for I can smell the roasted meat and hear the sound of the lyre.”

Then Eumaeus said, “Your wits are quick enough; it is the very place.  And now tell me:  would you rather go in alone and face the princes while I wait here, or will you stay behind and let me go in first?  But if you wait here, you must not wait too long, for some one might catch sight of you and strike you and drive you from the gate.”

Then the hero said to him, “I understand; I knew what I had to meet.  Do you go first and I will wait behind.  For I have some knowledge of thrusts and blows, and my heart has learned to endure; for I have suffered much in storm and battle, and I can bear this like the rest.”