“Meanwhile, the war machine which Demetrius was preparing for our destruction was nearly completed. It was being built upon that part of the island already in possession of the enemy, and marvellous tales about its size and deadliness were daily brought into the city by those of our soldiers who had seen it. The name they said that was given to the new engine was _helepolis_, which means _destroyer of cities_. As time went on, I could think of nothing but this awful monster, which I was quite sure _might_ be overcome if only one could think of the means. “By now, so many were the plans I had made of our city that there was scarcely a yard of it I did not know, and one day I said to Chares, “‘If only we could discover to which point of the walls this _helepolis_ will be brought when it begins its attack upon us.’ “Chares glanced at me quickly. “‘Why?’ he asked. “‘Because, if only I knew that, I should also know at once what to do.’ “I spoke with great confidence, for I was really quite sure of the plan I had in mind—though _why_ I was so sure, I could not tell. “Chares looked at me again, and then as though he had dismissed the subject, said, ‘To-day I will take you where you may work at your maps and plans in greater quiet.’ “Since the destruction of our house, another in the heart of the town had become our General Headquarters, and here everything was crowded and rough and noisy with the incessant tramping of soldiers about its door, and there was no spot in it that I could call my own. So I was glad that Chares had found a place for me, and, when after several hours’ absence, he returned, I willingly followed him to a house on the hill-side beyond the walls. We passed through a quiet garden and presently entered a room, where, to my surprise, I saw our general Phrynis, several other officers, and one or two men I knew to be engineers. These men smiled in an amused way when I came in, and I heard one whisper to another, “‘Have we been brought here to consult with a child?’ “But Chares drew a stool up to the table in the window space, and told me to open the ground plans of the city and the maps I had brought, and when the men crowded round to see, I noticed that their faces altered as they passed my drawings from one to the other in silence. “At last Phrynis, who was very grave, spoke touching a point on one of my plans of the town. “‘Cleon,’ he said, ‘if the new war engine should be posted at _this_ part of the wall, what would you do supposing you had everything you wanted at your command?’ “Then I began to explain very fast and confidently—(for it all seemed quite simple to me)—just the way in which I would lay a mine under that part of the wall, and just the spot where the engine would sink, if certain directions were carried out. “The men glanced at one another again in silence, and all at once Phrynis rose. ‘The work begins to-night,’ I heard him say. ‘There is no time to lose. Back to the city.’