e, by fifties; if very wide, by
twenty-fives;[160] so that the centre was always full. 23. If, then, it
was necessary to pass any defile or bridge, they were not thrown into
confusion, but the captains and companies went over in succession;[161]
and if anything was needed in any part of the main body, these were at
hand. In this order they advanced four days' journey.

24. As they were pursuing the fifth day's march, they observed a kind of
palace, and several villages round it. The way to this place, they
perceived, lay among high hills, which reached down from a mountain, at
the foot of which the village was.[162] These hills the Greeks were glad
to see, as was natural, when the enemy's force consisted of cavalry. 25.
But when, after leaving the plain, they had ascended the first hill, and
were descending in order to mount the second, the Barbarians came upon
them, and from the eminence began, under the lash,[163] to hurl darts,
use their slings, and shoot arrows, on the ground below; 26. they
wounded many, and had the advantage over the light-armed Greeks, and
shut them up within the heavy-armed; so that both the slingers and
archers were that day entirely useless, being mixed with the crowd that
had charge of the baggage. 27. When the Greeks, on being hard pressed,
attempted pursuit, they mounted the height but slowly, as being heavily
armed, while the enemy sprang up speedily. 28. When, again, they
retreated back to the rest of the force, they fared equally ill. The
same occurrences took place on the second hill; so that they thought it
proper not to move the soldiers from the third hill, until they led up a
body of peltasts to the mountain from the right wing of the square. 29.
When these had got above the pursuing enemy, they no longer attacked
them in their descent, fearing that they might be cut off from their own
body, and that enemies might assail them on both sides. 30. Marching in
this manner for the rest of the day, some by the route among the hills,
and others advancing abreast of them along the mountain, they arrived
at the villages, and appointed eight surgeons,[164] for there were many
wounded.

31. Here they remained three days, both for the sake of the wounded, and
because they found, at the same time, abundance of provisions,
wheat-flour, wine, and a great quantity of barley laid up for horses;
supplies which had been collected for the satrap of the country. On the
fourth day they went down into th