Chryseis told them that they were very rude, but they went on determinedly:-- "Four times yesterday, when they knew you were coming, did we hear the story. Once father told us, once mother, once Kyria Penelope, that is the governess, you know, and once we had it for a dictation lesson out of the History of the Revolution; so we know all about what your great-grandfather did, and all Botzari said about him, and how brave you must be and everything." Pavlo flushed a little, and felt quite grateful to Chryseis who changed the subject. "What do you do all alone in the house?" she asked. "Oh, just nothing; I paint sometimes, and once I went to Kiphissia, and once to a circus." "Can you ride?" Pavlo shook his head. "Ride? Oh, no!" "I can," said Iason, "and she can, too," nodding his head towards Chryseis. "Father has another horse over on the mainland, besides his own, which can be ridden; and we go with him in turns." "Mother says," put in Andromache, "that when her ship comes in, she will buy horses for all of us, and a real motor boat, too." "When I am big," said Chryseis, whose stories "out of her head," were generally in request, "I shall write a lot of stories in a book, and sell hundreds and thousands of it, and give all the money to mother, and then she can buy anything, and a new grand piano, too, for father!" "You cannot write a real book, if you cannot spell properly," retorted Andromache, whose spelling was her strong point. "Yes, I can. The printers do all that part." "No, you cannot!" "Yes, I can!" "Well, try then! But when I am big I shall marry a very rich American and I shall go away with him to America, and I shall send a whole ship full of money back to mother, so that she will not need your stupid old books." "No one will ever marry you," put in Iason, "you are too cross!" "Yes, they will, I tell you!" "I know!" cried the little boy, Nikias; "I know why she is so sure, because she has taught Katerina when she finishes washing her hair instead of wishing her as she always used to, 'And a fine bridegroom some day,' to say 'And an American!' I know because I heard her when I was waiting my turn for the bath in mother's room!" There was loud laughter and Andromache flew at Nikias with tooth and nail for telling overheard secrets, and the struggle which ensued, and at which Pavlo looked on in secret dismay, was Homeric. Traces of it were visible at lunch time but were attributed to "playing soldiers." The Four of the Red House were not tell-tales; that is one good thing I can say of them. After lunch they were condemned to afternoon rest. The reason given being that Pavlo had been up so early, and they trooped sadly upstairs; but Iason, who was nothing if not inventive, comforted them. "When they are all asleep, you girls come into our room and we will take all the sheets off the beds and fix them up with broom handles and pretend we are deserters in a cave and soldiers coming after them."