owards the ships.

When they reached the place where they had killed Hector's scout,
Ulysses stayed his horses, and the son of Tydeus, leaping to the
ground, placed the blood-stained spoils in the hands of Ulysses and
remounted: then he lashed the horses onwards, and they flew forward
nothing loth towards the ships as though of their own free will. Nestor
was first to hear the tramp of their feet. "My friends," said he,
"princes and counsellors of the Argives, shall I guess right or
wrong?--but I must say what I think: there is a sound in my ears as of
the tramp of horses. I hope it may be Diomed and Ulysses driving in
horses from the Trojans, but I much fear that the bravest of the
Argives may have come to some harm at their hands."

He had hardly done speaking when the two men came in and dismounted,
whereon the others shook hands right gladly with them and congratulated
them. Nestor knight of Gerene was first to question them. "Tell me,"
said he, "renowned Ulysses, how did you two come by these horses? Did
you steal in among the Trojan forces, or did some god meet you and give
them to you? They are like sunbeams. I am well conversant with the
Trojans, for old warrior though I am I never hold back by the ships,
but I never yet saw or heard of such horses as these are. Surely some
god must have met you and given them to you, for you are both of you
dear to Jove, and to Jove's daughter Minerva."

And Ulysses answered, "Nestor son of Neleus, honour to the Achaean
name, heaven, if it so will, can give us even better horses than these,
for the gods are far mightier than we are. These horses, however, about
which you ask me, are freshly come from Thrace. Diomed killed their
king with the twelve bravest of his companions. Hard by the ships we
took a thirteenth man--a scout whom Hector and the other Trojans had
sent as a spy upon our ships."

He laughed as he spoke and drove the horses over the ditch, while the
other Achaeans followed him gladly. When they reached the strongly
built quarters of the son of Tydeus, they tied the horses with thongs
of leather to the manger, where the steeds of Diomed stood eating their
sweet corn, but Ulysses hung the blood-stained spoils of Dolon at the
stern of his ship, that they might prepare a sacred offering to
Minerva. As for themselves, they went into the sea and washed the sweat
from their bodies, and from their necks and thighs. When the sea-water
had taken all the sweat from off t