TEA WITH A BRIGAND
THE stranger replied to Marco with "Tee Kamnete"[14] and came up close
to them. Zoe blessed herself and said not a word.
"Kala,"[15] Marco said briefly, and the stranger said,
"It is late for you and your sister to be on the mountain. She is a
pretty child."
"Na meen avosgothees,"[16] whispered Marco to Zoe, then to the
stranger, "Not later than for you."
"But I have business here," he said with a smile.
[Illustration: "STOOD BEFORE THEM IN THE BEAUTIFUL NATIONAL COSTUME OF
GREECE."]
"And so have we," and Marco's tone was a little curt.
"My business is to eat supper," said the man. "Will you join me?"
Marco was surprised, but Zoe whispered, "Do not make him angry," so he
said,
"Thank you. Zoe has brought me to eat also. Will you not share with us?"
"We will eat together," said the stranger, so they seated themselves
upon the green grass and Marco took from the basket Zoe had brought,
black bread and cheese for all three.
"This is the best I have, but I am glad to give," he said, for he
thought to himself, "He has not a bad face now that one sees him close.
In any case it is best to be civil, for bees are not caught with sour
wine."
The stranger threw aside his cloak and stood before them in the
beautiful national costume of Greece. Zoe thought that she had never
seen anything so fine as his clothes. He wore a white shirt, a
little black jacket and _fustanellas_, the full white petticoat
reaching to the knees, to which Grecian men cling in spite of the fact
that it can be soiled in ten minutes while it takes a woman almost as
many hours to make it clean again.
He carried a leather bag over one shoulder, and from this he took a
parcel, seating himself beside Zoe and opening it with a gay smile.
"I did not think this morning, when I had this put up, that I should
eat it with so dear a little girl," he said. "Perhaps I should have
put in Syrian _loukoumi_ had I known that you would be here instead of
_halva_[17] and _tarama_.[18] Should I not?"
"_Halva_ is very nice," said Zoe shyly. "And I have never tasted
_loukoumi_ of Syria."
"Have you not? Poor child! Tell me where you live and I will send you
a packet of it."
"I live in Karissa, near to Volo," said Zoe with a sweet smile. "The
gentleman takes too much trouble."
"I shall certainly do it," he said, "unless I am wrestling with
Charos."[19]
"When your soul shall be a Petalouda[20] and your dust shall become
myrrh," said Zoe. "On the third day I shall carry raw wheat and a
candle to Papa Petro, that he may say prayers for you."
"You are an angel of a child!" there were tears in the man's eyes.
"It matters little when Charos comes, since God sends Charos to take
souls. It is well if we leave behind us some grateful hearts to say
'may your dust become myrrh.' Come, let us eat. Here is a bottle of
_resinato_,[21] bread and _tarama_, with olives and garlic and _halva_
for dessert. It is a feast for the gods, yet the best Christian may eat
it in Lent."
They ate, the two men chatting together, Zoe listening in silence. It
had been long since she had seen such a feast, for bread and eggs were
often all that was to be had in her aunt's house, and sometimes there
were no eggs.
They sat beneath a giant tree on a carpet of maiden-hair fern; scarlet
anemones and heath, orchids and iris bloomed beside them, and the
silver tinkle of a waterfall came softly through the evening air. The
fragrance of violets was there, and a few early asphodel raised their
star-like blooms toward heaven.
"There is no place in all the world like Greece," said the stranger, as
he looked down over the beautiful valley. "It was near to here that
Cheiron's cave lay, and one can almost see Olympus, home of the gods."
"Who was Cheiron?" asked Zoe.
"Do you not know the story of the Golden Fleece?" said the stranger.
"Shall I tell it while we eat?"
"Oh, if you only would?" cried Zoe, and he began.
"Long, long ago, when the gods lived on Olympus, there was a cave in
the depths of old Mount Pelion and it was called the cave of Cheiron,
the Centaur. Cheiron was a strange being, half horse and half man, for
he had the legs of a horse but the upper part of his body was that of
a man. He was wise and kind and men called him 'the Teacher.' Many
men sent their sons to him to be taught, for he knew not only all the
things of war, but music and to play the lyre, and of all the healing
herbs, so that he could cure the wounds of men. Among his pupils was
a lad named Jason, whose father was Æson, king of Iolcos, by the
sea. The wicked brother of Æson had cast him forth from his kingdom,
and fearing that Jason would be killed, the father left the lad with
Cheiron. Cheiron taught him much, and he learned quickly. He learned
to wrestle and box, to ride and hunt, to wield the sword, to play the
lyre, and even all that Cheiron knew of healing herbs Jason learned.
Jason was happy with Cheiron and loved him, and the youths who dwelt in
the Centaur's cave, these he loved as brothers. He was quite content
until one day he looked forth over the plains of Thessaly to the south,
and as he saw the white-walled town beside the sea, something stirred
within him, and he said to Cheiron,
"'There lies my home. Now I am grown, I am a hero's son, let me go
forth and take my heritage from that bad man who cast forth my father,
for I know that one day I shall be king in Iolcos.'
"'That day is far, far away,' said Cheiron, who could read the future.
'But it will come. Eagles fly from the nest, so must you fly hence. Go,
but promise me this. Speak kindly to each one that you meet and keep
always your promises.'
"'I promise you and I will perform,' said Jason, and he bade Cheiron
farewell. Then he hurried down the mountain-side, through the
sweet-smelling groves where grew the wild thyme and arbutus, beyond the
vineyards green in the sun, and the olive groves in fragrant bloom. He
came to the river bank, a stream swollen with spring rains and foaming
to the sea. Upon the bank was an old woman, wrinkled and gray, and she
cried to Jason,
"'Good sir, carry me across this stream.'
"Jason looked at her, and at first he thought to leave her, for the
stream was broad and it roared over cruel rocks and was heavy with the
mountain's melting snow. But she cried pitifully,
"'Fair youth, for Hera's sake, carry me across.'
"Now Hera was queen of all the gods who lived on Olympus, and Jason
said,
"'For Hera's sake will I do much. Cling upon my back and I will carry
you across. That I promise you.' Then he remembered Cheiron's word and
was glad he had answered her softly. He struggled through the foam, but
the old woman was heavy and she clung about his neck and seemed to grow
heavier. He buffeted the waves and struggled, and twice he thought he
must let the old woman go, but he remembered his promise and held her
fast, and at last he reached the farther shore and scrambled up the
bank. And as he gently set his burden down, lo! she was a fair young
woman, and she smiled upon him and said,
"'I am that Hera for whose sake you have done this deed of kindness. I
will repay you, for whenever you need help call upon me, and I will not
forget you.' Then she rose up from the earth into the clouds, and with
awe and wonder, Jason watched her fade from his sight.
"Then he went on to Iolchis, but he walked slowly, for he had lost one
sandal in the flood. He went into the city and spoke with the king,
demanding his realm, and the king was afraid of him, for soothsayers
had foretold that a man wearing one sandal should take the kingdom away
from him.
"But the king spoke to him kindly and gave him food, and said to him,
'Your father gave me the kingdom of his own free will. See him and ask
him if this is not true.' Jason said that he would do so, and he ate
with his uncle, and at last the king said,
"'There is a man in my kingdom whom I am afraid will cause me trouble
if he stays here. What would you do with him were you I? I ask because
I know you are wise.'
"'I think I would send him to bring home the Golden Fleece,' said Jason.
"'Will you go?' said the king, and Jason saw that he was caught in a
trap, and that his uncle had meant him.
"'I will go, and when I return I will take the kingdom,' he said, and
straightway he made ready. He made sacrifice to Hera, for in those
days people killed a lamb in honour of the gods, as we to-day burn a
candle at a shrine. Then he fitted up a ship and sent word to all those
princes who had been with him in Cheiron's cave that they come with
him on this glorious quest. And they came and all the youths set forth
upon a mighty ship. Of the many things that happened to them I have no
time to tell, but at last Jason came to the shores of Cutaia, where the
Colchians lived. There was the Golden Fleece, but guarded so that no
man might take it. There it had been for many years, since King Phrixus
had slain the Golden Ram and offered it in sacrifice, and since then
all the world had longed to possess the wonderful Golden Fleece.
"Medea, the king's daughter, saw Jason, and loved him because he
was fearless and brave. She was a witch and she helped him with her
witchcraft, giving him a magic salve with which he rubbed himself so
that no weapon could hurt him, and his strength was as the strength of
mighty hills. He who would possess the Fleece must first wrestle with
two terrible bulls, then he must sow serpent's teeth in a ploughed
field. From the teeth sprang up a field of armed men, and these must
be overcome, and then the deadly serpent which guarded the Fleece must
be slain. All these things Medea's magic helped Jason to do. He fought
with the bulls and conquered them; he harnessed them to the plough and
ploughed the field. He hewed down the armed men as if they were stalks
of wheat and last of all he sought to slay the serpent. Orpheus, who
had been with Jason in Cheiron's cave, went with him to the tree where
hung the Golden Fleece. He was the sweetest singer in all the world,
and he played soft and sweet upon his lyre and sang of sleep, and the
serpent closed his eyes and slumber stole upon him. Then Jason stepped
across his body and tore the Fleece from the tree, and he and Orpheus
and Medea fled to the ship and away they sailed to Greece again."
As he finished a sudden sound reached their ears and Marco sprang to
his feet.
"A wolf is at my goats!" he cried. "I must go. Zoe, fly quickly down
the mountain; but no--it is too late for you to go alone, there are
wild beasts abroad. You should not have stayed so late!"
"Go quickly to your goats, Marco. That is your duty. I shall be safe,
for I shall pray to the saints and the Holy Virgin, and I shall run
very fast."
"Go to your herd, good shepherd, and I will take your sister home,"
said the stranger, putting up the remains of his meal, but Marco did
not look reassured. He looked helplessly from one to the other. "I may
be out all night," he said, when another squeal, sharp and shrill, came
through the air.
"Go at once, Marco, I shall be quite safe with this gentleman," said
Zoe.
"I will promise that she shall go straight home," said the stranger,
and Marco unwillingly turned to the mountain.
Zoe and her strange companion walked hastily down the steep path which
led to the village.
"Child," said the stranger, "why did you tell your brother to go? Are
you not afraid of me?"
"He is not my brother, but my cousin, and I am not at all afraid," she
said.
"But you were afraid at first," he said. "You thought I was a brigand."
"That was before I had seen your face," said the little girl. "And now
that I have seen you and heard you talk, I know that you are not."
"How do you know?" he asked.
"You are a good man, because you keep the Lenten fast, you speak well
of God and you are kind to a little girl. So I know you have a white
heart. You may perhaps be a brigand, but you are a good one."
He threw back his head and laughed aloud.
"You are a strange little one," he said. "Tell me your name."
"I am Zoe Averoff, of Argolis."
"Zoe Averoff of Argolis! Child, what are you doing here?"
She looked at him in wonder as she answered, "My mother is dead, my
father is gone and comes no more; he must be dead too. I live here with
my uncle, the father of Marco."
The stranger's eyes were fixed upon her and she saw them fill with hot
tears.
"Child," he said, "I believe you are my little niece. I am Andreas
Averoff, and your father was my brother. I feared that I would fail to
find you, since all they could tell me at your old home was that you
had gone to Thessaly. Do you remember me, since I went to your house
once long ago?"
"I know that I had an Uncle Andreas," said Zoe, scarce believing her
ears. "But I do not remember him."
"I am that uncle," he said, "and I have come to take you with me to my
home. I have a wife and son in Argolis, but our little girl we lost.
Will you come and be our daughter, or are you too happy here?"
"I am not too happy," said Zoe, "but it would be hard to leave Marco.
He is so good to me."
"Perhaps your Marco will come with us, for I have money and we can find
him better things to do than to fly to the mountains with the shepherds
each St. George's Day. Now, take me to your home and tell your aunt
what has come of your taking tea with a brigand."
FOOTNOTES:
[14] How do you do?
[15] Well?
[16] Said to avert the evil eye.
[17] A kind of paste eaten on fast days.
[18] A sea food.
[19] Dying.
[20] Butterfly, a Grecian superstition being that the soul becomes a
butterfly after death.
[21] Grecian wine with resin in it.