ave come; we must take this
place, for the troops have no provisions, unless we take it."
Thereupon they consulted together, and to Xenophon's inquiry, "What it
was which hindered their simply walking in?" Cheirisophus replied,
"There is just this one narrow approach which you see, but when we
attempt to pass it by they roll down volleys of stones from yonder
overhanging crag," pointing up, "and this is the state in which you
find yourself, if you chance to be caught;" and he pointed to some
poor fellows with their legs or ribs crushed to bits. "But when they
have expended their ammunition," said Xenophon, "there is nothing
else, is there, to hinder our passing? Certainly, except yonder
handful of fellows, there is no one in front of us that we can see;
and of them, only two or three apparently are armed, and the distance
to be traversed under fire is, as your eyes will tell you, about one
hundred and fifty feet as near as can be, and of this space the first
hundred is thickly covered with great pines at intervals; under cover
of these, what harm can come to our men from a pelt of stones, flying 6
or rolling? So then, there is only fifty feet left to cross, during a
lull of stones." "Ay," said Cheirisophus, "but with our first attempt
to approach the bush a galling fire of stones commences." "The very
thing we want," said the other, "for they will use up their ammunition
all the quicker; but let us select a point from which we shall have
only a brief space to run across, if we can, and from which it will be
easier to get back, if we wish."

Thereupon Cheirisophus and Xenophon set out with Callimachus the
Parrhasian, the captain in command of the officers of the rearguard
that day; the rest of the captains remained out of danger. That done,
the next step was for a party of about seventy men to get away under
the trees, not in a body, but one by one, every one using his best
precaution; and Agasis the Stymphalian, and Aristonymous the
Methydrian, who were also officers of the rearguard, were posted as
supports outside the trees; for it was not possible for more than a
single company to stand safely within the trees. Here Callimachus hit
upon a pretty contrivance--he ran forward from the tree under which he
was posted two or three paces, and as soon as the stones came
whizzing, he retired easily, but at each excursion more than ten
wagon-loads of rocks were expended. Agasias, seeing how Callimachus
was amusing himself,