Coming however to a narrow ravine between great boulders of rock, he found the cliffs on either side crowded with Carduchians, who had dragged to that place huge fragments of rock, besides stones of all sizes, ready to be hurled down upon the Hellenes. The moment the Carduchians caught sight of the approaching enemy, down crashed the stone-storm, making the most appalling noise as the great pieces of rock bounded from boulder to boulder, broke off into a thousand splinters, and then thundered to the ground, burying themselves finally deep in the earth. Had the Hellenes entered the ravine, not one of them would have escaped alive. But they had taken good care to keep well beyond the range of the deadly hail, only, from time to time, one or other of the captains would show himself from among the bushes on either side of the ravine, as if he were looking for some other way of getting past. When it had become so dark that they could no longer be seen by the Carduchians, the Hellenes hastened back to the valley, where they were glad enough to prepare their evening meal, for they had had no dinner that day. All through the night they could hear the noise made by the Carduchians, who were still on the alert, and who continued to pour down volleys of stones and rock, lest their enemies should slip past them in the darkness. Meanwhile the two thousand volunteers had been led by their guide to a place which they believed to be the peak commanding the second road. There they found a number of Carduchians sitting comfortably round their fires, and attacking them suddenly, they killed some and put the rest to flight. Then they sat down and spent the remainder of the night in front of the fires that had been kindled by the enemy, which, as it was excessively cold, they looked upon as a piece of great good fortune. At dawn they proceeded towards the pass, very cautiously and silently, according to the instructions they had received, and under cover of a thick mist, were able to come close up to the enemy unobserved. Then the trumpets gave the signal that had been agreed upon, and the Hellenes charged. The enemy saw that it was of no use to attempt to maintain their position, and fled without a struggle, only a few of them being killed. This freed the road, up which Cheirisophus and his men were making their way as fast as possible. It was excessively steep and narrow, and in their eagerness to reach the top, many of the men climbed as best they could over places where there was no path, drawing one another up with the help of their spears. At last they reached the pass, and joined the band of volunteers who were already in possession. Two-thirds of the army had now reached the pass. But for the rest there was still in store a long day of toil and fighting before they could arrive at the same spot. XXXI A LONG DAY’S FIGHTING