Greek Warriors (4 page)

“You Spartan shrimps must get yourselves kitted out with some armour.” He turned to the crowd of soldiers that stood in glum silence, staring down at their sandals. “Now listen up, you lot! We're about to begin a new attack on the walls of Troy. And as punishment for being troublemakers, you'll be leading the charge.”

Odysseus rubbed his hands together and grinned. The soldiers started to complain loudly.

“But that means we'll be the first to get killed!” one soldier said.

“Well, you should have thought of that before you attacked the carpenters!” Odysseus replied.

The grey-haired commander, who was much taller than Odysseus, stepped forward and bowed.

“Yes, Commander Leandros. Speak!” Odysseus said, sounding annoyed.

“What is your plan of attack, sir? Shall these men prepare to fight immediately?” he asked.

Tom looked at Isis and gulped.
On our other adventures, we've had time to get to know a few people and work out a plan
, Tom thought.
But we're just going to get thrown in the deep end here!
He was sure Isis was thinking the same thing as she chewed nervously on her bottom lip.

Odysseus strode back to his chair and promptly tripped over his own feet. He sat down heavily and tapped his head. “I'm still perfecting the plan. It's all up here.”

Isis snorted loudly.

Tom nudged her. “He hasn't got a clue, has he?” he whispered. “But he needs to get us inside that city and I know
exactly
how he should do it!”

Tom knew that someone would come up with the plan eventually, but he and Isis didn't have any time to lose. He decided to give history a helping hand.

As the soldiers filed out of the tent, Tom took a deep breath and approached Odysseus.

“Er, excuse me, Mr Odysseus,” he said, hoping the disappointing legend would not smack him in the face with his fly swatter. “I've got an idea.”

Odysseus leaned forward. “What is it, boy?” he asked impatiently.

“Well, you know that brilliant wooden horse outside?” Tom said.

Odysseus nodded. “My idea!” he said.

“Um… have you thought about offering it to the Trojans as a gift?” Tom asked. He remembered all the details from books he'd read about the Trojan War.

“A gift?!” Odysseus threw back his head and wheezed with laughter. “What a ridiculous idea. Why would I waste such a splendid thing on our enemies?”

Tom sighed. “I mean, you could fill the horse with soldiers, leave it outside the gates, move all your ships out of sight, as though you've given up and set sail for Greece… Who knows? Maybe they'll wheel it inside, and then,
bam!
You can spring a surprise attack and take the city.”

Odysseus stopped chuckling. Tom was sure he could hear the cogs creaking as they turned inside his head, working through the details of Tom's suggestion with painful slowness.

“If it works, you'd be a hero,” Tom said.

“Hmm,” Odysseus said, scratching his cheek with his fly swatter.

He suddenly sprang out of his chair.

“Listen up!” he shouted to his commanders. “I have had the most amazing idea!”

Tom was climbing a rope attached to a fir tree branch. He looked down at the sandy ground and saw a sea of faces frowning up at him as the group of soldiers waited to take their turn.

As he gripped the scratchy rope, Tom's hands stung. He took a deep breath and pulled himself up as hard as he could. One of the soldiers approached the foot of the tree.

“Get on with it, little Spartan!” he shouted. “Odysseus wants us
all
to be perfect at getting in and out of that horse by sunset. But you're hogging the practice tree!”

“I'm doing my best, OK?” Tom called down. Then he muttered to himself, “Come on, Tom, one hand over the other, like in gym.”

Finally, he reached the top and hauled himself on to the branch.

Glancing down, Tom could see the carpenters working hard to rebuild the wooden horse. A pile of wood shavings had grown under the horse's massive belly. It looked like a giant heap of grated cheese. Tom smiled. Odysseus had ordered the carpenters to prepare the hiding place inside the horse as though it had been his idea and not Tom's.
Who'd have thought I would give history a nudge in the right direction?
Tom thought.
That's the most amazing thing ever!

“Er… HELLO!” Isis shouted up at him. “You have to come down, once you've reached the top!”

Tom chuckled and carefully slid down the rope to the ground.

“Easy!” he said, breathing out deeply when his feet hit the sand.

Isis snorted. “Easy? I'll show you easy! Watch this!” she said.

The princess started to shin up the tree, but she was clearly struggling as much as Tom had.

“Easy-peasy, isn't it?” Tom said, grinning.

“Ugh!” Isis grunted. “This rope is too slippery!”

“One hand over the other!” Tom called up helpfully.

Only Cleo had no problem with the climb. She mewed loudly and scampered up after her mistress, digging her sharp claws into the fat rope. But once she got to the top she yowled with fright. Tom could see her little furry body shaking with fear as she clung to the branch.

Grey-haired Commander Leandros marched to the foot of the tree and looked up at Cleo. His hawk-like features had bunched up into a scowl. Tom could tell he was not amused.

“Get that fleabag out of here!” he shouted at Isis. “NOW!”

Rolling her eyes, Isis slid down, holding Cleo. She cuddled the quivering cat close to her chest. “Take no notice of the nasty man, my little furry love,” she said to her cat.

Tom pulled Isis to one side. “Look,” he said. “You're not going to be able to take Cleo in the horse. There's no way that Commander Leandros will allow it.”

Isis gasped. “I am NOT going anywhere without my FLUFFPOT!” she said, poking Tom in the shoulder. Her eyes flashed and her fists were balled tight. “If you think for one minute—”

Tom shook his head. He could feel frustration bubbling away inside him. “Isis! Think about it! This horse is our first-class ticket into Troy. Once we're inside, all we have to do is find King Priam and get the amulet!” He tried to choose his words carefully. “It's like when we were in Ancient Rome and Cleo stayed with the other animals while we were training to be gladiators… if you can find a safe hiding place for her—”

Isis stamped her foot in the sand. “No, no,
NO
!”

Clasping his hands to his head, Tom groaned. Then, as he watched a carpenter bagging wood shavings into a rough, grey sack, a thought struck him.

“We'll put her in a sack!” he said. “You can carry it slung over your shoulder. Hopefully, nobody will notice.”

Cleo purred and twitched her whiskers. She offered Tom a velvety paw.

“Even Cleo thinks that's a good idea,” he said.

Isis nodded curtly. “Oh, all right then. Better than leaving her behind, I suppose.”

Suddenly they were interrupted by somebody clapping.

“Gather round, men!”

Tom turned to see Odysseus standing at the foot of the fir tree. He was holding the rope and looking very pleased with himself.

The soldiers drew closer.

“Now we need to be quick and confident in our ambush of Troy,” he told the soldiers. “That's why I came up with the excellent idea of practising climbing up and down this rope.”

Tom saw that the soldiers were looking at Odysseus with glazed eyes. Some were sniggering behind their hands. Odysseus seemed not to notice.

“As your leader, I'm going to give you a demonstration of how it should be done!”

Odysseus grabbed the rope and tugged on it. The soldiers were nudging each other and winking now. The legendary commander climbed up about three metres, then he yelped and slid down, landing in the sand on his bottom! His cheeks were flame red.

“Anyway,” Odysseus said, dusting himself off and kicking the trunk, “the wooden horse is ready now. Prepare to hide yourselves inside. We will put my plan of great cunning into operation tonight!”

Under the hot afternoon sun, the Greek army packed away its camp. Everything they had brought, including the giant trebuchet, was carried back on to the fleet of ships, which were moored some way off the beach.

Tom stared at the hundreds of vessels, bobbing on the glittering sea. “I love those Greek ships,” he said to Isis. “Have you seen the eyes on each side of the front? Mega cool!”

“Those little tubs aren't as impressive as my father's barges,” Isis scoffed. She pulled out a sack from under her tunic. “Look! I swiped one of these. Let's get Cleo inside.”

Cleo started to hiss and scratch as Tom gripped her wriggling body. He lifted her towards the sack that Isis held open.

“MEOW! YEOUW! WOOOW!” Cleo drew her claws across his arm, making red stripes.

“Ow!” Tom cried.

“Get in the sack, Cleo! It's either that or you get left behind with the rest of the Greek soldiers. They're all setting sail for the next bay along. Do you fancy getting wet?”

“I think Fluffpot had more than enough of sailing when we went to sea with the Vikings,” Isis said, laughing.

Yowling and flailing her paws around, Cleo finally allowed herself to be put inside the sack. Isis arranged it carefully across her body.

Odysseus called the squad of soldiers to take their places. One by one, the men clambered up the rope that dangled from underneath the huge wooden horse and climbed inside.

“It's time,” Isis said, running towards the rope. She hoisted herself up and through the trapdoor.

Only Tom was left. He looked up into the darkness of the horse's belly. It was like a giant wooden cave. Isis, peering out of the hiding place, shouted, “Come on!”

Commander Leandros leaned out of the hatch and called down. “Are you coming, Spartan?” he asked, holding out his hand. “Or shall we leave you to take on the might of the Trojans by yourself?”

Tom grabbed the rope and started to climb. As he dangled in the air, he took one last look at the beach. It was sparkling white. There was no trace that the Greek army had had so much as a picnic, let alone camped there for ten years. His heart hammered inside his chest. The moment of truth was upon them. Would the Trojans really fall for the wooden-horse trick?