force the fight upon us."'

'What old Nestor said seemed good to Patroklos and he left the hut and
went back along the ships. And on his way he met Eurypylos, a sorely
wounded man, dragging himself from the battle, and Patroklos helped him
back to his hut and cheered him with discourse and laid healing herbs
upon his wounds.'

'And even as he left old Nestor's hut, Hector was before the wall the
Greeks had builded to guard their ships. On came the Trojans against
that wall, holding their shields of bulls' hides before them. From the
towers that were along the wall the Greeks flung great stones upon the
attackers.'

'Over the host an eagle flew, holding in its talons a blood-red serpent.
The serpent struggled with the eagle and the eagle with the serpent, and
both had sorely wounded each other. But as they flew over the host of
Greeks and Trojans the serpent struck at the eagle with his fangs, and
the eagle, wounded in the breast, dropped the serpent. Then were the
Trojans in dread, seeing the blood-red serpent across their path, for
they thought it was an omen from Zeus. They would have turned back from
the wall in fear for this omen had not Hector pressed them on. "One omen
is best, I know," he cried, "to fight a good fight for our country.
Forward then and bring the battle to those ships that came to our coast
against the will of the gods."'

'So Hector spoke. Then he lifted up a stone--such a stone as not two of
the best of men now living could as much as raise from the ground--and
he flung this stone full at the strongly-set gate. It broke the hinges
and the bars, and the great gate fell under the weight of the tremendous