Mnesippos Very tragical and romance-like. But may the Sword and the Wind, by whom you swore, have mercy on me; for I do not think a man would be much to blame if he should disbelieve your tales.

Toxaris Beware, my friend, lest your doubt be envy. Doubt as you will, you will not keep me from telling other such deeds of Scythians that I know of.

Mnesippos Only not at great length, my dear fellow, nor using such unbridled words. You abused my silence to run up and down through Scythia and Machlyëne, and off to the Bosporos and back again.

Toxaris I must obey your commands even in this, and speak briefly lest you weary of following me about with your ears.

But hear what services I myself received from a friend named Sisinnes. When I left home and went to Athens, through my desire for a Greek education, I put in at Amastris, on the Pontos; for ships from Scythia call there, the city being not far from Karambis. Sisinnes accompanied me, my friend from childhood. We spied a sort of lodginghouse near the harbor, and, removing our luggage into it from the ship, we went out to stroll in the market-lace, suspecting no evil. But in the mean time some thieves forced the bolt and carried off everything, leaving us not even enough to get through the day with. Now when we came home and found what had happened, we felt it would not do to accuse the neighbors, for there were many of them, or the landlord, for we were afraid most people would think us sharpers if we said that some one had robbed us of fifteen hundred dollars, a great deal of clothing, some rugs, and everything else we had.

We considered our circumstances and what we should do, utterly without resources in a foreign country, and my opinion was that we had better thrust our swords between our ribs then and there and die, rather than submit to be shamefully destroyed by hunger and thirst. But Sisinnes tried to encourage me, and implored me to do nothing of the sort, for he had a plan by which we should get food enough. And for the nonce he took to carrying wood from the harbor, and returned with provisions bought with his wages. But early next morning, as he was walking about the market-place, he saw a kind of procession, as he said, of noble and beautiful youths. They were enlisted to fight in single combat for pay, and the contest was to come off in three days. He made full inquiries about them, and then came to me and said, "Don't call yourself poor any longer, Toxaris, for in three days I shall prove you rich."

That was all he told me, and we managed to eke out a wretched existence in the interval. When the games were about to begin we also were among the spectators, for Sisinnes dragged me out, persuading me that it would be a pleasure to see the wonderful Greek games, and brought me to the theatre. Sitting there we first saw wild beasts infuriated with darts and then chased by dogs, or let loose upon bound men, who, we concluded, were criminals. Then the single fighters entered, and the herald, bringing forward a well-grown youth, said that whoever wished to fight him was to come into the arena and get two thousand dollars, the wages for fighting. At this Sisinnes rose, and, leaping into the arena, offered to fight, and asked for weapons. When he received the money he brought it to me and gave it into my hands. "If I should win, Toxaris," he said, "we will go off together with plenty of money, but if I fall, bury me and go back to Scythia." Thereupon I cried out,

but he took the armor and put it all on except the helmet. This he did not wear, but fought bareheaded. The first thing that happened was that he was wounded, cut under the knee with a curved sword, so that the blood ran plentifully. I was already dead in advance with fear. But, watching his adversary, who came on too boldly, he struck him on the breast and drove home so that he went down in an instant between Sisinnes's feet. Sisinnes was exhausted himself by his wound, so that he sat down on the body and almost gave up his own ghost. But I ran forward, raised him up and comforted him, and when they had dismissed him as already the victor I lifted him and carried him home. After he had been nursed a long time he survived, it is true, and lives to this day in Scythia, married to my sister. But, nevertheless, he is lame from his wound. This, Mnesippos, took place neither in Machlyëne nor in Alania, so as to be unsupported by evidence and open to disbelief, but many of the folk of Amastris are at hand who remember the contest of Sisinnes.