a few moments ago , hed emphasized to the athenian statesman the need to get to those tents by stressing his words and dramatizing them with his hand while the latter crouched some feet away below a rack of swords with his two sons , and as they now edged towards their goal unobserved , they were helped in no small measure by the approaching darkness as well as the urgency exhibited by the soldiers towards the coming nights campaign at thermopylae .