As the day got on it grew finer, and they determined to venture out again, in hopes of reaching a small village that Agrestides knew of, where they might be able to obtain some food. The snow was thick upon the ground; Mantitheos was getting weaker. Alkibiades gave him his cloak, which they had managed to dry at a small fire which Agrestides had made inside the ruined temple. Though the snow impeded their progress, it stopped the dreaded pursuit. They heard the wolves howling round them, and saw foxes skulking about, ravenous, like themselves, for food. There was some difficulty in getting Mantitheos along. There was no sign of human habitation till they reached a small, desolate village at nightfall. Mantitheos was quite worn out. In a poverty-stricken cottage they got shelter for the night, and some coarse bread and goat’s flesh, and a little goat’s milk. Mantitheos became worse. Agrestides would have left him there. ‘Will you risk your own life for him?’ he said; but Alkibiades refused to go without him, and amused them by tales of his adventures and stories about Sokrates—how the philosopher kept his guard all night at Potidaia in the snow without any other raiment on him but his summer dress, and how he would stand sometimes, all day and night, in silent contemplation, thus exemplifying his theory, external circumstances ought never to affect the true philosopher. There was much he wanted to know about: what had taken place since he left the Hellespont with Thrasyboulos, after the battle of Abydos; what the Spartans and Pharnabazos were doing; whether the Athenians were making preparations to drive the Spartans from the Hellespont and Bosporos. Agrestides could give him little reliable information about these things, but he entertained them with an account of how he had found them, and had managed to help them to escape. He told his story in a few words, in his blunt way, taking little credit to himself. He could not imagine how anyone would have done less for such a master. For two days after the sailors had returned to the ship from Magnesia without the strategos the _Eros_ waited, expecting his return. Then some officers had gone to the castle at Magnesia for further orders, and were told that Alkibiades had set out to visit Tissaphernes, and they learnt that Tissaphernes had gone north to meet Pharnabazos. Only by degrees it came out that Alkibiades was a prisoner, and had been sent, under a strong escort, no one knew whither. The sailors were for marching upon Magnesia straight off, though it was occupied by some hundreds of Persian soldiers. It was difficult to make them understand the madness of the attempt. At last Agrestides was allowed to go in search, with orders to return if he found any clue to the prison of the captive strategos.