Once out of the leper village, Panayota walked very rapidly, once or twice actually breaking into a run. The great hills, upon whose lower slopes lived her mother's brother, looked so near that she fancied herself able to climb to the top in half an hour. But she soon lost breath and was obliged to stop and rest beneath a tree. She had no doubt of her welcome by Kyrios Kurmulidhes. He had often written to her father--poor papa!--and had expressed the greatest wish to see his sister's daughter. "I must not tire myself all out at the start," she reasoned. "It is much farther away than it seems." So she struck out again in the bright sun at a strong, steady gait. Once she heard the clatter of horses' hoofs in the distance, rapidly growing louder as they came near, and she fancied herself pursued, and looked about for some hiding place. Then, turning around, she saw half a dozen red-cheeked, light-haired foreigners upon horseback, and at their head a mere boy, with a face like a girl, but who, nevertheless, sat very straight and took himself quite seriously. She felt the earth shake with the beating of hoofs, and stepped to the side of the road to see them pound by in a whirl of dust. But they had not gone far before the young officer threw his arm in the air and called out a single syllable in a clear, sharp tone, and the horses stopped so suddenly that they reared on their haunches. The officer spoke a few words hurriedly, and one of the troopers fell out and rode back toward her. She must have exhibited evidences of fright, for the man called out in Greek, laughing merrily: "Don't be afraid, stupid. We are friends." "What is it? What is it, fellow countryman?" cried Panayota, delightedly. What a change had come over the earth! But yesterday you met only Turks, heard only Turkish, and now the whole world was speaking Greek. "Are you from Canea?" asked the trooper. "No, I am a Sphakiote maiden. I was taken prisoner by the Turks, but now, thank God, I am escaping." "You wouldn't happen to know Yussuf Effendi by sight, then?" "No." "Did any old Turk with a white beard pass here on a mule?" "Not a soul; but I've only been on the road about half an hour. Why, who are you? What has Yussuf done? Where does he----" "We're arresting the ringleaders in the massacre. Yussuf is one of them. I'm an interpreter with the English army. You can go back to Canea or anywhere you wish, sister, in perfect safety. It isn't healthy to be a Turk these days. Adio, and many thanks." "Adio."