Book 7
2.15
Then he went back and sacrificed to learn whether the gods permitted of his endeavouring to take the army to Seuthes. For he saw that it was not safe for them to try to cross over to Asia when the man who intended to prevent their passage possessed triremes; on the other hand, it was not his desire that the army should go to the Chersonese and find itself shut up and in sore need of everything in a place where it would be necessary to obey the resident governor and where the army would not obtain anything in the way of provisions.
2.16
While Xenophon was occupied with his sacrificing, the generals and captains returned from their visit to Aristarchus with word that he directed them to go away for the present, but to come back during the afternoon; at that report the design against Xenophon seemed to be even more manifest.
2.17
Since, therefore, the sacrifices appeared to be favourable, portending that he and the army might go to Seuthes in safety, Xenophon took Polycrates, the Athenian captain, and from each of the generals except Neon a man in whom each had confidence, and set off by night to visit Seuthes’ army, sixty stadia away.
2.18
When they had got near it, he came upon watch-fires with no one about them. And at first he supposed that Seuthes had shifted his camp to some other place; but when he became aware of a general uproar and heard Seuthes’ followers signalling to one another, he comprehended that the reason Seuthes had his watch-fires kindled in front of the pickets was in order that the pickets might remain unseen, in the darkness as they were, so that no one could tell either how many they were or where they were, while on the other hand people who were approaching could not escape notice, but would be visible in the light of the fires.
2.19
When he did see pickets, he sent forward the interpreter he chanced to have and bade them tell Seuthes that Xenophon had come and desired to meet with him. They asked whether he was an Athenian from the army.
