They then returned to their interrupted meal, and when this was over, set out upon the march, forming themselves, as already agreed upon, in a hollow square. But they had not gone far when Mithridates again appeared with two hundred horsemen and four hundred archers and slingers, who advanced towards them as if with friendly intentions. As soon however as they had come within arrow range, they opened fire, and the Hellenes found themselves suddenly beset with a storm of arrows and darts, which wounded many of them. For a time Xenophon pursued his way without taking any notice, for he was anxious not to delay the progress of the march, but finding that the shots came thicker and thicker, he called a halt, and commanded the rear-guard to charge the enemy. No sooner had they done so than the Barbarians were in full flight, but the heavy armed hoplites could not pursue them far, and each time that they re-formed their ranks and turned to continue the march, the Barbarians were after them as before. This occurred so often that it was late in the day before they reached the villages where they were to halt, although the distance was little more than three miles. When at last they were established for the night in the villages, Cheirisophus and the other generals reproached Xenophon with having so seriously delayed the march, without having gained any advantage. They did not, perhaps, fully realise the difficulty, but instead of retorting that they were inconsiderate, Xenophon answered quietly, admitting that they had cause for annoyance, and proposing a plan by which he hoped to remedy the evil. ‘To-day,’ he said, ‘we have to thank the gods that we have only had a small force to deal with, that could not do us any great injury; and we have also to thank the enemy for having shown us where we are weak. The Persian slingers and archers can make their missiles carry to a greater distance than ours, and moreover the enemy have cavalry, while we are without. Under such circumstances the struggle must always be unequal, with the disadvantage on our side. ‘Happily however we have it in our power to improve our position in this respect. Among the troops there are several Rhodians, and we know that the men of Rhodes are famed for their skill in slinging. Their shots carry moreover twice as far as those of the Persians, for instead of great stones the size of a fist, they use little bullets of lead. I propose that we find out if any of these men possess slings, or know how to make new slings. With their help we may be able to form a band of slingers capable of doing good service. ‘Then as regards our want of cavalry. Fortunately we have horses. I have a few, there are some that belonged to Clearchus, and others that have been captured, and are now used for transport, besides those belonging to private persons. Any one willing to give up his horse for the public service could have the loss made good to him by receiving in exchange other baggage animals.’