Alexander : a history of the origin and growth of the art of war from ...

REMORSELESS PURSUIT. 423courage and endurance. These he mounted on the besthorses, and started at once, following the flying conspiratorsas well as might be — not even waiting for Coenus to bring inhis rations. He had but two days' provisions for his ownparty. He left Craterus to come on behind at a lesser speed.He marched all night and till noon next day, rested till evening,and marched again till daybreak, when he reached thecamp at Thara, from which Bagistanes had deserted.HereAlexander found Darius' interpreter, Melon, left behind sick,and from him first got the actual facts. These were to theeffect that Bessus had the command of the flying army, andthat Artabazus and the Greek mercenaries had remainedfaithful to Darius as long as they could, but that the kinghad preferred his native legions, and by these been finallybetrayed.Bessus had been put in command by the Bactriancavalry and the rest of the troops, for he was related toDarius, and this was moreover his vice-regal province. Heknew the king's importance to Alexander, and his plan wasto surrender Darius, if he should be overtaken, in exchangefor quiet ruling over his own dominions as sovereign ; ifnot, to seek to gain the sovereignty of Persia for himself.And in this the other conspirators had concurred on receivingthe usual fair promises from Bessus.Alexander pushed on with incredible speed. He marchedall the succeeding night and until noon, and reached a village(perhaps modern Bakschabad) where the enemy had encampedthe day before. It was with great exertion andmuch loss in men and horses that he had thus got withinoneday's march of Bessus. Here he heard that Bessus was doinghis marching by night, and on careful inquiry the peopleshowed him how, by taking a short cut acrossa desert tract,he could probably catch up with the Bactrian army, whichhad kept to the main road. Infantry could not cross this