WHEN the stranger had declared the contest over and called for music and wine, the suitors had relaxed; but now it seemed the wretched fellow meant to reopen the archery contest after all. But what was his new mark to be?

Antinous was at that moment raising a golden cup to his lips. The stranger’s bow sang, and his arrow passed clean through Antinous’s neck, knocking him from his chair in a shower of food and drink.

At first the suitors thought the shot was wild, but the stranger set them right. “Dogs,” he said in a terrible voice, “dogs, ye thought I should never return from Troy, and so ye wasted my house, raped my maidservants and courted my wife, having no fear of the gods. The coming doom ye have brought upon your own heads!” Eurymachus, beginning to understand, tried to blame Antinous for it all, but when they saw Odysseus (of course it was Odysseus) was unmoved, the desperate suitors rushed at him. He shot Eurymachus, and Telemachus slew Amphinomus. The arrows could not last, so Telemachus dashed out to fetch weapons; but stupidly he left the armoury door open, and the suitors followed him in and passed out spears and shields among themselves too.