Two nights after this， other men， armed with knives and muskets， came into our tent.They were Albanians， brave men， my mother told me. They only stayed a short time. Mysister Anastasia sat on the knee of one of them; and when they were gone， she had notthree， but two silver coins in her hair—one had disappeared. They wrapped tobacco in strips ofpaper， and smoked it; and I remember they were uncertain as to the road they ought totake. But they were obliged to go at last， and my father went with them. Soon after， weheard the sound of firing. The noise continued， and presently soldiers rushed into our hut，and took my mother and myself and Anastasia prisoners. They declared that we hadentertained robbers， and that my father had acted as their guide， and therefore we must nowgo with them. The corpses of the robbers， and my father's corpse， were brought into thehut. I saw my poor dead father， and cried till I fell asleep. When I awoke， I found myself in aprison; but the room was not worse than our own in the hut. They gave me onions and mustywine from a tarred cask; but we were not accustomed to much better fare at home. Howlong we were kept in prison， I do not know; but many days and nights passed by. We wereset free about Easter-time. I carried Anastasia on my back， and we walked very slowly; for mymother was very weak， and it is a long way to the sea， to the Gulf of Lepanto.
On our arrival， we entered a church， in whichthere were beautiful pictures in golden frames. Theywere pictures of angels， fair and bright; and yetour little Anastasia looked equally beautiful， as itseemed to me. In the centre of the floor stood acoffin filled with roses. My mother told me it was theLord Jesus Christ who was represented by theseroses. Then the priest announced， “Christ isrisen，” and all the people GREeted each other. Eachone carried a burning taper in his hand， and onewas given to me， as well as to little Anastasia. Themusic sounded， and the people left the church hand-in-hand， with joy and gladness.Outside， the women were roasting the paschal lamb. We were invited to partake; and as Isat by the fire， a boy， older than myself， put his arms round my neck， and kissed me， andsaid， “Christ is risen.” And thus it was that for the first time I met Aphtanides.
My mother could make fishermen's nets， for which there was a GREat demand here in thebay; and we lived a long time by the side of the sea， the beautiful sea， that had a taste liketears， and in its colors reminded me of the stag that wept red tears; for sometimes itswaters were red， and sometimes green or blue. Aphtanides knew how to manage our boat，and I often sat in it， with my little Anastasia， while it glided on through the water， swift as abird flying through the air. Then， when the sun set， how beautifully， deeply blue， would bethe tint on the mountains， one rising above the other in the far distance， and the summit ofmount Parnassus rising above them all like a glorious crown. Its top glittered in the evening rayslike molten gold， and it seemed as if the light came from within it; for long after the sun hadsunk beneath the horizon， the mountain-top would glow in the clear， blue sky. The whiteaquatic birds skimmed the surface of the water in their flight， and all was calm and still asamid the black rocks at Delphi. I lay on my back in the boat， Anastasia leaned against me，while the stars above us glittered more brightly than the lamps in our church. They were thesame stars， and in the same position over me as when I used to sit in front of our hut atDelphi， and I had almost begun to fancy I was still there， when suddenly there was a splashin the water—Anastasia had fallen in; but in a moment Aphtanides has sprung in after her，and was now holding her up to me. We dried her clothes as well as we were able， andremained on the water till they were dry; for we did not wish it to be known what a fright wehad had， nor the danger which our little adopted sister had incurred， in whose life Aphtanideshad now a part.
the summer came， and the burning heat of the sun tinted the leaves of the trees with linesof gold. I thought of our cool mountain-home， and the fresh water that flowed near it; mymother， too， longed for if， and one evening we wandered towards home. How peaceful andsilent it was as we walked on through the thick， wild thyme， still fragrant， though the sunhad scorched the leaves. Not a single herdsman did we meet， not a solitary hut did we pass;everything appeared lonely and deserted—only a shooting star showed that in the heavensthere was yet life. I know not whether the clear， blue atmosphere gleamed with its own light，or if the radiance came from the stars; but we could distinguish quite plainly the outline ofthe mountains. My mother lighted a fire， and roasted some roots she had brought with her，and I and my little sister slept among the bushes， without fear of the ugly smidraki，1 fromwhose throat issues fire， or of the wolf and the jackal; for my mother sat by us， and Iconsidered her presence sufficient protection.
We reached our old home; but the cottage was in ruins， and we had to build a new one.With the aid of some neighbors， chiefly women， the walls were in a few days erected， andvery soon covered with a roof of olive-branches. My mother obtained a living by making bottle-cases of bark and skins， and I kept the sheep belonging to the priests， who were sometimespeasants，2 while I had for my playfellows Anastasia and the turtles.