These served as guard-rooms,
where the soldiers on duty took shelter on wet and stormy nights. For
the distance between the towers was very small, and they could rush
out and man the walls at a moment's notice.
The Plataeans omitted no precaution which might secure success for
their hazardous enterprise. Every man understood exactly the part
which he had to play, and knew that his own life, and the lives of his
comrades, depended on his courage and coolness. They had chosen their
time well, for it was now mid-winter. So they waited for a night of
storm and rain, when there was no moon, and sallying forth from the
town crossed the inner ditch, and came up to the inner wall,
unperceived by the enemy; for the noise of their footsteps was drowned
by the roaring of the wind, and they were careful to advance in open
order, so as not to be discovered by the clashing of their arms. The
whole troop was lightly equipped, and they walked with their right
foot unsandalled, to give them a firmer hold on the muddy ground.
Choosing one of the spaces between two towers, they adjusted their
ladders, and began to ascend the wall. The first to mount were twelve
picked men, armed with breastplates and daggers, who as soon as they
reached the top, rushed to the towers, six men to each, and having
overpowered the guard, stood ready to defend the passage.
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