This was the news that was told through the camp of the Greeks and discussed with bitter comment by groups of soldiers.
"I wish I was back with my wife and children," said a sturdy Locrian. "These dogs know nothing of war."
"I shall stay here, no matter what they do," remarked an Athenian, with a shrug. "Hemlock does not agree with me."
"Wait until the phalanx strikes them," said a hoplite from Syracuse. "I'll wager that the date-eaters will sing a different song when the sarissa begins to tickle their ribs."
"You would suppose that these fellows would like to see the barbarians beaten," Chares muttered to Clearchus.
"Hush," said Leonidas. "We know all that we came to learn. What we have to do now, is to get out as soon as we can. The army cannot be far away and unless we can reach it before it arrives, the day may be lost. If we give the Persians time, they may yet change their minds. All depends upon an immediate attack, while their forces are divided. We must get away at once. How are we to manage it?"
"Why, walk away, of course," Chares said. "Who is to stop us?"
"That will not do," Leonidas replied. "You know the order that nobody shall straggle from the camp. There is too much danger of getting into a brawl with the Persians."
"If a foraging party is going out, we might join it," Clearchus proposed.
"That is worth trying," the Spartan assented; "wait here until I find our friend, the captain."
It happened that the same foraging party that they had joined the day before was going out again. Leonidas asked permission to join it.
"You have not yet been enrolled," the grizzled captain objected, "but come along if you wish; we may need the big fellow with the stake. I'll leave three of my men behind and you can take their places."
Leonidas breathed more freely when they were out of the camp, with the most dangerous part of the mission accomplished. They were forced to cross the Granicus and to walk five or six miles on the other side before they met with any success in their search for provisions. At last they discovered a flock of sheep, of which they took possession. All was in readiness for the return march when Leonidas, Chares, and Clearchus approached the captain.
"We have decided that we will not join the army," Leonidas announced. "We have seen enough of this war. We are going back to the coast."