they vowed before the sun, and the night, and the bluehaired sea who shakes the land, to stand by Jason faithfully, in the adventure of the golden fleece; and whosoever shrank back, or disobeyed, or turned traitor to his vow, 5 should be tracked by evil spirits.

Then Jason lighted the pile, and burnt the carcass of the bull, and they went to their ship and sailed eastward, like men who have a work to do. Three thousand years and more ago they sailed away, into the unknown Eastern 10 seas; and great nations have come and gone since then, and many a storm has swept the earth; and many a mighty fleet. English and French, Turkish and Russian to which Argo would be but one small boat, have sailed those waters since; yet the fame of that small 15 Argo lives forever, and her name is become a proverb among men.

But the Argonauts, as the adventurers on the Argo were called, went eastward, and out into the open sea which we now call the Black Sea. No Greeks had ever 20 crossed it, and all feared that dreadful sea, and its rocks, and shoals, and fogs, and bitter freezing storms; and they told strange stories of it, how it stretched northward to the ends of the earth, and the everlasting night, and the regions of the dead. So the heroes trembled, for all their 25 courage, as they came into that wild Black Sea, and saw it stretching out before them, without a shore, as far as eye could see.

And at day dawn they looked eastward, and midway between the sea and the sky they saw white snow peaks hanging, glittering sharp and bright above the clouds. And they knew that they were come to Caucasus, at the 5 end of all the earth, Caucasus, the highest of all mountains, the father of the rivers of the East, at whose feet are piled dark forests round the magic Colchian land.

And they rowed three days to the eastward, while Caucasus rose higher hour by hour, till they saw a dark 10 stream rushing headlong to the sea, and, shining above the tree tops, the golden roofs of King Eetes, the child of the

sun.

Then out spoke the helmsman: "We are come to our goal at last; for there are the roofs of Eetes, and the 15 woods where all poisons grow; but who can tell us where among them is hid the golden fleece? Many a toil must we bear ere we find it, and bring it home to Greece."

etes,

But Jason cheered the heroes, for his heart was high 20 and bold; and he said: "I will go alone up to though he be the child of the sun, and win him with soft words. Better so than to go all together, and to come to blows at once." But his companions would not stay behind, so they rowed boldly up the stream.

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And a dream came to etes, and filled his heart with fear. He thought he saw a shining star, which fell into his daughter's lap; and that Medea his daughter took it

gladly, and carried it to the riverside, and cast it in, and there the whirling river bore it down, and out into the Black Sea.

Then he leapt up in fear, and bade his servants bring his chariot, that he might go down to the riverside and 5 appease the nymphs, and the heroes whose spirits haunt the bank. So he went down in his golden chariot, and his daughters by his side, - Medea, the fair witch maiden, and Chalciope, who had been Phrixus's wife, and behind him a crowd of servants and soldiers, for he was a rich 10 and mighty prince.

And as he drove down by the reedy river, he saw Argo sliding up beneath the bank, and many a hero in her, like Immortals for beauty and for strength, as their weapons glittered round them in the level morning sunlight, 15 through the white mist of the stream. But Jason was the noblest of all; for Hera, the queen of the gods, who loved him, gave him beauty and tallness and terrible manhood.

And when they came near together and looked into 20 each other's eyes, the heroes were awed before Eetes as he shone in his chariot, like his father the glorious sun; for his robes were of rich gold tissue, and the rays of his diadem flashed fire; and in his hand he bore a jeweled scepter, which glittered like the stars; and sternly he 25 looked at them under his brows, and sternly he spoke and loud:

"Who are you, and what want you here, that you come to this shore? Do you take no account of my rule, nor of my people, the Colchians, who serve me, who never yet tired in the battle, and know well how to face an invader?" 5 And the heroes sat silent awhile before the face of that ancient king. But Hera, the awful goddess, put courage into Jason's heart, and he rose and shouted loudly in answer: "We are no pirates nor lawless men. We come not to plunder and to ravage, or to carry away slaves 10 from your land; but my uncle, the Grecian king, has set me on a quest to bring home the golden fleece. And these too, my bold comrades, they are no nameless men; for some are the sons of Immortals, and some of heroes far renowned. And we, too, never tire in battle, and know 15 well how to give blows and to take; yet we wish to be guests at your table; it will be better so for both."

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Then Eetes' rage rushed up like a whirlwind, and his eyes flashed fire as he heard; but he crushed his anger down in his breast, and spoke mildly a cunning speech:

"If you will fight for the fleece with my Colchians, then many a man must die. But do you indeed expect to win from me the fleece in fight? So few you are that if you be worsted, I can load your ship with your corpses. But if you will be ruled by me, you will find it better far 25 to choose the best man among you, and let him fulfill the labors which I demand. Then I will give him the golden fleece for a prize and a glory to you all."