According to the Townley scholia, Aristarchus understood this elaboration on the length of the furrow as redefining the length meant here. It is not the length of a standard furrow, but rather the difference in distance between that which a team of mules would plough and that which a team of oxen would—according to Aristarchus, mules are faster (presumably that is how we should understand προφερέστεραι). The fact that no reference to oxen appears in the comparison to the mules’ furrow at Odyssey 8.123–125 may suggest that here it is indeed a difference in length. As we try to understand the comparison and envision what this distance represents, we should also consider the poetics of night missions: Odysseus’ strategy is to let Dolon pass them by so that they can run up behind him and prevent his escape, but they also cannot lose sight of him. That factor may speak in favor of the shorter distance that Aristarchus proposes. See also Scott 1974:20–24 on Homeric similes describing measurement in general.