clined to
think them clouds which have chanced to take something like human
shapes."

"I see them very plainly," remarked Lynceus, whose eyes, you know, were
as far-sighted as a telescope. "They are a band of enormous giants, all
of whom have six arms apiece, and a club, a sword or some other weapon
in each of their hands."

"You have excellent eyes," said King Cyzicus. "Yes, they are six-armed
giants, as you say, and these are the enemies whom I and my subjects
have to contend with."

The next day, when the Argonauts were about setting sail, down came
these terrible giants, stepping a hundred yards at a stride, brandishing
their six arms apiece and looking very formidable so far aloft in the
air. Each of these monsters was able to carry on a whole war by himself,
for with one of his arms he could fling immense stones and wield a club
with another and a sword with a third, while a fourth was poking a long
spear at the enemy and the fifth and sixth were shooting him with a bow
and arrow. But luckily, though the giants were so huge and had so many
arms, they had each but one heart and that no bigger nor braver than the
heart of an ordinary man. Besides, if they had been like the
hundred-armed Briareus, the brave Argonauts would have given them their
hands full of fight. Jason and his friends went boldly to meet them,
slew a great many and made the rest take to their heels--so that if the
giants had had six legs apiece instead of six arms, it would have served
them better to run away with.

Another strange adventure happened when the voyagers came to Thrace,
where they found a poor blind king named Phineus, deserted by his
subjects and living in a very sorrowful way all by himself. On Jason's
inquiring whether they could do him any service, the king answered that
he was terribly tormented by three great winged creatures called
Harpies, which had the faces of women and the wings, bodies and claws of
vultures. These ugly wretches were in the habit of snatching away his
dinner, and allowed him no peace of his life. Upon hearing this the
Argonauts spread a plentiful feast on the seashore, well knowing from
what the blind king said of their greediness that the Harpies would
snuff up the scent of the victuals and quickly come to steal them away.
And so it turned out, for hardly was the table set before the three
hideous vulture-women came flapping their wings, seized the food in
their talons and flew off as fast as they cou