It was almost time to halt and prepare the midday meal when a scout came riding up at a furious gallop, his horse all covered with foam and heat. Without drawing rein, he dashed through the various groups of soldiers, straight to the presence of Cyrus, but as he passed he shouted aloud, here in Persian, there in Hellene speech, ‘The King comes! The King comes!’ XV BEFORE THE BATTLE. In a moment everything was in confusion. The King was said to be approaching with a vast army, prepared for battle, and it was thought that the battle would take place without delay. Cyrus leapt from his chariot, put on his armour, and mounted his horse, giving orders that all should arm themselves in like manner, and take their appointed places. The Hellene army under its various officers occupied the right wing; the Barbarian army, commanded by Ariæus, took the left; Cyrus, with his body-guard of six hundred Persian cavalry, was in the centre. The body-guard were armed with breast-plate and helmet, carrying in the left hand a short Hellenic sword, and in the right hand two javelins; their horses were also protected by light armour on the head and breast. Cyrus was armed in like manner, but on his head he had placed, instead of a helmet, the upright tiara, worn only by the Great King. It was still some time however before the enemy came in sight. Not till the afternoon was their approach announced by immense clouds of white dust, soon displaced by a blackness that overspread the horizon. Presently, as the host came nearer, the long, never-ending lines of spear-points began to flash in the sunlight, and by degrees the different groups could be distinguished, advancing nation by nation. In front of all came a hundred and fifty scythe-chariots. These were two-wheeled cars with a number of sharp scythes projecting from the axle-trees on both sides. They were drawn by a pair of swift horses, and driven as fast as possible into the midst of the enemy’s ranks, that they might cut to pieces everything that crossed their path. Behind the scythe-chariots came the royal troops, drawn up in the order in which they were to fight. In the centre of the line was the Great King surrounded by a guard of six thousand picked horsemen, and close to him floated the standard of his forefathers, a golden eagle with outstretched wings upon a high perch. It was easy enough to see how infinitely greater was the army of the King than that of his brother. Cyrus had twenty scythe-chariots, but the King had a hundred and fifty. The army of Cyrus numbered a hundred thousand, besides the Hellene force of thirteen thousand, but the King was said to have with him a million two hundred thousand soldiers. This may have been an exaggeration, but in any case the disproportion was so great that the whole line of Cyrus, although far less deep, extended little beyond the centre of the King’s line. [Illustration: THE GREAT KING ON HIS THRONE, SUPPORTED BY THE SUBJECT NATIONS. See p. 4.]