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

A SECOND ASSAULT REPULSED. 533by the Agrianians and archers, started on its mission to fray apath to the fortress. The Companions had prevailed on theking" not to accompany them.But the gallant pages had notgone more than quarter way, when Alexander, impatient ofany one gathering glory he might share, turned towards hisbody-guard, and inviting them to follow, sallied out afterthepages. The barbarians were prepared. Huge blocks of stonewere rolled down on the assailants ; many fell. But still thepages pushed on. One by one they reached the crest butonly to fall pierced by many missiles. The king and hisguards were still too far to hope to assist them in season to beof any avail. The assault had failed. Another promised alike result.Alexander, after due study ofthe problem, determined tobuild a mound across the ravine so as to bring: his enginesinto a position from which he could use them against thewalls. The whole army set to work with a will. The day'sstint of each man was to collect and bring one hundred stakes.There was abundance of timber. Hurdles were made of thesmaller wood. Stones, earth, stumps, every available thingwas put to use to help the filling of the mound. On the firstday, the work was so rapidly pushed, that the Macedonianshad built the mound forward from their side, where the ravinewas not so deep as farther on, nearly three hundred paces.The Indians at first contented themselves with collecting onthe walls beyond bowshot, and deriding these efforts ; butwhen their astonishment and alarm grew with the progi-essof the mound, they sought to harass the Macedonians in theirwork by a fire of arrows across the ravine. But the enginesand archers and slingers with their better fire held themsteadily in check.It has already been noticed that only the more necessaryparts of the catapults and balhstas were carried along.