up to him.  It seemed, indeed, that this would have to be done, when King Acestes turned to one of his elders, a venerable Sicilian chief named Entellus, and asked how it was that he thus allowed such splendid prizes to be taken before his eyes without striking a blow for them.  Entellus had, in his younger days, been a great champion with the cestus, having been taught the use of the weapon by none other than Eryx, at that time king of Sicily, and one of the most expert boxers in the world.  So confident had Eryx been in his powers, that when the mighty Hercules passed through Sicily on his way from Spain, where he had slain King Geryon and carried off his splendid cattle, the Sicilian monarch ventured to challenge the hero to a combat with the cestus, staking his kingdom against the cattle which Hercules was bearing away to Greece.  Hercules had accepted the challenge, and had slain Eryx in the encounter; but the tradition of his skill had been preserved by his pupil Entellus.  The chief was now old, and disinclined for exertion; but when thus urged by King Acestes, he slowly rose and threw into the arena the gauntlets which King Eryx had been accustomed to use.  Terrible weapons indeed they-were, with heavy pieces of iron and lead sewn into them underneath the oxhide.  At the mere sight of them Dares shrank back appalled, and refused to fight with such implements.  “These,” said Entellus, “were the gauntlets with which my master Eryx encountered Hercules; and these, after his death, I myself was accustomed to use.  But if Dares likes not such gloves, let AEneas provide others for both of us.”  With these words he threw off his upper garments and bared his massive shoulders and sinewy arms.  The Trojan chief brought out two pairs of gauntlets of less formidable make, with which the two champions armed themselves; and then they stood face to face, and both raised their arms for the encounter.  For some time they stood parrying each other’s blows and watching for an opportunity.  Presently, as they grew warmer, many heavy strokes were given on each side, now on the head, now on the breast.  Entellus stood stiff and unmoved in the same firm posture, only bending to evade Dares’s blows, and always closely watching his antagonist, who, more active, wheeled round him, trying first one method of attack, then another.  At last Entellus uplifted his right arm, thinking he saw an opportunity for delivering a decisive stroke; but Dares with great agility slipped out of the way, and as the arm of Entellus encountered no resistance save from the empty air, he fell forward on the ground through the violence of his own effort.  Acclamations burst from all the onlookers, and Acestes himself stepped forward to assist his old companion to his feet.  But the mishap had only aroused Entellus’s anger; he no longer acted on the defensive, but rushed upon his opponent with irresistible ardor, and smote blow after blow, driving Dares headlong over the field, pouring down strokes as incessantly as a shower of