"The king left orders that he must not be disturbed. Wait until the morning," the man said calmly.
"I will take the responsibility," Ptolemy retorted angrily. "Stand aside!"
"You cannot pass," the soldier answered, without moving.
"What is this?" Alexander inquired, raising the curtain of the tent. He held in his hand a copy of the Iliad, in which he had been reading. "Is it you, Ptolemy--and Leonidas? Enter."
They followed him into the tent, which contained nothing save his weapons and a couch spread upon the ground.
"Clearchus and Chares back again!" the young king cried in a tone of satisfaction. "You have much to tell me; but first I must hear what Leonidas brings."
"Darius and his army have passed the Amanic Gates and are now at Issus," Leonidas said briefly.
"Five hundred thousand, of whom thirty thousand are mercenaries of Greek blood," Leonidas answered.
"They are in our rear," Alexander said, half to himself. He began to pace backward and forward, with his hands behind his back and his head inclined slightly toward his left shoulder. Although the startling news brought to him by the Spartan had taken him wholly by surprise, his decision was swift. Before he had made three turnings, his entire plan of campaign had been changed.
"The Gods have delivered them into our hands!" he said in a tone of conviction. "I dared not expect such good fortune. In the narrow plain of Issus, their army will defeat itself. The victory is ours."
His face was radiant and he spoke joyously, like a man whose mind has been relieved of a great anxiety; but his eyes were fastened upon the face of Ptolemy. Alexander had not failed to note the expression of apprehension that his lieutenant wore. He saw it vanish before the warmth of his own confidence. He felt that he would be able to avert any feeling of panic that might arise in the army at the unexpected turn of events.
"This is good news you bring," he said to Leonidas, "and I am repaid for waiting."
He glanced sharply at the sunken eyes and bloodless lips of the Spartan and spoke to the sentinel.
"Tell them to bring food and wine at once," he commanded.
The young king's eyes fell upon Nathan, apparently for the first time.
The Israelite had been standing in the background, watching Alexander's face with a gaze of peculiar intensity.