When these heralds reached the outposts, they asked for the
 commanders. And when the outposts reported, Clearchus, who chanced
 at the time to be inspecting the ranks, told the outposts to direct
 the heralds to wait till he should be at leisure. Then after he had arranged the army so that it should present a fine
 appearance from every side as a compact phalanx, with no one to be
 seen outside the lines of the hoplites, he summoned the messengers;
 and he himself came forward with the best armed and best looking of
 his own troops and told the other generals to do likewise. Once face to face with the messengers, he inquired what they wanted.
 They replied that they had come to negotiate for a truce, and were
 empowered to report the King’s proposals to the Greeks and the
 Greeks’ proposals to the King. And Clearchus answered: Report to him, then, that
 we must have a battle first; for we have had no breakfast, and
 there is no man alive who will dare to talk to Greeks about a
 truce unless he provides them with a breakfast. Upon hearing these words the messengers rode away, but were speedily
 back again, which made it evident that the King, or someone else who
 had been charged with carrying on these negotiations, was somewhere
 near. They stated that what the Greeks said seemed to the King
 reasonable, and that they had now brought guides with them who would
 lead the Greeks, in case a truce should be concluded, to a place
 where they could get provisions.