CORNELL 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 GIFT OF 
 
 The Estate of 
 
 Professor 
 
 A. Henry Detweiler 
 
Cornell University Library 
 DF 901.C8B41 
 
 3 1924 028 260 358 
 
Cornell University 
 Library 
 
 The original of tliis book is in 
 tine Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924028260358 
 
THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
m 
 
 ^V -' 
 
 
 
 O 
 <! 
 
 
THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
 BY 
 
 GERTRUDE H. BEGGS 
 
 WITH FRONTISPIECE AND DRAWINGS 
 
 BY 
 
 LOUISE FOUCAR MARSHALL 
 
 THE ABINGDON PRESS 
 
 NEW YORK CINCINNATI 
 
Copyright, 1915, by 
 GERTRUDE H. BEGGS 
 
DEDICATED 
 TO MY PARENTS- 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 A Village in Crete Frontispiece 
 
 Sketch Map of Crete 2 
 
 Acropolis at Athens 14 
 
 Harbor at Candia 14! 
 
 A Cretan Gentleman of Leisure. 32 
 
 Morosini Fountain 82 
 
 Theatral Area at Knossos 36 
 
 Grand Stairway at Phasstos - 36 
 
 The Throne 52 
 
 A Bath Tub .' 58 
 
 A Cretan Country House 62 
 
 A Little Shrine 62 
 
 Corner of Shrine i 64 
 
 A Big Jar with Trickle Ornament 70 
 
 Storeroom at Knossos 74 
 
 Storeroom at Knossos ,. . 74 
 
 Assembly Hall in Villa 76 
 
 Sketch Plan of Knossos 88 
 
 Statue of Apollo 114 
 
 Temple of Apollo. 114 
 
 Wall Containing Part of Law Code 118 
 
 Fragment of the Law Code 118 
 
 Ruins at Phsestos , 142 
 
 Storeroom at Phsestos. 142 
 
 The Lethaeos 154 
 
 Chapel of Saint George 154 
 
 A Pack Mule in Candia 174 
 
 Street Scene in Candia 174 
 
 Street Scene in Candia 174 
 
 An Old Mosque 176 
 
 The Ruby-lipped Lady , . 182 
 
PART ONE 
 
PART ONE 
 I 
 
 Had they not believed in the Scholar's lucky 
 star, the Four would never have sailed for the 
 shores of Crete. They had been hterally 
 "scared off" by the reports of friends who 
 had made the trip and had brought back hag- 
 gard faces and weary muscles for recuperation 
 in Athens. Two yoving men had lost their 
 way on the journey across the island and had 
 walked forty miles one day without food or 
 water. On their homeward voyage a terrific 
 storm had prolonged the short sea trip of six- 
 teen hours to more than twice that time and 
 had left them spent and miserable. "O," 
 groaned one as he was telling the story, "I've 
 been seasick before, but just wait till you try 
 it in one of those little Greek steamers 1 And," 
 he added as an afterthought, '^f you want to 
 ride horseback in Crete — don't! They have 
 
 real horses there and they always trot I Very 
 
 11 
 
12 THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
 painful!" And he groaned again. Three 
 American men who had taken their wives with 
 them from Athens corroborated his pathetic 
 testimony. They had made the three days' 
 horseback trip from Candia to Hagia Triada 
 and retm-n, and told of one "terrific day" with 
 "fom-teen long hours in the saddle," "a blood- 
 curdling descent of four hours," and for night 
 quarters only one room where the six had laid 
 their aching bodies on the floor and through 
 the weary hours maintained a losing fight with 
 the ever-vigilant fleas. 
 
 It was this cumulative evidence which in- 
 fluenced the Four to relegate Crete to the 
 realm of the imknowable and to substitute for 
 gleanings in new fields a calm aftermath of 
 their long season in Athens. But their calcu- 
 lations had overlooked a dynamical factor 
 which more than once had reversed well-made 
 plans and had sometimes contributed the spice 
 of danger to their never tame adventures. 
 This was the curiosity of the Scholar — the lure 
 which the unknown had always had for him, 
 
THE FOUR IN CRETE 13 
 
 since as a small boy he had once faced an in- 
 tangible terror in his first real voyage of intel- 
 lectual discovery. He had been told that any- 
 one who went to sleep in the position of a 
 corpse — ^that is, lying on the back with hands 
 folded on the breast — would die before morn- 
 ing. Long he pondered and wondered if it 
 were true, yet was afraid to risk the trial. 
 But finally his overmastering curiosity — the 
 passion to find out — ^became so strong that one 
 night the little fellow composed his limbs in 
 the proper position and with palpitating heart 
 lay in his httle bed, half skeptical,, half ex- 
 pectant. Then — he awoke to find the sua 
 shining in his face, and he knew it wasn't true! 
 He had disproved it and the lust of the in- 
 vestigator was gratified! 
 
 This first taste of the triumph of discovery 
 had created in the Scholar an insatiable appe- 
 tite which no intellectual Keely Cure had been 
 able to destroy. It was as if the mystery of the 
 remote and tmknown possessed for him a siren 
 enchantment ever luring him to some terra 
 
14 THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
 ignota. An interesting trait, to be sure, and 
 one which his three friends had encountered 
 on previous occasions, but his change of heart 
 on the Cretan matter was communicated so 
 suddenly that it rather disconcerted them. 
 Without warning or consultation he merely 
 appeared one day and annoimced that he 
 would sail for Crete the next afternoon and 
 could make arrangements for the whole party 
 if the others would but meet him on the dock. 
 There was a hesitant silence, then, "Well, my 
 boy," said the Sage, "I'll go where you go." 
 
 "And you can't drink Turkish coffee," said 
 the Coffee Angel. 
 
 "Who's afraid, anyway?" cried the Western 
 Woman. "If we get into a tight place, the 
 Scholar can pull us out. He always does !" 
 
 And so it was settled. Yet it was with 
 rather a "never-desert-Mr.-Micawber" feeling 
 that the three agreed to pack their knapsacks 
 and start for the Pirasus next day from the 
 Monastiraki Station. 
 
 Promptly at two o'clock the next afternoon 
 

 ACROPOLIS AT ATHENS 
 
 HARBOR AT CAXDIA 
 
THE FOUR IN CRETE 15 
 
 the Sage arrived and found the Coffee Angel 
 and the Western Woman guarding their queer 
 
 "I guess," began the Western Woman, and 
 the Sage laughed. He always laughed when 
 she said, "I guess." "Well, then, I think" she 
 began again, "that it's time for a train." 
 
 And just then the rumble of the electric 
 was heard from underground, and they 
 hastened down the steps to find places among 
 the third-class passengers. Here, when the 
 Sage began to crane his neck for glimpses of 
 his beloved Acropolis, a kindly Greek at once 
 gave him the seat next to the window whence 
 he could gaze upon the dear old rock and 
 Lykabettus standing nearly twice as high 
 above the sea. The Coffee Angel looked from 
 her window on the gray-green olive trees, 
 regretting that soon she would be far from 
 Attic groves; while to the Western Woman 
 the azixre sky and rose-hued hills seemed but 
 delicate dream fantasies of the vivid hues and 
 rugged shapes of her native Colorado. 
 
16 THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
 In the midst of these musings the guard's 
 cry of "Piraeus" came as rather a shock, and 
 then the Scholar appeared at the door saying, 
 hurriedly, "Don't let this fellow behind me 
 take your baggage." And they recognized the 
 smiling face of the boatman who had embarked 
 the party when they started to Chalkis. Then 
 he had been abusive because they refused to be 
 cheated by him; now, in true Greek fashion, 
 he was letting bygones be bygones and with 
 obsequious bows was proffering his most 
 friendly services. And it was interesting to 
 see his surprise and grief when the Scholar 
 handed the baggage to another man and the 
 Four headed toward the boat. The Anglo- 
 Saxon habit of holding a grudge is to the true 
 Greek inexphcable ! 
 
 II 
 
 The harbor, ever a busy place, was unus- 
 ually animated that afternoon, with several 
 men-of-war and many merchant vessels lying 
 near the quays and numerous small craft ply- 
 
THE FOUR IN CRETE 17 
 
 ing busily among them. It was rather an 
 exciting little race to the steamer, for it was 
 already sailing time, and a warning whistle 
 indicated that for once the Four had counted 
 too confidently on the habitual tardiness of 
 Greek vessels. But their little boat nosed its 
 way bravely through the various osbtructions 
 and they had still a few minutes to lean over 
 the rail of the steamer and observe the lively 
 scene through which they had just passed. "Et 
 quorum pars magna fui" cried the Scholar, 
 who was rather addicted to hackneyed quota- 
 tions. Then the shores of Pirasus began slowly 
 to recede as the vessel steamed out of the 
 harbor between the two ancient moles and held 
 in the direction of Salamis. As they passed 
 Psyttaleia with its lighthouse silhouetted 
 against the sky, the Four knew what to ex- 
 pect, for the sight of this low-lying island never 
 failed to start the Scholar on a discussion of 
 the famous battle and a description of its naval 
 maneuvers as his vivid imagination pictured 
 them. This time he had just arranged the 
 
18 THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
 Persian fleet so as to inclose the Greeks to his 
 satisfaction, had landed the flower of Xerxes' 
 soldiers on Psyttaleia, there to meet a fate so 
 contrary to their expectations, and was launch- 
 ing into the -liEschylean description of the ter- 
 rible disaster (Persians M7S.) — 
 
 There is an isle that lies ofiE Salamis, 
 Small, with bad anchorage for ships, where Pan, 
 Pan the dance-loving, haunts the sea-washed coast. 
 There Xerxes sends those men — 
 
 when, beyond the western end of the island, 
 he suddenly spied the Salaminian promontory 
 of Kynosoura pointing finger-like across the 
 waters to Athens. Then the Scholar forgot 
 his Greek and Persian fleets waiting in tense 
 expectancy for the dawning of the morrow 
 and, with a fine disregard for the anachronism, 
 began to describe the migration of the Athen- 
 ians when the oracle — or Themistocles's in- 
 terpretation of it — led them to abandon their 
 rocky citadel for divine Salamis. 
 
 "I can just see those old Athenians," he 
 said, "bidding farewell to their beloved Athens, 
 
THE FOUR IN CRETE 19 
 
 embracing the feeble and the aged, whom they 
 must leave behind, and stopping to give a last 
 pat to their domestic pets. And Xanthip- 
 pus's dog, when he saw his master embarking, 
 could not bear the separation but leaped into 
 the sea and swam beside the trireme to Salamis, 
 where he crawled out of the water only to lay 
 himself down and gasp out his last breath. His 
 burial mound is right on that tongue of land, 
 and if you don't believe the story the name is 
 proof positive, for Kynosoura means 'dog's 
 tail' to this day. To be sure," he added 
 judicially, "it proves just as positively that 
 he swam across the Gulf of Marathon; but I 
 think that was another dog!" 
 
 "He was a great old romancer, was Plu- 
 tarch," laughed the Sage, "and I, for one, like 
 to beheve his stories. Even if they weren't 
 true, they so easily might have been true." 
 
 "At any rate, he didn't make this one up 
 out of whole cloth," replied the Scholar, "for 
 Aristotle told it long before his day. A critical 
 study of Plut^rcli's sources — '" 
 
20 THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
 But here the Western Woman, who cared 
 not a whit for Plutarch's sources, drew the 
 Coffee Angel away on a tour of inspection. 
 She had noticed that they were now sailing 
 south headed for the open sea, and it seemed 
 expedient to learn the location of their state- 
 room and to make provision for a speedy dis- 
 robing, should that later prove desirable. They 
 were back on deck in time to see the Scholar 
 point out Cape Kolias on the Attic coast and 
 to hear him tell how the wrecks of the 
 Persian ships were dashed upon this shore, 
 carried by the west wind from Salamis. And 
 then they all settled down to a calm enjoyment 
 of the beautiful coast views of Attica. 
 
 The steamer was one of the Goudes line and 
 was palatial compared with the one which had 
 taken the Four to Chalkis and with the one, 
 alas! in which they were destined to return 
 from Crete. It had a number of staterooms 
 and actually a dining room with eatables to be 
 had, so that the precaution of bringing lunch 
 from Athens proved quite a needless one. But 
 
THE FOUR IN CRETE 21 
 
 it was pleasant to have a picnic supper on 
 deck, and to watch the changing sunset tints 
 and to catch the gleam of Sunium's snow-white 
 columns as the purple twihght fell. That was 
 the last happy moment of the day, for as the 
 boat passed beyond the protection of Attica 
 the swell of the open sea began to make itself 
 felt and the passengers, one after another, left 
 the deck. 
 
 Ill 
 
 The Coffee Angel slept the sleep of the 
 good sailor and the Western Woman got 
 through the night without confessing herself 
 beaten. But next morning it took her an hour 
 to dress, and when she finally appeared on 
 deck the steamer was just mooring outside 
 the little harbor of Candia, and a score of row- 
 boats manned by sturdy oarsmen were racing 
 toward the vessel to secure the patronage of 
 disembarking passengers. The Sage was list- 
 lessly leaning over the rail looking toward 
 the town, while the Scholar indicated the 
 
22 THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
 points of interest which his keen eyes had 
 discovered. 
 
 "There she is, there's Candia all right," he 
 cried, "and look at the little minarets sticking 
 up above the town ! That's due to the Turkish 
 element, you know, for the Turks got the island 
 in the seventeenth century and a lot of Mo- 
 hammedans still live here. But the Venetians 
 built the fortifications before that, and good 
 and strong they were and are to this day. 
 That's a part of the Venetian city wall there 
 along the water's edge and it goes all around 
 the town. And that's a good little fort that 
 we have to pass by when we row into the 
 harbor. And what's that hill jutting up be- 
 yond the town? Can it be — yes, it must be 
 Mount Juktas, the burial place of Zeus!" 
 
 But the Sage was not listening and turned 
 a dismal face to the Western Woman as she 
 wished him good morning. He had rendered 
 tribute to Neptune several times during the 
 night and was now suffering the pangs of the 
 utterly empty. But he brightened as the 
 
THE FOUR IN CRETE 23 
 
 Coffee Angel offered him a cup of hot coffee, 
 and it was quite a cheerful party which de- 
 scended into the rowboat. The little trip from 
 steamer to shore, however, with the hot sun 
 beating down, proved too much for the philos- 
 ophy of the Western Woman, who ignomin- 
 iously reclined with her head over the rail and 
 joined the Sage's lodge ! She paid no attention 
 to the Scholar, who was admiring the Venetian 
 fortifications as the boat passed through the 
 narrow opening, but within the harbor the 
 water was tranquil and she looked respectfully 
 at the lion of Saint Mark high up in the 
 fortress wall and felt quite steady as the boat 
 drew up to the landing. 
 
 The customs examination consisted in a 
 careless glance at the outside of the shabby 
 knapsacks, so the dozen oranges which the 
 Scholar had bought in Athens were not dis- 
 covered and the officer, not understanding 
 English, did not know that the Sage's remark 
 about "carrying coals to Newcastle" was 
 evoked by the great hampers of the golden 
 
24 THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
 balls awaiting loading for export. However, 
 the customs house in itself was ordeal enough, 
 with its dirt and its slaughter-house odors, and 
 gave a rather depressing first impression of 
 Candia. 
 
 IV 
 
 It was but a short walk up the main street 
 to the very modern post office and the Hotel 
 Knossos across from it. Though at most 
 Greek hotels the chambermaids are men, here 
 the Four found a motherly old woman, who 
 on first acquaintance tenderly embraced the 
 Coffee Angel and addressed the Western 
 Woman as "my child" (ffofdj fiov). "O," whis- 
 pered the Western Woman, who had read 
 a little Homer, "what a perfectly lovely old 
 Eurykleia! And see, she's hanging my cloak 
 on a peg!" And she pointed to a shiny 
 American clothes-tree in the corner fairly 
 bristling with inviting pegs. 
 
 There was still time before lunch for a short 
 visit to the musetmi, but the ladies declared 
 
THE FOUR IN CRETE 25 
 
 they would rather stay with "Eurykleia," and 
 the Western Woman essayed to send her for 
 hot water to be used for coffee. For a moment 
 the old woman looked bewildered, then her face 
 cleared and she trotted off and the Western 
 Woman turned to find the Scholar convulsed 
 with laughter, "What's the matter?" she de- 
 manded, "wasn't my Greek right?" 
 
 "Well, hardly," he gasped. "You said 
 eiXofiev feffxd vepd vd irivu, which really means, 
 'We want polished water that I may drink!' 
 The old lady is doubtless used to foreigners 
 who confuse the words for 'polished' and 'hot' 
 (<fe<7T6), but I doubt if she's ever heard a woman 
 say the whole party wants water for her to 
 drink." 
 
 "Well, she's a polite old soul, anyway, for 
 she didn't laugh," snapped the Western 
 Woman, "and we'll drink the coffee while you 
 go to the museum." 
 
 So the men set off alone. At the end of an 
 hour they returned, the Scholar talking rather 
 excitedly about a "ruby-lipped lady" he had 
 
26 THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
 seen, while the Sage smiled indulgently at his 
 boyishness. Nor could any questioning elicit 
 information about the treasures in the museum. 
 Apparently, the Scholar had seen only the 
 "ruby-lipped lady." 
 
PART TWO 
 
PART TWO 
 
 V 
 
 By unanimous consent the horseback trip 
 across the island was to begin the next morn- 
 ing; but this first afternoon was too fine to be 
 wasted, so a visit to Knossos was planned. 
 The Western Woman listened awhile to the 
 discussion and then flatly refused to be one 
 of the party. "I don't care a bit for ruins," 
 she said, candidly. "I live in Denver where 
 we don't have them and I hke modern up-to- 
 date things. No grandmothers' samplers or 
 mediaeval castles for me, much less such a 
 venerable antique as Knossos must be. Why, 
 you say the building is three or four thousand 
 years old! I can't imagine such a lapse of 
 time, and it wouldn't do me any good to look 
 at a lot of old stones, anyway. You folks may 
 go, but I shall stay here and photograph some 
 of these queer street scenes." 
 
 "But, my dear lady," expostulated the 
 
 29 
 
30 THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
 Scholar, "the ruins may be old but the dis- 
 covery of them is new! Why, the public didn't 
 really know where this palace was, or that 
 it existed at all, before nineteen hundred — a 
 little more than ten years ago. I tell you it's 
 an up-to-date twentieth century theme and you 
 are behind the times if you don't know some- 
 thing about it! Even the American news- 
 papers have given these new discoveries space! 
 I tell you, you'd better go!" 
 
 "O, well," conceded the Western Woman, 
 "if it's really a new subject, I'll go. What 
 train do we take?" 
 
 The Scholar laughed, for there are neither 
 street cars nor railroads in Crete, though one 
 has a choice of several other methods of loco- 
 motion. The two-wheeled cart called "sousta" 
 is a common sight and horseback riding is 
 fashionable, though it presents some problems 
 to the iminitiated. The saddle is like that 
 commonly used by Greek peasants — a sort of 
 "broad-backed saw-horse made of boards, 
 anchored fore and aft," over which a rug may 
 
THE FOUR IN CRETE 31 
 
 be thrown to make it soft. But whereas in 
 Greece the peasants — ^not only the women but 
 often the men — ride sideways with both feet 
 supported by the one rope, in Crete fashion 
 seems to dictate two metal stirrups, one on 
 either side, quite in European manner, and 
 the men apparently prefer to ride cross- 
 saddle. For the three-mile drive to Knossos 
 there are also very comfortable carriages to be 
 had, and the Four, mindful of the dreaded 
 "fovirteen hours in the saddle" which the mor- 
 row had in store, chose this means of con- 
 veyance. 
 
 The route took them along the main street 
 to the principal square, where the Morosini 
 fountain, with its sculptured lions supporting 
 the upper basin and its carvings in low relief, 
 still testifies to the Venetian glory that once 
 was here and serves as a pleasant rendezvous 
 for Cretan gentlemen of leisure. In the late 
 afternoon a few trees provide a grateful shade 
 and tables set out from an adjacent cafe invite 
 the stroller to sip a cup of coffee while he dis- 
 
32 THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
 cusses the day's happenings with a casual 
 acquaintance. 
 
 On several later occasions the Four found 
 this center of Candian civic life presenting an 
 animated appearance, for Turkey had just 
 closed the Dardanelles and the eagerness for 
 war news ensured a full attendance at this 
 al fresco club. On this day, however, the tables 
 were almost empty, for it was as yet only two 
 o'clock and the sun was beating quite fiercely 
 on the white paving about the foimtain. One 
 old beau was just arriving and seemed nothing 
 loth to leave on the camera a permanent im- 
 pression of his picturesque costume. It con- 
 sisted of high boots, baggy island trousers of 
 some dark-blue stuff, with a tight-fitting jacket 
 buttoned on one side, ani a broad sash of the 
 same material. A Turkish fez set on the top 
 of his head and a woolen coat jaimtily thrown 
 over one shoulder completed the costume — ^the 
 whole being adjusted with an eye to effect too 
 often wanting in Greece. Indeed, the Cretans 
 might be pardoned for some personal vanity, 
 
A CRETAN GENTLEMAN OF LEISURE 
 
 MOROSINI FOUNTAIN 
 
THE FOUR IN CRETE 33 
 
 for the men are tall and well proportioned and 
 have an air of prosperity and well-being which 
 is in marked contrast to the rather painful 
 evidences of poverty and malnutrition to be 
 noticed on the mainland. 
 
 VI 
 
 To strike the road to Knossos one leaves the 
 city by the south gate. Here the Venetian 
 wall is so thick and the passage through it so 
 gloomy that the timid stranger, not used to 
 walled cities, experiences a chill of fear as he 
 passes the grim Turkish-looking guards; and 
 he heaves a sigh of relief when a sudden turn 
 to the left reveals the bright sunshine of the 
 outer world. The road is good and is con- 
 stantly being worked, if one may judge from 
 the steam rollers to be seen along its course. 
 On the left side not far from the gate is a 
 Turkish cemetery, with its queer turban-topped 
 tombstones, and in the foregroimd was one 
 little white lamb, looking strangely out of 
 place in its Mohammedan surroundings. 
 
34 THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
 "I wonder if that marks the grave of some 
 American baby," said the Sage; "it's quite a 
 favorite design in cemeteries at home. Dear, 
 dear, what an awful tragedy that must have 
 been!" But hereupon the lamb bobbed its 
 head as it tugged at some obstreperous stem 
 and then went on contentedly nibbling, un- 
 disturbed by the sad fate of the suppositional 
 baby. The Four greeted it with a shout of 
 laughter, their cheerfulness quite restored, for 
 even a cemetery easily loses all suggestion of 
 gloom in this landscape of waving grains and 
 brilliant flowers. The Sage, who had devoted 
 one summer of enforced leisure to botanizing 
 in the Minnesota woods, kept a loving eye 
 on the countless blossoms, exclaiming now and 
 then when he spied some special favorite and 
 once stopping the carriage to pick an orchid 
 which was of a species unknown to him. The 
 Coffee Angel too was somewhat of a botanist 
 and shared his ecstasy over the delicate flower, 
 though the Western Woman and the Scholar 
 had to confess utter ignorance on the posy 
 
THE FOUR IN CRETE 35 
 
 question. But they all understood when, with 
 a very tender look on his fine face, the Sage 
 carefully laid the blossom in the little book 
 which he carried in the inside pocket of his 
 vest. The dear Sage! They sometimes won- 
 dered which he loved best, his flowers, or his 
 wife, or his Greek! There seemed something 
 sacred about all three, and he lapsed into a 
 revery which his companions did not wish to 
 disturb. 
 
 The driver, however, had no such scruples 
 and, suddenly turning his horses to the east, 
 drove a few yards away from the main road 
 and then stopped with the laconic remark, 
 "Knossos." The Four descended, but in some 
 bewilderment, for the imposing ruins which 
 they had expected to see nowhere loomed up 
 against the horizon. Then, on a rather flat 
 area, some low gray walls were seen, and 
 straight ahead, at the end of a long narrow 
 stone walk, the Scholar spied some massive 
 steps and, with a whoop like an Indian war 
 QTj, hurdled the stoiie causeway, sprang im- 
 
36 THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
 petuously up the steps, and stood at the top 
 waving his cap and shouting to the others to 
 "come on!" But the Sage was looking 
 dreamily about as if recognizing old famihar 
 scenes; the Coffee Angel was diligently 
 consulting her Baedeker and trying to read 
 it aloud to the Western Woman, who, lazily 
 remarking that the Scholar had probably 
 read up the whole literature, was lending but 
 scant attention and was gazing at Mount 
 Juktas dominating the horizon toward the 
 south. She was a corpulent person, not much 
 given to mental or physical exertion, and al- 
 ways content to accept the results of another's 
 intellectual browsing. "I suppose," she began, 
 as she reached the Scholar, who was fairly 
 dancing with impatience, "that these are the 
 front steps of this wonderful palace and that 
 this stone way was the front sidewalk." 
 
 "No!" cried the Scholar, "that's exactly 
 what they are not! That's the front door of 
 the palace, right over there, and you see these 
 steps have nothing to do with it," 
 
THEATRAL AREA AT KNOSSOS 
 
 |r^^ 
 
 
 GRAND STAIRWAY AT PH^STOS 
 
THE FOUR IN CRETE 37 
 
 "But," queried the Western Woman, "where 
 do these steps lead? They must have led 
 somewhere some time." 
 
 "'No," insisted the Scholar, "they never can 
 have led anywhere. This is what they call the 
 Theatral Area. You see, there are two flights. 
 This set had eighteen or twenty steps and that 
 other, with only five or six, joins this at right 
 angles. And the people used to sit here to 
 watch the games as they were played on this 
 paved space at the foot of the steps." 
 
 "What games? Bullfights?" questioned the 
 Western Woman. 
 
 "Well," explained the Scholar, "we don't 
 know that the Minoans ever had real Spanish 
 bullfights, but we do know that they had other 
 games with bulls — ^vaulting and grappling — 
 for the Sage and I saw the evidences in the 
 museum." 
 
 "O," teased the Western Woman, "I sup- 
 posed you saw only the ruby-lipped lady this 
 morning — that's all you talked about." 
 
 The Scholar blushed and, with unnecessary 
 
38 THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
 dignity, replied: "In the museum I saw a 
 fresco which used to adorn a wall in this very 
 palace. It's a picture of a bull, charging with 
 full force, and a boy — a toreador — who has 
 evidently turned a somersault over the bull's 
 back and is just about to alight behind him, 
 where a girl is standing holding out her hands. 
 There's another girl standing in front ready to 
 catch the bull's horns and vault as the boy has 
 done. And in the museum I saw a buU's 
 head done in hard plaster and painted — ^the 
 head is dark-red and the horn a grayish blue. 
 It's great! And it was found not far from 
 where we are now — ^near the front entrance. 
 And," with waxing enthusiasm, "in the museum 
 there are two dandy little ivory figures, about 
 a foot high, of toreadors, suspended by wires 
 just as they probably were suspended over 
 ivory bulls to make a mantle group for some 
 Minoan living-room." 
 
 "But," objected the Western Woman, 
 "spectators wouldn't have found these seats a 
 safe plac^ when a ma4 bull was plunging 
 
THE FOUR IN CRETE 39 
 
 around. They are too near the scene of 
 action." 
 
 "O, well," said the Scholar, "they had other 
 games besides bullfights. For in the museum 
 there's a funnel-shaped stone vase from Hagia 
 Triada — one of the towns we shall see, if that 
 'blood-curdling descent' doesn't finish us be- 
 fore we get there. Well, this is a slender vase 
 and not more than a foot and a half high, but 
 it shows that these Minoans indulged not only 
 in bull-grapphng but also in the sports of the 
 prize ring. There are boxers on this vase, and 
 they seem to understand the business all right. 
 So this theater may have been used for boxing 
 matches. Or who knows but that they had 
 their grand balls here! King Minos and his 
 ladies may have sat here in this corner where 
 the royal box is supposed to have been, and the 
 rest of the 'four hundred' probably looked on 
 from these seats while the young folks danced 
 on this paved area as the Greeks do now on 
 the old threshing floors. They evidently liked 
 to see dancing, for I saw in the museum a 
 
40 THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
 mural painting from the queen's sitting room. 
 (It's a room somewhere in this building — ^we'll 
 have to hunt it up before we leave.) This 
 fresco pictures some dancing girls, and one of 
 them is — well, she's a dark-eyed, dimpled 
 beauty, that's all. I hke to imagine that one 
 day, while old King Minos and his court were 
 having a palace party here and 'fair-haired 
 Ariadne' and some of her girl friends were 
 dancing, Theseus came walking up that stone 
 way, bringing from his ship the unfortunate 
 Athenian youths and maidens to be devoured 
 by the Minotaur. I can just imagine how 
 Theseus felt when he saw Ariadne dancing 
 here." 
 
 "Just as you felt when you saw the ruby- 
 lipped lady," laughed the Western Woman. 
 
 "After we get back from that horseback 
 trip I'll introduce you to the ruby-lipped lady," 
 answered the Scholar. "But there's the guard 
 and he's waiting to receive us at the front door, 
 where distinguished guests used to enter in 
 King Minos's time!" 
 
THE FOUR IN CRETE 41 
 
 VII 
 
 By this time the Four were again united 
 and the Scholar began to question the guard. 
 "He says," interpreted the Scholar, "that he's 
 standing on the foundation of the guardhouse 
 and that this was the only fortified entrance 
 the palace had and that there never was a wall 
 about the place. I asked him why, and he 
 doesn't know, but that's easy to understand, 
 for King Minos had a big fleet and it would 
 have been difficult for enemies to land on his 
 island, and a small guard could have quelled 
 any local disturbance. What's he saying now? 
 It's hard for me to rmderstand him, for this 
 is my first chance at the Cretan dialect and he 
 pronovmces the k hke tch. O, I understand. 
 He's talking about eleven pillars and says this 
 was the north colonnade. And here are the 
 pillars — or, rather, the stone bases of them, for 
 the pillars were of wood and perished long 
 ago when the palace burned. And he says 
 that this passage and the rough steps we are 
 coming to lead into the Central Court, but that 
 
42 THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
 first we'd better climb over those stones and 
 look at the bathroom. He says it's very beauti- 
 ful, which makes me suspicious. Don't you 
 remember the driver used those very words to 
 describe the ramshackle old vehicle which took 
 us to Sunium? Queer idea, to have a bath at 
 the front door, wasn't it? Maybe it wasn't a 
 bathroom after all!" And thus the Scholar 
 rambled on, now questioning the guard and 
 interpreting to the others, now interspersing 
 comments of his own. 
 
 Meantime the Four had turned and had 
 scrambled over the ruined walls to a spot per- 
 haps forty paces west from the entrance and 
 had foimd the so-called bath. It proved to 
 be a small room below the general level, en- 
 tered by a fine stone stairway which first fol- 
 lowed the north wall and then, turning at right 
 angles, continued along the western side of the 
 room. The inner edge of the stairway was 
 bordered by a low parapet of gypsum slabs 
 terminating at the bottom in a queerly shaped 
 block — a square slab with a disklike projection 
 
THE FOUR IN CRETE 43 
 
 on top. This the Scholar fell to examining 
 very carefully, running his fingers over it in 
 what the Western Woman called his Montes- 
 sori method; and he explained that it was a 
 piUar-base still in its original position, though 
 the wooden pillar had long since perished. 
 Then the guard pointed with evident pride to 
 the finely squared limestone blocks of the wall 
 where the workmanship had been exposed by 
 the disintegration of the gypsum facing, and 
 these stones too the Scholar affectionately 
 caressed. 
 
 "Well," said the Western Woman some- 
 what impatiently, "Z can't see any reason for 
 so much enthusiasm. This looks to me like 
 merely an aristocratic cellar, and too small at 
 that, but I suppose I'll be sorry later if I don't 
 use my camera." And she pointed it down 
 into the sunken room and got a picture of the 
 gypsima-paved floor, the fine side-wall, part 
 of the steps and the parapet with the pillar- 
 base at the bottom, and the knees and the 
 guidebook of the Coffee Angel, who had seated 
 
44 THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
 herself on the parapet with her Baedeker 
 spread open on her lap. 
 
 "I can't see," she continued as she wound 
 off the film, "how they could have used a bath 
 which had no outlet for the water." The 
 Scholar looked a little bored — the Western 
 Woman, though a well-meaning person, some- 
 times did annoy him — then he said: "You re- 
 mind me of the New England woman who 
 visited her Southern friends before the war. 
 At breakfast the first morning waffles were 
 served, two little black children running back 
 and forth between dining room and outside 
 kitchen bringing fresh relays of the smoking 
 delicacy. 'I should think,' she observed, 'that 
 it would save labor if you had your kitchen in 
 the house. How many steps this rimning back 
 and forth must cause I' 'Why,' said her host 
 in some surprise, 'what would the little picka- 
 ninnies do then? We must have something to 
 keep them busy.' You forget that King Minos 
 didn't live in Denver, where you pay an un- 
 trained maid thirty dollars per month. He 
 
THE FOUR IN CRETE 45 
 
 had a legion of slaves at work in this palace, 
 and one of their duties may have been to 'tote' 
 water into this bath and to remove it after it 
 had been used." 
 
 As they talked they had been slowly retrac- 
 ing their steps in the direction of the northern 
 entrance, but now stopped to receive some in- 
 formation which the guard evidently considered 
 important. The Scholar was puzzled and 
 shook his head as he turned away. "I can't 
 make it out. He calls this place next to the 
 bath a porch and says it had little pictures 
 on it." 
 
 "Little pictures," repeated the Sage as they 
 walked on ; "why, he must mean the miniature 
 frescoes which created such a stir when they 
 were discovered. Don't you remember how 
 astonished people were to find such pictures in 
 this ancient palace? They were evidently 
 court ladies and would have made good illus- 
 trations for a modern fashion plate — all frills 
 and furbelows and ruffles and tucks; no flow- 
 ing gowns, such as we should expect, but elab- 
 
46 THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
 orate decollete dresses; no simple braids or 
 coils of hair, but the fancy puflfs and curls of 
 the modem hairdresser. So that they look 
 more like modern Parisians than ancient 
 women as we have imagined them to be. And 
 there were pictures of men also, and altogether 
 we get quite a good idea of the appearance 
 of these Minoan belles and their attendant 
 squires." 
 
 By this time they had reached the long, 
 stepped passage which led into the Central 
 Court of the palace. On either side were re- 
 mains of massive walls of limestone — ^not 
 gypsum here, as this had been the fortified 
 entrance. 
 
 "I read somewhere," said the Scholar, "that 
 the North Bath, which we have just seen, was 
 buried during the later years of the palace but 
 that this entrance was always in use. So we 
 are treading on stones which many feet have 
 pressed. But what in the world is the Coffee 
 Angel doing?" 
 
 She had been walking a little ahead of the 
 
THE FOUR IN CRETE 47 
 
 others and was now peering down into a deep, 
 walled pit with a flight of wooden steps ex- 
 tending to the bottom. "I was thinking," she 
 said, "how much I should like to have some 
 of those lovely ferns, and I was wondering 
 what kind of a place this is — ^whether it is a 
 shaft left by the excavators to be filled up later 
 or whether it belonged to the real Minoan 
 palace." 
 
 "I'll ask the guard," said the Scholar, and, 
 after a few minutes' conversation, reported: 
 "He calls this a prison of Minos and says 
 there are five or six of them. This must be 
 where Minos kept his prisoners of war. Let's 
 all go down and pretend we're captives and 
 slaves being fattened to feed the Minotaur! 
 Or maybe we might save our lives by becoming 
 toreadors and amusing the populace!" "I 
 think," interrupted the Sage, who had been 
 testing the rickety steps, "that these are pretty 
 flimsy steps and that some of us had better 
 stay on top to pull up the imhappy captives 
 in case they give way. The walls look very 
 
48 THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
 smooth and it's twenty or thirty feet to the 
 bottom." 
 
 "That's so," agreed the Scholar. "WeU, I'm 
 the hghtest, so here goes!" And before any- 
 one could stop him he had run hghtly down 
 and was standing in the dense growth of ferns 
 at the bottom, reaching up his hands and 
 pleading piteously, "Mercy on the poor cap- 
 tive, if it be but a bite of bread!" Then he 
 began to pull up bunches of the coarse brake 
 and reached a feathery cluster of maidenhair 
 fern that grew from the side wall and was 
 back again with an armful of the coveted green 
 beauties which he presented with a flourish 
 to the Coffee Angel. 
 
 A few steps more and they were in the Cen- 
 tral Court of the palace, a noble paved area of 
 twenty thousand square feet, its long diameter 
 extending from north to south. If Minos 
 cared to impress strangers with his wealth and 
 power, this great space, open to the sky and 
 surrounded by piles of masonry, must have 
 contributed to the desired effect. A foreign 
 
THE FOUR IN CRETE 49 
 
 guest, coming from some less splendid life to 
 King Minos's palace, must have been awed on 
 suddenly emerging from the north corridor 
 into this vast piazza. He must have seen 
 courtiers strolling about and pages hurrying 
 on errands and servants passing to and fro. 
 And then, if he was granted an audience with 
 King Minos, he must have been invited to pass 
 down a flight of four broad steps into the 
 shady portico before the royal audience cham- 
 ber, there to wait till Minos was ready to 
 receive him. 
 
 VIII 
 
 This royal suite is now protected by a 
 modern roof, and the dim light within is a 
 pleasant relief to eyes wearied by the incessant 
 glare of the southern svm. Through the por- 
 tico passed the Foxir and into the room beyond, 
 a small apartment, where they saw an object 
 which compelled a moment of awed reverence 
 — the gypsum throne of King Minos, standing 
 where it had stood for over three thousand 
 
50 THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
 years! They were silent as they gazed, the 
 Sage and the Scholar doubtless reviewing the 
 historical associations, the Coffee Angel en- 
 joying the beautiful lines, and the Western 
 Woman trying to realize that the shadowy 
 Minos of her high-school Vergil was an actual 
 person and had sat in that chair. The Scholar, 
 whom nothing could long subdue, was the first 
 to recover. "Come," he cried gayly, "the Sage 
 shall be King Minos and sit on the throne, and 
 I'll be Theseus just come from Athens to slay 
 the Minotaur! And the ladies may rest on 
 this stone bench, running around the wall, 
 where councilors used to sit, and the guard out 
 there peeping through the door may represent 
 the curious court ladies and gentlemen eager 
 to hear my fate! The excavators think that 
 this tank opposite the throne was the bath 
 where guests could wash off the dust of travel 
 and they have put up these wooden columns, 
 which divide it from the throne room, to show 
 how it must have looked in olden times. They 
 say that this bath is a little different from that 
 
THE FOUR IN CRETE 51 
 
 other one we saw, for this was a real impluvium 
 and the rain water could drop into it. I'll 
 just run down the steps and see if there's any 
 water there now. No, all dry," he rattled on as 
 he came bounding up the steps, "and no way 
 to let out the water that I can see. I suppose 
 the slaves had to dip it out." Then, striking 
 an attitude in front of the Sage, who had 
 yielded to his whim and was seated on the 
 royal throne, "Now, King Minos, do your 
 worst! I am Theseus and I shall slay your 
 Minotaur and make love to your daughter. 
 But you'll have to treat me pretty well any- 
 way, for, remember, I am the son of King 
 iBgeus!" 
 
 But just then the Sage sprang from the 
 chair in undignified haste. He had turned in 
 time to see the Western Woman trying to 
 photograph him as he occupied the royal 
 throne! "No, no," he said hurriedly, "that 
 would be desecration ! There's a halo of myth 
 and romance about this ancient throne which 
 makes it a sacred thing!" And the Western 
 
52 THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
 Woman had to be content with a picture of 
 the empty chair. 
 
 It is a beautiful thing in itself, however, as 
 it stands against the north wall, with its simple, 
 graceful palmette back and the Gothic window 
 lines of the lower part. The wall fresco at 
 the left has been restored to give some idea of 
 the appearance of the room in Minoan times 
 when pictures of tranquil rivers flowing 
 through grasses and reeds suggested refresh- 
 ing vistas to dwellers in this dusty land. An 
 aggressive design decorated the west wall, 
 where winged dragons faced each other on 
 either side of a door leading into a dark room. 
 Here many a weary visitor probably enjoyed 
 an afternoon siesta, but it does not answer to 
 modern prophylactic ideas about sunshine and 
 ventilation, and the Four voted it a gloomy 
 resting place. They turned back to the audi- 
 ence chamber for a silent moment of farewell 
 and made a lowly obeisance to the throne of 
 Minos. Then, walking a little further south in 
 the Central Court, they turned down some 
 
THE THRONE 
 
THE FOUR IN CRETE 53 
 
 steps leading to the right and presently found 
 themselves in the so-called pillar rooms. 
 
 IX 
 
 ThesEj like most of the palace ruins, are 
 open to the sky, but it is easy to trace the walls 
 of two connecting rooms. In the center of 
 each still stands a pillar of four huge gypsum 
 blocks, each block showing a peculiar mark in- 
 cised on its side. 
 
 "What do those scratches mean?" asked the 
 Coffee Angel. 
 
 The Scholar laughed. "I'm afraid to say," 
 he replied, "for it sounds like such a fairy tale ; 
 but it's a tempting theory. The mark, you see, 
 looks like a double ax-head. Well, the Carian 
 for that is lahrys. Now, the double ax seems 
 to have been a sacred emblem of Zeus. In the 
 museum I saw bronze double axes from the 
 cave of Dicte, the birthplace of Zeus. Also 
 there's a title of Zeus which plays a role in this 
 theory — Labraxmda. Evans puts these items 
 
54 THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
 together and decides that this palace is the 
 house of the lahrys, that is, of the ax sacred to 
 Zeus. And he connects this with the story that 
 Minos had a 'labyrinth' for his Minotaur and 
 concludes that 'labyrinth' is derived from 
 lahrys, and that this palace is nothing less than 
 the world-famed abode of the savage beast; 
 and that because the palace is so big and intri- 
 cate, therefore the word 'labyrinth' has come 
 to mean any mazelike structure, I confess 
 that's pretty hard for me to swallow, and yet, 
 why strain at a gnat, especially such a pleasing 
 one? For the prosaic mind there's another 
 explanation — that these are merely masons' 
 marks to remind the workmen where the blocks 
 were to be placed when the pillars were being 
 built. This deprives the Minotaur of his 
 palace home, but there's another place I'd 
 rather have kept him anyway — a quarry which 
 we may be able to visit on our horseback trip. 
 Lots of people call that the labyrinth. But 
 now the guard is saying that we must hurry 
 on, that we've been here over an hour and 
 
THE FOUR IN CRETE 55 
 
 haven't seen a third of the place yet, and he 
 wants to show us the great stairway." 
 
 X 
 
 This is on the opposite side of the Central 
 Court and the Four crossed the great area and 
 began to descend into the gloom. It is a noble 
 flight of broad stone steps with a low balus- 
 trade surmounted by short, thick columns 
 which "taper larger toward the top," said the 
 Scholar. But the Western Woman insisted 
 that they must be described as tapering to- 
 ward the bottom, since they are smaller at 
 the base. 
 
 "At any rate, here they stand," replied the 
 Scholar, a little nettled, "these queer Minoan 
 columns, just as the originals stood before the 
 fierce conflagration, which destroyed the 
 palace, had consumed them. You see, we've 
 come down several flights and this corridor is 
 a little lighter, for it is right next to the light- 
 shaft which illimiinated these lower rooms." 
 
 "I can't see why they dug so far down to 
 
56 THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
 build these rooms," said the Western Woman. 
 
 "They didn't," answered the Scholar. "They 
 had to build this way because the hill slopes 
 so suddenly on the east side. The west half 
 of the palace was two stories high, and here on 
 the east they had to build on the hillside, so 
 they made perhaps five stories, with the fourth 
 story on a level with the Central Court, where 
 we started down. These rooms were for the 
 family, and they must have been much quieter 
 than the ones around the Central Court." 
 
 "But weren't they gloomy, 'way down here?" 
 went on the Western Woman. 
 
 "O, no," said the Scholar; "you see, this 
 light-well has no wall around it, only pillars, 
 so that it illuminates the stairway and corridor 
 and one other room. And then comes another 
 light-well with only pillars between it and that 
 big room east of it. And that room is open 
 on the south and east to a pillared portico 
 which got the direct simlight." And he 
 stooped to feel of one of the stone bases which 
 had supported a column of the portico. 
 
THE FOUR IN CRETE 57 
 
 "The men probably sat here," commented 
 the Sage, "when the heat of the Central Court 
 drove them to seek cooler quarters. It must 
 have been delightful to rest here summer 
 afternoons and enjoy the view over this little 
 valley." 
 
 "Yes, these rooms belonged to the men," 
 said the Scholar, "and the guard says that if 
 we want to see the queen's apartments we 
 must go through this crooked passage." 
 
 It led the Fom* first south a few steps, then 
 abruptly west, then south again, meriting its 
 nickname of the "dog's leg corridor," and 
 ushered them into a space which had evidently 
 been a long room divided by a transverse row 
 of pillars. "This is where they fovmd the 
 dark-haired, dimpled beauty — ^not the 'ruby- 
 lipped lady,' but the dancing girl I told you 
 about," said the Scholar. "She and some 
 other dancing maidens were in a fresco on the 
 north wall of this room, and the effect must 
 have been quite worthy of the royal ladies who 
 used to gather here. Theirs was no life of 
 
58 THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
 sadness and privation, judging from these 
 quarters, full of beauty and color. There's a 
 light- well on the east, you see, and another on 
 the south, and there was a bright stucco sur- 
 face to reflect the light into the room. And 
 this stucco was no glaring, unadorned wall, 
 but the excavators found fragments of differ- 
 ent mural paintings and reliefs. I like best 
 the one of these little dancers, with their deli- 
 cate draperies of gay colors floating about them 
 as they turn in the movements of the dance. 
 But here, too, as well as in the room of the 
 throne, were scenes suggestive of a quiet en- 
 joyment of nature. One is a beautiful little 
 marine which I saw in the museum — a bit of 
 sea with fishes swimming and scattering the 
 spray about. And there's a fragment of a 
 gay plumaged bird — red, yellow, and blue 
 feathers. O, they lived in luxury, these 
 Minoan ladies, with their fine costumes and 
 frescoed rooms and toilet conveniences. 
 There's another bathroom here, and a frag- 
 ment of the portable tub has been f oimd. And 
 
P 
 E-i 
 
 M 
 fq 
 
THE FOUR IN CRETE 59 
 
 did you notice that terra-cotta tub we passed 
 before we came in here?" 
 
 "Yes," said the Western Woman, dryly, 
 "it's a close copy of my porcelain tub at home, 
 and you expect me to believe that these Mi- 
 noans used it more than three thousand years 
 ago ! You'U be telling me next that this palace 
 was lighted with electricity!" And she stalked 
 indignantly away. 
 
 And, indeed, her credulity had been severely 
 tested, for in various parts of the palace the 
 Four had run upon evidences of hydraulic and 
 sanitary knowledge which seemed nothing 
 short of marvelous. In one place was a great 
 stone channel, lined with cement, which re- 
 ceived the rain water conveyed from the roof 
 in smaller channels, thus providing for a flush- 
 ing of the drains. In another part they had 
 foxmd some of the terra-cotta pipes which con- 
 nected various sections of the drainage system 
 with the conduit. In fact, this elaborate sys- 
 tem, combined with the slope of the hill, must 
 have made the Minoan palace more sanitary 
 
60 THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
 than many of the modern towns in Greece. 
 All this the Western Woman had seen with 
 wonder and had patiently tried to grasp, but 
 the strain was making itself felt and she longed 
 to escape from this atmosphere of remote 
 antiquity. So it was with relief that she 
 emerged from the royal rooms and stood alone 
 under the blue sky. At her feet lay broken 
 walls and fragments of stone, but her gaze 
 swept past these to the Turkish country house 
 nestling by the little stream in the valley and 
 then followed the white road winding south- 
 ward around the hill. 
 
 XI 
 
 It was a fair prospect and she could have 
 enjoyed it longer had not her curiosity been 
 roused by a modern structure which she soon 
 noticed near her on the right. It was a crude 
 stone hut of cheap construction, with a small 
 window in the south end. She walked over and 
 peered through the panes of glass. Within she 
 saw a tiny room, not over five feet square, 
 
THE FOUR IN CRETE 61 
 
 brightened at the far end by the sionlight which 
 streamed through a tiny window in the west 
 wall. The shaft of light struck full upon a 
 grotesque little object and printed its weird 
 shadow on the rough wall. 
 
 To the Western Woman it suggested the 
 Indian idols of Denver curio stores, but she 
 had never seen one so curiously fashioned. 
 The figure was of clay, six or eight inches 
 high, and the upper half seemed to be a rude 
 representation of the human body with the 
 arms curled round in front of the breast; but 
 at the waist the human figure was merged into 
 a cylinder which reminded one of an exag- 
 gerated hoop skirt. "Well, of all things!" 
 ejaculated the Western Woman, with her face 
 glued against the window pane. Then, as her 
 eyes became accustomed to the gloom of the 
 unlighted corners, she studied the arrange- 
 ment of the little room. From wall to wall 
 across the far end extended a sort of masonry 
 table, or platform, perhaps two feet high, on 
 one end of which stood the little figure which 
 
62 THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
 had just caught her eye. Now she saw that it 
 was not alone, but was one of a group. In the 
 center of the platform stood two similar 
 figures, but one had the arms raised and car- 
 ried on its head a minute dove, while the 
 other had the arms again curled over the 
 breasts. These two central figures were 
 flanked on either side by a stucco model of 
 the "horns of consecration," and at one ex- 
 tremity of the platform came the figure in the 
 sunlight balanced by another tiny idol at the 
 other end. In front of this platform on a lower 
 level stood a sort of three-legged plaster stool, 
 with a slightly hollowed top. "A milking- 
 stool, perhaps," said the Western Woman, 
 aloud, and then was startled to hear a voice 
 at her ear say, "Not at all. It's the tripod for 
 offerings!" It was the Scholar who had tip- 
 toed up behind her and had been peering over 
 her shoulder into the little room while the 
 others patiently waited their turn. "This is 
 the little shrine which Evans was able to pre- 
 serve intact — a chapel for family worship. The 
 
A CRETAN COUNTRY HOUSE 
 
 A LITTLE SHRINE 
 
THE FOUR IN CRETE 63 
 
 three-legged table was for the offerings and 
 the clay figures represent a goddess and her 
 votaresses. Probably the goddess is the one 
 with the dove on her head indicating the descent 
 of the divine Spirit, just as it descended on 
 Christ after his baptism in the Jordan. They 
 say that the Minoans worshiped this dove god- 
 dess as a divinity of the air, and that some- 
 times she was represented by sacred pillars 
 surmounted by doves. At any rate, that's one 
 explanation of a group of three tiny pillars I 
 saw in the museum with little doves perched 
 above the capitals. And a statue in the 
 museum is identified by some authorities with 
 this Cretan goddess, but in this phase they 
 call her an earth goddess because she has snakes 
 for her emblem. To tell the truth, the little 
 statue makes me think of a snake-charmer in a 
 circus. She has one snake in her hand and two 
 are curled about her hips and one about the 
 high tiara on her head. And then her costume 
 seems too frivolous to be in keeping with a 
 religious conception — a low-necked gown with 
 
64 
 
 THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
 a fancy draped skirt, and a pinched-in waist 
 very suggestive of a figure in a show window. 
 Another figure found with her, apparently a 
 votaress, brandishes a snake in one hand and 
 wears a gay costume with a skirt flounced 
 
 CORNER OF SHRINE 
 
 from the waist down. As I say, to me they do 
 not convey an impression of rehgion, yet with 
 them was found a beautiful marble cross with 
 arms of equal length which Evans thinks was 
 the central object in the worship. It may be 
 so — who knows r' 
 
THE FOUR IN CRETE 65 
 
 "The longer I look at these tiny images and 
 this little room," said the Sage, "the more con- 
 vinced I am that the bathrooms we looked at 
 are not bathrooms at all, but shrines like this. 
 They are all small rooms, just large enough 
 for such an altar as this and a tripod and two 
 or three worshipers. Or maybe the king was 
 the only one who entered here, as high priest, 
 or the king attended by a priest. To me it is 
 imthinkable that, in a palace where neither 
 labor nor expense was spared and where we 
 see evidences of profound engineering knowl- 
 edge, such a simple thing as a drain pipe for 
 the bathrooms should have been overlooked. 
 Then, too, in a palace vdth hundreds of in- 
 habitants representing so many strata of 
 society, it must have been absolutely necessary 
 to have several shrines for worship, especially 
 as there is no evidence that the Minoans had 
 any large temples. Their worship seems to 
 have been quite a private matter and conducted 
 for small groups. This shrine may have been 
 for the royal family, where they could per- 
 
66 THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
 form their devotions undisturbed by the 
 presence of ahens. And the 'bath' of the 
 Throne Room was probably a chapel used in 
 connection with embassies or affairs of state 
 which required the sanction of the gods, such as 
 the ratification of a treaty. And the 'North 
 Bath' may have been an oratory for the use 
 of any chance comer who had been a spectator 
 at the games or had had some errand at the 
 palace." 
 
 "But why should some of these shrines be 
 below the regular level?" asked the Scholar. 
 
 "Well, of com-se I don't know," admitted 
 the Sage, "unless it was that the few spectators 
 might have a good view of the ceremonies from 
 above. It doesn't seem so strange after one 
 has been in Rome and has looked down into 
 the Confessional at Saint Peter's. But what 
 are we to see next? Didn't some one suggest 
 the Olive Press?" 
 
 "We might as well go back through the 
 family quarters and get another ghmpse -of 
 that big stairway, for, according to Baedeker, 
 
THE FOUR IN CRETE 67 
 
 the Olive Press is just north of the men's 
 apartments on this slope of the hill," said the 
 Scholar, for once deigning to consult the guide- 
 book. "And we must hunt up the schoolroom 
 too, though it isn't mentioned here. And we 
 have the Villa to explore yet." 
 
 XII 
 
 The Olive Press they would have passed 
 imnoticed had not the guard pointed it out to 
 them, "with actually the olive stones left in the 
 crack!" exclaimed the Scholar, picking up a 
 few of the pebblelike objects. "Of com-se I 
 don't care to affirm vmder oath that this really 
 is an olive press and these the original olive 
 stones, but why not? Actual barley grains 
 have been recovered from some Cretan jars 
 long buried. And the catastrophe which over- 
 whelmed this civiUzation came so suddenly 
 that there was no putting the house in order. 
 Olives were left in the press, oil and wine in 
 the storerooms, gold in the coffers, tools in the 
 
68 THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
 workrooms. In one room a sculptor had fin- 
 ished a magnificent stone vase, more than two 
 feet high, decorated with exquisite spiral 
 designs, and it was still awaiting removal from 
 the workshop when Evans dug it up about ten 
 years ago. And beside it was another which 
 was never completed. And the king had to 
 leave behind his wonderful enameled chess- 
 board, though its gold and silver and crystal 
 must have made it worth a pretty price. 
 Maybe he did have time to hide it, for it 
 evaded the greed of the conquerors, and the 
 museimi has it now." 
 
 "Whether these olive stones are ancient or 
 modern," commented the Sage, "they make 
 the oil industry of the palace seem very real. 
 And if in these olden times olive oil was so 
 popular a foodstuff as it is now throughout 
 these coimtries, the servants must have had a 
 steady job pressing out enough oil to supply 
 the army of artisans and retainers who lived 
 in the palace. Every arrangement seems to 
 have been made for work on a large scale. 
 
THE FOUR IN CRETE 69 
 
 Here is a part of the stone channel which con- 
 ducted the oil to the storehouse, and you see 
 it ends in a stone spout. I suppose they caught 
 the oil here in small vessels and emptied it 
 into the hig jars for storing." 
 
 Two of these great jars are still standing 
 in situ just north of the Room of the Spout, 
 and queer-looking objects they are too, with 
 lots of httle knobs and handles and a decora- 
 tion of simulated ropes or cords showing how 
 such terra-cotta hogsheads could be lifted. As 
 a finishing touch the curious "trickle orna- 
 ment" had been added, made by daubing a 
 generous quantity of dark paint around the 
 brim of the jar and allowing it to dribble down 
 the sides. "I hke that," declared the Western 
 Woman, "for it's so realistic. I suppose they 
 wanted to suggest that these jars were often 
 filled so full that they slopped over, or maybe 
 that the servants were careless in filling them. 
 What a lot they must have held, anyway! 
 About seven feet high," she added, standing 
 by one of the jars and reaching up to its brim. 
 
70 THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
 "and I can't reach half way around it. Yes, it 
 must have held a lot of oil." 
 
 The Schoolroom, too, appealed to the prac- 
 tical mind of the Western Woman, and she 
 waited patiently while the Scholar was getting 
 his bearings. "There's the stone bench all 
 around the wall for the little urchins," he ex- 
 plained after a moment's inspection, "and this 
 is the schoolmaster's seat, and here are the two 
 pillars that Evans tells about, hollowed at the 
 top for the moist clay." 
 
 "Moist clay? For what?" asked the Coffee 
 Angel. "Was this a kindergarten?" 
 
 "No, it wasn't a kindergarten. Wait till 
 you go to the museum and see those clay tab- 
 lets that have been found and that nobody can 
 translate! That's the kind of documents the 
 Minoans used, and, of course, the yoimgsters 
 had to learn to write. See here! This bowl 
 is at the right height for a 'grown-up,' and that 
 one is convenient for a child to reach. I can 
 imagine a young Minoan hopeful walking up 
 and digging his fingers into the moist clay and 
 
A BIG JAR WITH TRICKLE ORNAMENT 
 
THE FOUR IN CRETE 71 
 
 pinching oif enough to make a httle clay 
 tablet. And then what fun he must have had 
 patting it into shape and scratching his letters 
 on it! When I went to school I spent most 
 of my time washing my slate, and that was lots 
 more fun than to use paper and pens as school 
 children do nowadays. But a clay tablet to 
 pat and to squeeze and to scratch! That must 
 have been bliss indeed!" 
 
 "But why are they keeping those tablets," 
 inquired the Western Woman, "if no one can 
 read them, and what's the use of them any- 
 way?" 
 
 "Use!" fairly snorted the Scholar. "They're 
 the most important discovery of the century! 
 They support the evidence from seal stones 
 and prove that these Minoans possessed a 
 well-developed linear script long before the 
 Phoenicians carried the alphabet to Greece. 
 Through all these ages the Phoenicians have 
 had the credit of being the inventors of 
 European writing, but we know now that they 
 simply passed the Minoan alphabet on in modi- 
 
72 THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
 fied and convenient form. And some of these 
 Minoan characters didn't need any modifica- 
 tion at all, for we can see for ourselves that 
 they are practically like some of the Greek 
 letters. It's pretty hard on old Cadmus, who 
 for so many centuries has been enjoying an 
 inflated reputation as the inventor of the Greek 
 alphabet; but it restores the Greek characters 
 to their rightful position as direct lineal 
 descendants of one of the oldest families in the 
 literary world. We'll keep these clay tablets 
 until somebody turns up a bilingual inscription 
 and then we'll read them." 
 
 XIII 
 
 While they talked the guard had been 
 waiting at the top of some steps which the 
 Scholar thought would lead to the Villa on 
 the slope below the north entrance, and now 
 all followed except the Coffee Angel. She 
 had been getting tired and faint and had be- 
 thought her of some sweet chocolate which she 
 
THE FOUR IN CRETE 73 
 
 had left in her jacket pocket, and what a wel- 
 come treat it would be for the others if she 
 could quietly give them the slip, procure the 
 chocolate and be back with it before her ab- 
 sence was noticed. So off she sped in the 
 direction of the Theatral Area, where the 
 wraps had been thrown down on arrival. She 
 easily found her coat and the chocolate and 
 started to return, leisurely munching as she 
 went. Whether the sweet was too engrossing 
 or something else bewildered her, certain it is 
 that, in attempting a short-cut over some low 
 walls, she lost her bearings and failed to dis- 
 cover the entrance to the Central Court, 
 whence she could have passed again down the 
 steps by the huge jars and on to the Royal 
 Villa. Instead she found herself in a narrow 
 gallery along which she walked some distance 
 without discovering any outlet in the desired 
 direction. She could tell by the sun that she 
 was walking south and knew that she ought 
 to be turning east, but the wall of the gallery 
 was imbroken on that side. There were many 
 
74 THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
 openings in the west wall, and finally she 
 turned into one of these in the hope of thus 
 finding some means of egress. But it proved 
 to be only a long, blind alley leading o£f at 
 right angles, with immense jars, similar to the 
 two huge ones she had just seen near the Olive 
 Spout, standing against its walls. She started 
 to explore, paying no heed to her steps till a 
 careless movement nearly precipitated her into 
 a square hole in the pavement. Then she saw 
 that all along the center of this narrow room 
 were rectangular openings in the floor, and 
 that she must walk circumspectly if she wished 
 to avoid the great pits below. She came back 
 to the long gallery and tried the next opening, 
 only to find a similar narrow room, with similar 
 pits in the floor and the big jars standing 
 against the walls. 
 
 She must have explored six or seven of 
 these blind alleys, each time returning baffled 
 to the long gallery, and was beginning to feel 
 rather nervous and panicky. The walls, stand- 
 ing higher than her head, cut her off from 
 
STOREROOM AT KNOSSOS 
 
 STOREROOM AT KNOSSOS 
 
THE FOUR IN CRETE 75 
 
 the outside world; there was a solemn stillness 
 all about her and she felt absolutely alone with 
 the blue sky above, the ghostly jars around her, 
 and the yawning pits at her- feet. She had 
 long since ceased to nibble the chocolate and 
 was acknowledging to herself that she was 
 frightened when she heard a loud shout and 
 recognized the Sage's voice crying, "Here! 
 Over here!" Awkwardly and after several 
 attempts she climbed upon a projecting stone 
 and from this vantage point, to her unutter- 
 able relief, she spied the Sage maintaining a 
 precarious balance on a jagged wall. 
 
 "I got a httle worried and came back for 
 you," he explained as she finally reached him, 
 "for if this is the prototype of all labyrinths, 
 one might be excused for getting lost." 
 
 "I did get lost," confessed the Coffee 
 Angel, "and I was in a part of this palace that 
 the rest haven't seen. There are lots of long, 
 narrow rooms and big stone jars and square 
 holes in the floors." 
 
 "The storerooms, probably," said the Sage, 
 
76 THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
 "I remember reading about them, We'll ex- 
 plore them all together by and by." 
 
 They had now reached the Villa and found 
 the others standing in a large, high-walled 
 room. 
 
 "This is the most important part of the 
 Villa," explained the Scholar. "There used 
 to be a throne here too. There are the frag- 
 ments." And he pointed to one end of the 
 room where a stone balustrade marked the edge 
 of a raised platform. 
 
 "Looks like a church pulpit," remarked the 
 Western Woman, whose father is a Methodist 
 clergyman. 
 
 "The whole place does look like a church," 
 agreed the Scholar. "Here are traces of two 
 rows of pillars dividing it into a nave and side 
 aisles. Perhaps it was an assembly hall, and 
 that throne was for the presiding officer." 
 
 Here the guard interrupted with a few 
 words which the Western Woman partly 
 caught. "What's that he says about the sun?" 
 she asked. 
 
THE FOUR IN CRETE 77 
 
 "That it's getting low, and that we'd better 
 go back to the palace if we want to see the 
 West Court and the storerooms before dark." 
 
 "I've seen the storerooms," laughed the 
 Coffee Angel, "but I didn't find any West 
 Court. Let's go back." 
 
 XIV 
 
 As they retraced their steps the Scholar 
 called attention to the steep slope of the hill 
 and how imposing the palace must have looked 
 when viewed from the river side. "Some im- 
 portant finds were made on this east slope," he 
 went on, "which take us back to Neolithic times 
 — handmade pottery and stone axes and 
 obsidian knives; and the deposit of such ob- 
 jects was so thick that Evans thinks this 
 period lasted about seven thousand years." 
 
 "When did it begin and how can he tell?" 
 questioned the Western Woman. 
 
 "He judges by the depths of the deposits 
 and the development in pottery and imple- 
 
78 THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
 merits. After he had sorted his finds a gradual 
 evolution in style from bottom to top was seen. 
 The total depth of all deposits was about 
 thirty-six feet, and he estimates one thousand 
 years to each yard of deposit. My personal 
 opinion is that he has allowed far too much 
 time for the early strata; but, if we adopt his 
 reckoning, the first settlement goes back to 
 about ten thousand B. C." 
 
 "Yes, but how does he know when this 
 palace was built and when King Minos lived?" 
 
 "He doesn't know absolutely — only rela- 
 tively. Possibly the name 'Minos' doesn't 
 refer to an individual at all, but to a dynasty 
 which lasted several generations. And the 
 palace, before its final destruction, existed 
 seven or eight himdred years, though it was 
 destroyed, rebuilt, and remodeled within that 
 time. Evans calls the period from the end of 
 the Neolithic age to the destruction of the 
 palace the age of Minos, and divides this into 
 three main divisions which he names Early, 
 Middle, and Late Minoan. Judging from the 
 
THE FOUR IN CRETE 79 
 
 depth and character of the deposits, he thinks 
 the whole history of this palace falls within the 
 time of the last two periods — that is, Middle 
 and Late Minoan. And he has some system of 
 equating Cretan chronology with the dynasties 
 of Egypt, but just what it is I can't recall." 
 
 "I'm disappointed in you," said the Western 
 Woman, severely. "I'm afraid I'll have to look 
 that up for myself." 
 
 "Ho, ho," laughed the Sage, "that would 
 be a pity, and quite unnecessary besides. I 
 can straighten that out for you, for this equat- 
 ing of Cretan and Egyptian chronology was 
 vividly impressed on my mind when I was in 
 Oxford last fall. One day I strolled into the 
 Ashmolean museimi and, after passing through 
 the lobby, as luck would have it, I turned to 
 the right and mounted the grand stairway. At 
 the top some Socratic monitor must have 
 waved me aside from the room of paintings, 
 for I passed on into the room at the right and 
 walked straight up to a small case in the center. 
 For a moment it seemed I must be dreaming! 
 
80 THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
 But I wasn't! There it stood as plain as day 
 — a beautiful polychrome vase of distinctly 
 ^gean type surrounded by objects just as dis- 
 tinctly Egyptian. It made a striking contrast 
 — the thin-walled vase of elegant shape and 
 lovely colors in the midst of articles which in 
 comparison seemed to take on a stolid expres- 
 sion. This many-hued vase is evidently a 
 Cretan one and matches the pottery, found in 
 great profusion, of the Middle Minoan period. 
 How it came to Egypt we do not know. Pos- 
 sibly the importation of this fine Cretan ware 
 was a regular phase of the flourishing com- 
 merce between the two countries, or it may 
 have been a gift from Cretan to Egyptian 
 royalty. However that may be, it was buried 
 in a tomb at Abydos along with the Egyptian 
 articles and remained undisturbed till a few 
 years ago. The best feature of the find is that 
 we can date the tomb at about the Twelfth 
 Egyptian Dynasty; for in it there were two 
 stone seals about an inch long which bear the 
 names of two kings of that dynasty. In other 
 
THE FOUR IN CRETE 81 
 
 words, the Minoan civilization was producing 
 this ware as early as the Twelfth Egyptian 
 Dynasty." 
 
 "And what date was that?" persisted the 
 Western Woman. 
 
 "Aye, there's the rub," said the Sage, "for 
 scholars don't seem able to agree on dates in 
 Egyptian history earlier than the Eighteenth 
 Dynasty, which they place in the sixteenth 
 century B. C. But whenever this Twelfth 
 Dynasty must be dated, by that time Crete 
 had come to the period of civilization which 
 we call Middle Minoan. It was a time of 
 national prosperity and building activity in 
 Crete, when the beautiful Kamares pottery 
 was manufactured in great profusion and the 
 magnificent palaces were built. But life was 
 not all a summer day, for there was a tem- 
 porary eclipse here at Knossos, and the palace 
 was destroyed by some hostile power. It was 
 soon rebuilt, however, and most of the walls 
 we now see belong to that later palace. I 
 haven't yet answered your question as to the 
 
82 THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
 time of this building, and all I can say is that 
 scholars have provisionally assigned it to the 
 Second Millennium B. C. and we must be con- 
 tent with this until more exact data are found. 
 If Egyptian chronology should ever be 
 straightened out, we should have a pretty defi- 
 nite scheme, for not only do we have this tomb 
 group proving connection between Crete and 
 Egypt in the Twelfth Dynasty, but as early 
 as the First Dynasty there seems to have been 
 an exchange of vases between the two peoples ; 
 and as late as the Eighteenth Dynasty tomb 
 paintings give proof of the interplay of Cretan 
 and Egyptian influences. However, for the 
 present we must be satisfied with merely a 
 sequence dating of the great Cretan periods 
 and an equating with the periods of Egyptian 
 history." 
 
 XV 
 
 This long speech of the Sage had brought 
 the party back past the Olive Press and across 
 the great Central Court to its southern end, 
 where they realized that they were exploring 
 
THE FOUR IN CRETE 83 
 
 a totally new section of the palace. The guard 
 first led them a few paces toward the south- 
 west and then turned them abruptly north 
 along a narrow passage, where a few words 
 threw the Scholar into a spasm of excitement. 
 "The Cup-bearer, the Cup-bearer!" he 
 shouted, racing back and forth and occasion- 
 ally stopping to scrutinize the immense stone 
 blocks. Then he went on more calmly : "That's 
 the great treasure of the Candian museum, 
 and this morning an artist came into the room 
 and planted himself before this fresco and you 
 ought to have heard him rave about it! He 
 called it 'a vision of manly beauty' and 'a born 
 aristocrat,' and then he confided to me that 
 he'd been studying art twenty years in Europe, 
 but that there was nothing in any musevmi 
 superior to this Minoan youth. It was found 
 on the wall of this corridor and was painted 
 more than three thousand years ago, and the 
 colors are perfectly preserved, though the 
 shoulders and lower part of the legs have been 
 lost. It is the picture of a dark-haired beard- 
 
84 THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
 less man, tall, slender, graceful, and with clear- 
 cut features shown in profile. He stands with 
 head erect and shoulders thrown slightly back 
 to counterbalance the weight of the vase which 
 he carries — a funnel-shaped vessel of gold and 
 silver. His only garment is a richly decorated 
 loin cloth, but he wears bracelets and a girdle 
 drawn so tight as to accentuate the slender- 
 ness of his proportions. This fresco has be- 
 queathed its name to the gallery and it is called 
 the Corridor of the Cup-bearer. You may see 
 by the plan that it runs north and south and 
 on a line with the long gallery of the Store- 
 rooms. It wasn't originally designed to con- 
 duct visitors to the wine cellars of the palace, 
 but now that the walls are down we can enter 
 this way." 
 
 They had a merry time exploring the row 
 of parallel rooms, exclaiming over the huge 
 jars and the pits in the floor, all but the Coffee 
 Angel, who retained an uncomfortable memory 
 of her uncanny experience and so remained in 
 the long gallery beside the guard. Occasion- 
 
THE FOUR IN CRETE 85 
 
 ally she could catch a word or two as the 
 Scholar explained that here in the big jars 
 were stored the palace supplies of oil and per- 
 haps grain, while the pits in the floor, once 
 lined with lead and Hdded with stone slabs, may 
 have been the coffers for gold and other treas- 
 ures long since carried away by the despoilers. 
 "Now," said the Scholar as they finally 
 emerged from the long gallery, "we mustn't 
 forget the Corridor of the Procession. It's 
 named after a fresco too, which we saw in the 
 museum — or, rather, a fragment of it, for only 
 lower parts of the figures are preserved. The 
 feet are all turned the same way, so they look 
 as if they may have been walking in a proces- 
 sion. Here it is, parallel to the Corridor of 
 the Cup-bearer, and it leads us into the great 
 West Court, the trade center for the palace. 
 This is the place where tillers of the soil and 
 treaders of the press could present their grain 
 and wine and olive oil as tribute or as mer- 
 chandise. And if the Minoans were such bar- 
 gain drivers as the modern Cretans, this great 
 
86 THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
 open market must have presented a lively scene 
 in those days, though it looks lonely enough 
 this afternoon. It's a good, quiet place to 
 study the structure of the wall. See how im- 
 mense the blocks are, and this projecting base 
 may have been arranged as a seat for the 
 tradespeople." 
 
 "Let's sit on it now," suggested the Coffee 
 Angel, "while I study my plan, for I've made 
 so many turns that I'm bewildered. There's 
 a sunny nook in that second angle and the wall 
 is high enough to keep the wind off the back 
 of our necks." 
 
 "It is a bewildering mass of ruins," acknowl- 
 edged the Scholar, "but the general features 
 are not so complicated, after all. See here," 
 he continued, tearing a sheet from his pocket 
 notebook and commencing a rough sketch in 
 pencil, "just imagine a square block of a build- 
 ing, like a large apartment house with a court 
 in the center. The court is longer from north 
 to south, and all around it the building seems 
 to have two stories, though on the east, where 
 
THE FOUR IN CRETE 87 
 
 the domestic quarters were, we know it had 
 more, to conform to the slope of the hill. Be- 
 fore we entered this Central Court we stopped 
 at the Theatral Area (which I'll number one) , 
 then we saw the North Bath (nimiber two), 
 then we came through the narrow entrance way 
 to the Central Court (three), and inspected 
 the rooms on the west — the Throne Room 
 (say that's number four) , and the pillar rooms 
 (five) ; then we went across the Central Court 
 and down the great staircase (six), and 
 through the family quarters (seven), and 
 there's where the Western Woman got cross 
 at the bathtub and stalked out to find the 
 shrine — ^that's eight. Nimaber nine is the olive 
 press — if it was a press — and nimiber ten the 
 great jars; and my sheet isn't large enough to 
 add the Villa, but it would be off to the north- 
 east and I'll put in an arrow to point the way. 
 Here's where the Coffee Angel left us to go 
 back for the chocolate and got lost in the 
 storerooms, but when we all came back from 
 the Villa we came through the Corridor of the 
 
88 
 
 THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
 Cup-bearer (eleven) and then into the long 
 north-south corridor (twelve) with the store- 
 rooms branching ojff westward. And we came 
 here by way of the Corridor of the Proces- 
 sion (thirteen) and now you are sitting facing 
 the great Western Court (fourteen) with your 
 
 SKETCH PLAN OF KNOSSOS 
 
 back against the wall which separates it from 
 the storerooms. If you would stand up you 
 could peep over this wall into one of those 
 narrow rooms in which you got lost. All the 
 
THE FOUR IN CRETE 89 
 
 rest of the palace I'll cross-hatch to indicate 
 that we didn't explore these parts. It's not a 
 beautiful sketch, but it has served its purpose 
 if it clears up any confusion as to locations." 
 
 "What's this low block of masonry?" asked 
 the Western Woman, pointing to a square 
 platform in front of the Four. 
 
 "It's an altar," replied the Scholar with 
 noticeable lack of enthusiasm, "but it looks 
 enough like a table to remind me how famished 
 I am! Only six o'clock," he went on, gloomily 
 consulting his watch, "and the hotel dinner is at 
 eight. O why didn't some one think to bring 
 a lunch so that we could have supper in the 
 palace of Minos?" 
 
 "We did," said the CofPee Angel, quietly. 
 "I don't dare try to find the Theatral Area 
 where we dropped our wraps for fear I'll get 
 lost again, but we'll wait here while you get 
 the things and then — " 
 
 But the Scholar was off like a shot, leaping 
 over fallen blocks and ruined walls, and in a 
 moment was back, one arm laden with wraps. 
 
90 THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
 the other tenderly embracing a linen bag which 
 he deposited carefully at the' Coffee Angel's 
 side. "That's the one!" he exclaimed happily; 
 "that's what you carried in Thessaly! Why 
 didn't I see that before?" 
 
 "I carried it imder my coat so as to sur- 
 prise you," answered the Coffee Angel. 
 "You'll see that it contains your regular diet. 
 Everything comes from Athens except the 
 bread and that I bought at the Peirasus as we 
 were walking to the boat. It's the first time 
 I ever bought bread with the price-mark 
 chalked on the crust!" And she pointed to 
 some figures showing in glaring whiteness on 
 the brown surface of the loaf. 
 
 "Forty-five," read the Scholar, "forty-five 
 lepta and cheap at that for a himgry man! 
 Think of such a lot of good yellow bread for 
 nine cents!" 
 
 "We might use this altar for a table," sug- 
 gested the Western Woman, but as the Sage 
 protested that "they must not desecrate the 
 shrines of the gods," the viands were tempt- 
 
THE FOUR IN CRETE 91 
 
 ingly arranged along the stone seat. It wasn't 
 a luxurious feast, but there were a box of sar- 
 dines, a bit of cheese, some Graham crackers, 
 the inevitable sweet chocolate, and two oranges 
 which the pockets of the Sage yielded. And 
 when the Coffee Angel finally produced her 
 thermos bottle and announced "Coffee," by a 
 common impulse the Sage and the Scholar 
 sprang to their feet, drew their aluminum cups 
 from their pockets, clicked them together and 
 tossed off an imaginary toast to "the Coffee 
 Angel, the most popular lady in Crete." And 
 they all sipped with leisurely enjoyment the 
 precious amber fluid while they watched the 
 sun slowly sinking behind the hill. Then the 
 scraps were scrupulously collected and, with 
 the sardine box, carefully buried tmder some 
 loose stones beyond the precincts of the palace 
 to be dug up by some future excavator, the 
 guard said a smiling "good-by" as the Sage 
 put a silver coin in his hand, and there followed 
 the drive through the gathering dusk along 
 the flower-scented road to the city. 
 
92 THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
 At the hotel the Coffee Angel and the 
 Western Woman were glad to surrender them- 
 selves to the tender ministrations of "Eury- 
 kleia," who relieved them of their dusty 
 bundles, prepared the baths, and finally re- 
 turned to tuck the mosquito nets securely about 
 the beds and extinguish the candle. "She 
 considers us irresponsible children and not to 
 be trusted with a light," giggled the Western 
 Woman. Then, rather irrelevantly, "Do you 
 think the Scholar really saw so many frescoes 
 and things in the museum this morning? He 
 can't have been there more than an hour." 
 
 "Why, yes," answered the Coffee Angel, 
 "he has been reading up on Crete for a long 
 time and with that wonderful memory of his 
 he knew just what to look for this morning. 
 One can see a lot in an hoiu* if one knows what 
 there is to see." 
 
 "I wonder who the ruby-lipped lady is," 
 mused the Western Woman. But the Coffee 
 Angel had ceased to be responsive. 
 
PART THREE 
 
PART THREE 
 
 XVI 
 
 At five the next morning they were aroused 
 by a loud knocking on the door and the voice 
 of the Scholar announcing that the horses 
 would be ready in an hour. The Coffee Angel 
 sprang for the matches and lighted her travel- 
 ing lamp while the Western Woman quickly 
 poured cold water over some ground coffee 
 and set it on to boil. There ensued hurried 
 dressing, reckless cramming of the two canvas 
 bags, heroic swallowing of scalding coffee, and 
 at five-thirty the ladies emerged ready to 
 motint, the Western Woman laden with rugs 
 and bags, the Coffee Angel carrying in each 
 hand a mug of the hot coffee. "They're shav- 
 ing mugs," she explained as the men joined 
 them in the dining room, "but we hadn't any 
 other cups in our room." 
 
 "Better American coffee in a shaving mug 
 
 95 
 
96 THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
 than the Turkish stuff in a fine cup," said the 
 Sage, gratefully. 
 
 But the Scholar was too evidently annoyed 
 to appreciate his blessings. "I told these 
 people last night," he scolded, "that we must 
 have an omelette at half -past five. And when 
 I came down there was no one stirring and I 
 had to wake up the bell boy and set things 
 going myself. The cook isn't to be found, so 
 the boy has to make the omelette. Well, 
 everybody in this covmtry knows how to cook 
 eggs, so we'll get something, but each minute 
 of delay is serious, for this is our foxu'teen- 
 hour ride if we don't make better time than 
 the last party did. The guide is outside 
 saddling the horses and it's maddening to be 
 kept waiting. Yet we can't be too indepen- 
 dent, for this is the last decent food we'll have 
 till we get back here again." 
 
 "In that Case," suggested the Sage, "we'd 
 better make the best of this last chance. Here's 
 bread on the table, and we might follow the 
 custom of the Greek peasant and eat it dry. 
 
THE FOUR IN CRETE 97 
 
 If we Fletcherize, it will go down all right. 
 And that reminds me," he went on, pocketing 
 a large crust, "that my Greek friends in Athens 
 warned me about this Cretan trip. They said 
 that most foreigners are ill after it because 
 they allow themselves to become too hungry 
 and then eat too heartily. Their advice is to 
 eat sparingly and often, so I shall keep a crust 
 handy." 
 
 "Good idea," agreed the Scholar, thrusting 
 a generous slice into his pocket, "and what a 
 fortunate thing it is that residence in Greece 
 divests one of any absurd prejudice about the 
 care of foods! I'm fully aware that this slice 
 of bread is now in contact with the lining of 
 my pocket, my knife, my drinking cup, a few 
 nails, and a piece of twine. Time was when 
 such a thought would have disquieted me, but 
 why let it 'spoil my heart's happiness' ? Better 
 far the comforting creed that any germ which 
 cannot be seen with the naked eye is too small 
 to do any harm! Ah! Here comes oiu- sleepy 
 Ganymede!" 
 
98 THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
 Sleepy he certainly looked, and unkempt 
 too, and the omelette bore the traces of an 
 unskilled hand. But it was speedily dis- 
 patched, and even the bitter tea was gratefully 
 accepted as an additional stimulant against the 
 impending journey. Then there was a quick 
 mounting, and at six-thirty the Four were off, 
 following their guide at a slow trot through 
 the streets just awakening to the hfe of a new 
 day. The few spectators looked curiously at 
 the little cavalcade, but the guide passed on 
 through the west gate, quickening the pace as 
 he struck the open road outside the city. 
 
 Then it was that the Western Woman 
 began to wish she hadn't come. She could 
 ride horseback. O, yes! But in Colorado 
 there had always been the secure accoutrement 
 of the cowboy saddle, and her experience on a 
 Greek saddle had hitherto been restricted to 
 the slow walk of a peasant's horse following a 
 pedestrian guide. To find herself now perched 
 on the back of the hardest trotter she had ever 
 imagined, to be tossed back and forth and from 
 
THE FOUR IN CRETE 99 
 
 side to side in the capacious reaches of a big 
 Greek saddle, to be doomed for three days to 
 follow a guide who blithely cantered along on 
 a mettlesome steed — the prospect struck terror 
 to her soul. In desperation she lengthened 
 first one stirrup, then the other, as she rode, 
 and tried standing in them, but the tableUke 
 expanse of the saddle was not amenable to this 
 fashion and with the grim remark that a "bow- 
 legged man might be able to do that" she sadly 
 resigned herself to the short stirrups and the 
 ceaseless pounding. Furtive glances to the 
 rear revealed the Coffee Angel seated squarely 
 athwart a gently ambling steed, her arms 
 akimbo as she gripped the saddle at both ends, 
 while the bridle hung loose and unused on the 
 horse's neck. Behind her rode the Scholar, a 
 provoking picture of serene contentment, but 
 the Sage was pitching and bouncing on an 
 evil-eyed animal, and his compressed lips and 
 flushed face indicated some nervousness. "He's 
 game, though," thought the Western Woman, 
 admiringly, and thfn she saw that the twp 
 
100 THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
 men were having an argument which resulted 
 in an exchange of horses. "Ah I He's made 
 the Sage take the better horse 1 Now the 
 Scholar will do the pitching!" But he didn't 1 
 Instead he rode as carelessly and as easily as 
 before, looking from side to side as the road 
 led on between olive groves and tilled fields. 
 "Of course that boy can ride anything!" sighed 
 the Western Woman, enviously. "I'd for- 
 gotten that he used to be a Texas cowboy! 
 'Busting bronchos' was good training for this!" 
 And then she found that she could tie a loop in 
 her long bridle and hook it over one board of 
 the saddle, and by holding this taut could ease 
 the jolt. "Aha!" she exulted, "a good inven- 
 tion! That's what a college education does 
 for a woman!" And she held on for dear Ufe, 
 even though the plaited leather soon began to 
 blister her fingers. 
 
 It was a pleasant road meandering south- 
 ward beside a dried-up water course, cooled by 
 the long morning shadows, and the horses were 
 making good time. "Four kilometers!" called 
 
THE FOUR IN CRETE 101 
 
 the Scholar as he noticed a marked stone by the 
 road; and a httle later, "Five kilometers! It 
 won't be a fourteen-hour day at this rate, 
 will it?" 
 
 But the others could only wave their hands 
 in reply, for the guide kept them relentlessly 
 on the move, pausing only if some complication 
 arose with the horses, when he was instantly 
 on the spot to adjust the difficulty. Now and 
 then prosperous-looking peasants passed on 
 their way to town and the guide returned their 
 greeting politely but without tarrying. 
 
 "This fellow seems to be all business," re- 
 marked the Sage as they finally halted by a 
 wayside watering trough. "We've always had 
 to push our men in Greece, but we'll do well 
 if we can keep up on this trip. I suppose he's 
 hurrying us while the good road lasts." 
 
 "Think of getting a man like that for two 
 francs a day — forty cents!" said the Scholar. 
 "The hotel clerk recommended him, and when 
 I found he had a fine letter from MacKenzie 
 I decided to risk him. His name is Chrones 
 
102 THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
 Bardakes, and I don't intend to forget it. He 
 is so handsome that it's worth forty cents a 
 day merely to look at him! The horses are 
 cheap too — one dollar per day and that in- 
 cludes their feed. So the whole trip will be 
 inexpensive." 
 
 Meanwhile the Coffee Angel had been fum- 
 bling in a bag tied to her saddle and now moved 
 her horse near enough to the Sage to hand him 
 a small package. "Limch time," she said, 
 briefly; "it's been two hours since breakfast, 
 and the plan you outlined was to eat little and 
 often." 
 
 But the horses had now finished drinking, 
 and the guide was mounted, so they took 
 merely a Graham cracker apiece to be nibbled 
 as they rode. There was brisk riding again 
 except for a short distance where the guide 
 abandoned the beaten track to foUow a rough 
 trail to an insignificant village, a ghostly little 
 town lying silent and asleep under the glare of 
 the moimting sun. But at the first clang of 
 the horses' hoofs on the cobblestone paving 
 
THE FOUR IN CRETE 103 
 
 the inhabitants popped badgerlike out of their 
 hiding places and watched with eager interest 
 the passing of the Four. 
 
 Soon they were following a beautiful little 
 stream — the Platyperamas — on one side of 
 which olive groves and fresh green fields sloped 
 gently up to a white city set on a hill. They 
 were loth to cross the picturesque bridge, 
 mirrored so clearly ia the shallow pools, for it 
 turned them abruptly away from this friendly 
 landscape to a less genial region, where the 
 horses settled down to slow plodding up steep 
 grades and the riders gazed on a treeless dis- 
 trict baking under the fierce rays of the sun, 
 now soaring high in the heavens. 
 
 The scenery was more varied again after 
 the Four struck the highway winding along the 
 hillside above a verdant valley — a road too new 
 for rapid travel and in sections rendered muddy 
 by the seepage from wayside springs not yet 
 controlled. "These Cretans are pathetically 
 ambitious," said the Scholar. "It's really a 
 great imdertaking to build a broad road like 
 
104 THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
 this clear across the island. Too bad that 
 they've had to stop operations because of lack 
 of funds ! I've been told that Crete would be 
 very prosperous if it only had a real govern- 
 ment, for its natural resources are well worth 
 developing. But they can't get the capital 
 because foreigners won't risk investments 
 under such unsettled conditions." 
 
 "If Crete ever belongs to Greece, that will 
 be changed," prophesied the Sage, "and if 
 Venezelos carries the election for the office of 
 prime minister, Crete will go to Greece sooner 
 or later. It's bound to come! Crete wants 
 Greece and Greece wants Crete, and the right 
 man in power wiU bring it about." 
 
 He stopped as the Western Woman gave 
 an amused little laugh and she hastened to 
 explain: "I wasn't laughing at you! But the 
 Greek family with whom I board has a funny 
 little maid about eight years old who has been 
 very much excited over the election. She's a 
 little waif from Mani in the Peloponnesus, that 
 cradle of red-hot patriots, and when I saw her 
 
THE FOUR IN CRETE 105 
 
 wearing a button which bore the picture of 
 another candidate — I don't remember whom, 
 but, at any rate, not Venezelos — I asked her 
 solemnly why she was not a supporter of the 
 popular Cretan. She's about as big as a 
 sparrow and it was funny to hear her twitter 
 excitedly in her queer dialect, speaking very 
 fast and shaking her little finger at me to en- 
 force her words; but I could understand only 
 one sentence which she reiterated again and 
 again: 'Venezelos is a bad man and will give 
 Crete to England!'" 
 
 "That's a good one!" laughed the Scholar, 
 "Venezelos give Crete to England! The child 
 must have heard it said somewhere, but he'll 
 never give anything to anybody! He's a fiery 
 patriot if there ever was one!" 
 
 But now the guide was dismounting by a 
 group of little huts at the left of the road and 
 was tying his horse to the rack. 
 
 "What in the world!" sputtered the Scholar. 
 "Is he like all the other guides and can't pass 
 a wayside cafe without his glass of wine? By 
 
106 THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
 George! He says this is Hagia Varvara, the 
 regular noon stopping place, and it's only 
 eleven o'clock! We're beating the Baedeker 
 schedule all right, for that allows five hours 
 from Candia to this place. We'd not call it 
 breakneck speed in Texas — seventeen miles in 
 four hours and a half — but we're evidently 
 doing better than the average tourists. Just 
 peep through the door and see how you like 
 the prospect of limch in that place — dirt floor 
 and rickety tables! We can probably get 
 eggs, though, and oranges — they will be clean 
 inside, anyway!" 
 
 "Let's not go in," protested the Coffee 
 Angel. "Why can't we find a picnic spot on 
 the bank of this pretty little stream? There's 
 no place on this side, but if we can cross, there's 
 that fine old olive tree in the field and we can 
 watch the cafe and come back as soon as the 
 guide wants to start." 
 
 "Great!" agreed the Scholar, "and there are 
 some stepping-stones!" 
 
 "And here's our lunch," said the Coffee 
 
THE FOUR IN CRETE 107 
 
 Angel, "the same old things — ^bread, sardines, 
 cheese, and oranges — but they will do." 
 
 And they left the handsome guide to enjoy 
 the luxury of the tavern and to wonder at the 
 never-ending vagaries of the foreign tourist 
 with his unreasonable aversion to vermin- 
 infected interiors and his inexplicable partiality 
 for streams and fields. 
 
 XVII 
 
 PuNCTUAiiiTY seemed to be a corner stone 
 in Bardakes's character, for at twelve he had 
 his party again in the saddle headed for the 
 barren ridge, which marked the highest point 
 in their route. Uphill and sometimes downhill 
 they rode through a desolate region which 
 showed little of interest till suddenly they 
 seemed to be on the top of the world looking 
 down over the brim at the rich Messara plain 
 stretching away to the dim waters of the sea. 
 On their right was a desolate undulating high- 
 land tract with snow-capped Ida looming be- 
 
108 THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
 yond like a huge crested wave advancing upon 
 a sullen ocean. 
 
 It seemed an unfriendly region in contrast 
 with the fertile plain, and the Four gladly 
 commenced the steep descent. An old Turk- 
 ish road in ruined condition winds downward 
 for some distance and its loose cobblestones 
 make careful riding necessary, so the horses 
 were allowed to pick their way. The guide 
 did presently try to push on in order to pass a 
 pack-mule followed by a walking attendant, 
 but the Four were too timid to second his 
 efforts and vinfortunately allowed the laden 
 animal to enter a narrow defile before them. 
 Bardakes did not show any irritation, but he 
 must have chafed inwardly, for the gorge was 
 too narrow to admit of passing and the pains- 
 taking beast of burden dictated a snail's pace 
 to the impatient riders. 
 
 "I wonder where that 'blood-curdling 
 descent' comes in," said the Western Woman, 
 availing herself of the opportunity to talk. 
 "I'd like to get that done before dark." 
 
THE FOUR IN CRETE 109 
 
 "This is it," announced the Scholar, "for 
 there's the plain just ahead and we don't have 
 to go down much farther." 
 
 "But I don't see anything 'blood-curdling' 
 about this," argued the Western Woman. 
 "It's been steep, of course, but there hasn't 
 been a single place where one could fall over 
 a precipice, and it's safe enough if you give 
 the horses their time." 
 
 "Well, this is it, anyway, and we've done it 
 without knowing it," insisted the Scholar, "and 
 the guide says that it's only half an hoxir to 
 Hagii Deka, where we stop for the night." 
 
 "But it's only half-past one now," said the 
 Sage, "and the last party reached Hagii Deka 
 after dark." 
 
 "Maybe they got off the road, or perhaps 
 their guide was not efficient, and, too, they 
 were caught in a rain. We've had everything 
 in our favor — luck, guide, weather, horses — 
 so we've done just a little better than the 
 average. In fact, it's too good to last, and 
 I'm thinking of hunting up a church and 
 
110 THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
 burning a few candles before the images of 
 some Greek saints to avert the envy of the 
 gods. There must be churches in Hagii Deka, 
 because it's quite a town, and a Greek bishop 
 has his residence here." 
 
 "Wasn't it in this place that the last party- 
 had to sleep on the floor, all in one room?" 
 asked the Coffee Angel. 
 
 "Yes," answered the Scholar, "but it will be 
 mighty queer if a good-sized town can't pro- 
 vide more than one room. We'll himt till we 
 find another." 
 
 But now the walls of the gorge had widened 
 out, the faithful mule could be left behind, and 
 the Four, trotting bravely along the level road, 
 entered Hagii Deka with a spirited mien which 
 greatly belied their muscular fatigue. Through 
 the narrow, iU-paved streets Bardakes led the 
 way till he reached the home of old Manoli 
 Iliakis, the quondam friend and host of many 
 a noted worker in Cretan archaeological fields. 
 He himself was not immediately in evidence, 
 but as the Four clattered into the high-walled 
 
THE FOUR IN CRETE 111 
 
 courtyard his son appeared to do the honors — 
 a tall, bearded man of erect carriage and a 
 gentle dignity that at once inspired confidence. 
 He greeted the Four courteously and, in re- 
 sponse to the Scholar's inquiry for lodging, 
 turned to lead the way up a flight of steps in 
 one comer of the courtyard. 
 
 The Western Woman was so interested in 
 the construction of the four lowest steps, made 
 of ancient column remnants with cement ex- 
 tensions, that she delayed and reached the 
 upper room only in time to see the Scholar 
 pick up his hat, and, with a courteous bow, 
 start for the door. 
 
 "Come," he said, "it seems that there is only 
 the one room, and I've told him we must go 
 elsewhere, as we are determined to have two. 
 I suppose this is the only real guest room in 
 the village, as he says, but we have all after- 
 noon before us and can find some kind of 
 accommodations." 
 
 But the young Cretan did not seem pleased 
 and explained that, though the room immedi- 
 
112 THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
 ately below the guest room was usually occu- 
 pied by the family, it would be available for 
 the night, 
 
 "I was sure we could get it if we insisted," 
 said the Scholar after the arrangement had 
 been completed and the young Cretan had left 
 the room. "You see, these people can't vinder- 
 stand that queer prejudice we have against 
 their way of crowding men, women, and chil- 
 dren indiscriminately into one room. But I 
 told him we'd be glad to pay for the extra 
 trouble, so here we are all settled at two o'clock, 
 with a whole afternoon to waste. Why 
 shouldn't we see Gortyna to-day instead of 
 to-morrow morning? It's only a mile or two 
 to the ruins." 
 
 "Then let's walk," cried the Western 
 Woman. "I've had enough riding for one 
 day!" 
 
 And the alacrity with which the suggestion 
 was adopted indicated that horseback exercise 
 had temporarily lost its popularity as a recrea- 
 tion. 
 
THE FOUR IN CRETE 113 
 
 XVIII 
 
 SOj after an hour's rest, during which old 
 Iliakis paid a friendly visit to the Four and 
 chatted with the Scholar while the Coffee 
 Angel served scant rations of strong tea and 
 nuts, they set out on foot with their young host 
 as guide. He led them through fields and 
 shady ohve groves, past many a huge marble 
 block lying neglected beside the path, left from 
 some Greek or Roman monument, till the 
 great stones of the temple appeared. The 
 walls have fallen long ago, but the foundations 
 remain, and show the peculiar proportions of 
 the building, with its broad front and shallow 
 depth. The Pythian god is again standing 
 guard over his sacred building, and his flowing 
 drapery and the hollow sockets of his eyes give 
 him a ghostly aspect as he keeps his lonely 
 vigil at this deserted shrine. 
 
 "I'm glad we didn't come this way after 
 dark," said the Western Woman, as she 
 mounted the heroon in front of the temple to 
 photograph the statue. "It gives me an un- 
 
114 THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
 canny feeling even in daytime to see him 
 standing alone in this solitary place!" 
 
 "What a tale he could unfold, could he but 
 speak to us!" said the Sage — "of Roman 
 changes made in the ancient precinct, of neg- 
 lect and decay and destruction and long 
 oblivion while the shrine lay buried under 
 masses of debris, and of final resurrection not 
 many years ago. And now that he is again 
 restored to the light of day, occasional pilgrims 
 come in curiosity to visit the shrine where mul- 
 titudes used to leave their offerings." 
 
 "It's a change all right," agreed the Scholar, 
 "for this temple stood right in the center of 
 things. The oldest inscriptions in the island, 
 going back to the seventh century B. C, are 
 on these blocks. I didn't have time to ex- 
 amine them carefully, but I did stop to look 
 at a few letters and to note their primitive- 
 form. We'll soon come to the theater, and 
 there we can see a very famous inscription — 
 the law code of Gortyna. It isn't quite so old 
 — fifth century, I believe it is — but is im- 
 
STATUE OF APOLLO 
 
 
 
 SM^^e ^'"^ 
 
 m^^ 
 
 S'AJ*:#;. 
 
 
 .■■■•■■'• ••.;'..■ -' ' 
 
 i 
 
 
 TEMPLE OF APOLLO 
 
THE FOUR IN CRETE 115 
 
 mensely important as being the longest ancient 
 Greek law code known. We're nearly there 
 now, for here are the ruins of the Byzantine 
 church dedicated to Saint Titus. Why Saint 
 Titus, I wonder, anyway!" 
 
 "Don't you remember Saint Paul's Epistle 
 to Titus?" asked the Sage, who was old- 
 fashioned enough to teach a Sunday school 
 class when in America. 
 
 "Can't say I do," confessed the Scholar. 
 "What about it?" 
 
 "It was written to Titus when he was bishop 
 in Crete, and as Gortyna was the capital of 
 the island in those times, he probably made it 
 his headquarters. There must have been a 
 colony of Jews here, for Paul warns Titus 
 against their subversive teachings. And as to 
 the Cretans themselves, he quotes one of their 
 own number as having said, 'The Cretians are 
 always liars, evil beasts,' and adds for his own 
 part, 'This witness is true.' And therefore he 
 bids Titus 'rebuke them sharply, that they may 
 be sound in the faith, not giving heed to Jewish 
 
116 THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
 fables' ; all of which would indicate that Titus, 
 in establishing this outpost of Christianity, 
 was fighting against tremendous odds — the old 
 religion of Apollo, the teachings of Judaism, 
 and the instability of the Cretan character. 
 So I'm rather glad that he has received some 
 recognition on his old field of labor." 
 
 A few years ago this church could have been 
 described as a shapeless mass of rubbish, for 
 only the apse was standing, but the Cretans 
 have undertaken to reconstruct it and are 
 making good progress. As the Four passed, 
 stone masons were busily at work chipping 
 and smoothing the huge blocks to be used in the 
 side walls, and when they next visit Crete they 
 may be able to attend a service of the Greek 
 Church in the restored edifice. 
 
 A moment more and they were in the midst 
 of another busy scene where a group of Cretan 
 peasants — men and women — armed with picks, 
 spades, and wheelbarrows, were excavating a 
 Roman theater. Several tiers of the stone 
 seats are now visible and some square columns 
 
THE FOUR IN CRETE 117 
 
 defining a large curve, but their guide led 
 straight past these to the far side and pointed 
 into a deep trench along one side of which runs 
 a massive curved wall showing five courses of 
 huge stone blocks. 
 
 "It's the law code," the Scholar exclaimed, 
 leaping into the trench and beginning to ex- 
 amine the symbols graven on the blocks, "the 
 famous law code of Gortyna that I've always 
 wanted to see ever since I first read about it. 
 It was originally engraved on the wall of some 
 circular building, and when the Romans built 
 this theater they used the old blocks for the 
 back retaining wall, setting them up in the 
 original order so that the ancient regulations 
 could still be read by every stroller. 'Ignorance 
 of the law is no excuse' would certainly have 
 been a just ruling in old Gortyna! Notice the 
 Boustrophedon (povaTpo^prjdov) style, every al- 
 ternate line reading in the contrary direction, 
 or backwards as it seems to us." 
 
 "What's it about?" asked the Western 
 Woman. 
 
118 THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
 "O, all sorts of things! It regulated many 
 relations of human life — laid down the law 
 about slaves who claim to be free or who say 
 they belong to another master, about sale of 
 property and inheritance of property, military 
 service, and so forth. I can't recall what these 
 regulations were, except that I do remember 
 that a daughter's inheritance was half that of 
 a son, and that an adopted son inherited as 
 much as a daughter — ^that is, half as much as 
 a real son." 
 
 "I wish my Homer students could see these 
 digammas," said the Sage, "for they look so 
 dazed when I talk to them about the influence 
 of this lost letter." 
 
 "Yes, and they'd know better what is meant 
 by a 'double consonant' in Greek, for here the 
 two sounds are written separately, no f, no ip, 
 but KG and na. And though e occurs frequently, 
 we find simply k and tt for Attic x and ^." 
 
 "Our young host seems to be listening with 
 a good deal of interest," remarked the Coffee 
 Angel. "Can he understand English?" 
 
WALL CONTAINING PART OF LAW CODE 
 
 1/' • r J -, -. 
 5 / J'' 1", 
 
 / 
 
 .1 
 
 FRAGMENT OF THE LAW CODE 
 
THE FOUR IN CRETE 119 
 
 "Probably not," answered the Scholar, 
 "but he's interested because his father helped 
 Halbherr in 1884 when he discovered the code, 
 and he's very proud of the fact. Perhaps we 
 shall get a glimpse of Halbherr "at Hagia 
 Triada, for I understand he's conducting ex- 
 cavations there now. He's been thirty years 
 in Crete and is immensely popular with the 
 natives. When he began to look for remains 
 near Hagii Deka, with old Manoli as his guide, 
 this was the bed of a stream flowing past the 
 mill which Manoli partly owned. It occurred 
 to him to divert the stream and search along 
 its bed, and that's how they found this wall. 
 I believe that the owner of the land hereabouts 
 made some objection to their method of pro- 
 cedure, so Halbherr couldn't go farther just 
 then, but he gave his data to Fabricius, who 
 later continued the work. He learned that 
 the bit of curved wall was a section of an en- 
 circling wall of one hundred feet diameter, the 
 inscription running about thirty feet. You 
 see how finely hewn these blocks are and that 
 
120 THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
 they are still firm, though there are no clamps. 
 Fabricius, by the way, is in Knossos now and 
 stopping at our hotel. I saw him first in the 
 musevmi yesterday, where he wrote his name 
 in the visitors' book just before I registered." 
 
 "Is this all there is to see here?" asked the 
 Western Woman, whose interest was evidently 
 waning. 
 
 "No," said the Scholar. "I want to climb the 
 Acropolis. This httle stream, the Mitropoli, 
 divides the old city into two parts. The temple 
 and this theater and other buildings on the 
 left side are only part of the ruins. On the 
 right bank there's the Acropolis, at least — that 
 little hill just across the stream, Bardakes 
 says; and there are traces of another theater 
 on its southeast slope." 
 
 "Well," sighed the Western Woman, "my 
 muscles aren't steel even if yours are. For my 
 part, I am content to adopt the Mark Twain 
 method of sight-seeing and climb that hiU 
 through my agent." 
 
 It proved, in fact, that the Scholar was 
 
THE FOUR IN CRETE 121 
 
 alone in his yearning for an Acropolis to climb, 
 so the others settled themselves in a shady 
 nook on the bank of the stream whence they 
 could lazily watch his upward progress and 
 play with an old mother goat tethered nearby, 
 presumably the parent of two precocious black 
 kids which were playing hide and seek among 
 the newly excavated seats of the theater. 
 
 The Scholar crossed the little stream on 
 stepping-stones and toiled slowly up the steep 
 hill opposite, growing smaller and smaller till 
 he reached the top whence he called that he 
 was on the site of the ancient Acropolis and 
 indicated the location of the Roman theater on 
 the slope below him. Suddenly he gave a wild 
 shout and with arms outspread came leaping 
 recklessly down the hill. 
 
 "That boy will break his neck yet," mut- 
 tered the Sage, disapprovingly, but this time 
 he arrived safe and soxmd, albeit somewhat 
 flushed. 
 
 Then the Four strolled slowly back through 
 the ohve groves, a pleasant walk in the length- 
 
122 THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
 ening shadows, and once more mounted the 
 marble steps to the upper room. 
 
 Here the Western Woman was confronted 
 with the duty of boiUng water enough to fill 
 the canteen for the next day's use, and her 
 request for "hot water and a great deal of it" 
 kept a pretty young Cretan woman, perhaps 
 old Manoli's daughter or daughter-in-law, 
 running up and down between her kitchen and 
 the upper room. It may be that she had only 
 a small brazier or other inadequate appliance 
 for heating it, for each time she brought only 
 about a pint with the assurance that she would 
 soon have more. Several times she stopped to 
 watch the Western Woman boil over again 
 water which to her seemed hot enough for any 
 pvu'pose, and finally her curiosity could not 
 be restrained and she asked, timidly, "Why 
 do you cook the water?" 
 
 The Western Woman hesitated. Could she 
 hurt the gentle, hospitable creature by telling 
 her that the water was probably imfit to drink? 
 And, anyway, could she make her imderstand 
 
THE FOUR IN CRETE 123 
 
 the tourist's dread of the typhoid fever specter 
 which was constantly dogging his steps in 
 Greek lands? Finally she said, gently: "It is 
 always better to boil the water when one travels 
 in a strange land. A change of water some- 
 times makes people ill." And the girl was 
 satisfied and with a bright smile and a nod 
 tripped willingly down the steps to fetch the 
 next installment. 
 
 The canteen was filled at last, but the Coffee 
 Angel superintended the boiling of one more 
 quart, for the table had been set in the middle 
 of the room and old Manoli himself was bring- 
 ing up the supper, consisting of a fine omelette 
 and a loaf of bread. 
 
 "I don't drink coffee at night," said the 
 Sage, gently, as she started to fill his cup from 
 a large brown mug. 
 
 "It isn't coffee ; it's beef tea," she explained. 
 
 "Ah, that's another story! But where in 
 the world did you get it?" 
 
 "It's quite a tale," answered the Coffee 
 Angel. "I didn't know till I came abroad that 
 
124 THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
 every American was involved in the packing- 
 house scandals. I had never even reaUzed that 
 there were any, for I'm so used to discounting 
 yellow journalism that I didn't take the news- 
 paper scareheads seriously. But they evidently 
 made an impression in Europe, for not seldom 
 in England and in Germany, when I was intro- 
 duced as an American, I was greeted with the 
 remark, 'Ah, yes, that's where those awful 
 packing houses are!' Now, to my mind New 
 York has seemed far enough away from Chi- 
 cago to make my connection with the matter 
 rather remote, to say the least, but as I was 
 buying my few provisions for this Cretan trip 
 my eye fell on some jars bearing the sign of 
 the much-maligned packers and I reflected 
 that, since I was sharing the blame, I might 
 as well enjoy the fruits thereof, and I invested 
 in a jar of beef extract as a precaution against 
 starvation. So here it is — only enough for to- 
 night, and my knapsack will be the lighter 
 to-morrow." 
 
 "It just reaches the spot!" was the Scholar's 
 
THE FOUR IN CRETE 125 
 
 comment, "and I've never known luxury be- 
 fore ! Think of having an omelette, bread, and 
 beef tea all at one meal, besides lukewarm 
 boiled water to drink from a canteen ! Won't 
 American civilization seem tame after Crete?" 
 
 "We'd better not spend time in developing 
 that theme," counseled the Sage, "for six 
 o'clock comes early in the morning and that's 
 when we are to start." 
 
 "Which means rise at five," suggested the 
 Coffee Angel. 
 
 So the men descended to the room below, 
 where they found iron beds, with comfortable 
 springs and mattresses, and alas! so many 
 vigorous fleas that their night was almost 
 sleepless. The upper room contained no bed, 
 but along one side wall ran a wooden seat 
 about two feet wide, padded with hard straw 
 cushions. Here the pretty young hostess 
 spread the sheets for the women, and as soon 
 as she left the Western Woman sprinkled all 
 the bedding with insect powder and carefully 
 crept under the covers. "Pretty hard bed," 
 
126 THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
 she announced, sneezing once or twice as an 
 incautious movement sent a cloud of powder 
 into the air, "but I've always been told that 
 when a hard bed becomes unendurable it's time 
 to get up." 
 
PART FOUR 
 
PART FOUR 
 XIX 
 
 "We^ee the best early risers that ever hved," 
 remarked the Coffee Angel at five the next 
 morning as she prepared the coffee. "Why 
 are you scrubbing those eggs? Are you 
 thinking of eating the shells?" 
 
 "'No" the Western Woman explained with 
 a yawn, "but I got a half dozen last night from 
 Manoh because I was afraid a regular break- 
 fast might cause delay here, as it did at the 
 hotel yesterday. I'm going to boil them in the 
 coffee as we do on camping trips." And she 
 dropped them carefully into the coffee can. 
 
 At a quarter to six the bags had been packed, 
 the bedding (carefully shaken free from insect 
 powder out of consideration to the hostess — 
 "though probably she wouldn't think it such 
 a disgrace as we do at home," said the Coffee 
 Angel) had been folded and laid in a corner, 
 and the men were called to breakfast. The 
 
 129 
 
130 THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
 bread had dried out during the night, the eggs, 
 emerging from their coffee bath, were sug- 
 gestive of .unskilful Easter dyeing ("but that's 
 not even shell-deep," said the Scholar, cracking 
 one), and were boiled too hard ("but they're 
 hot, anyway," said the Sage), and the coffee 
 had to be swallowed without sugar or cream, 
 but it was a pretty game party and no com- 
 plaints were heard. Even when the mounting 
 emphasized the general feeling of cracking 
 joints, there was only a laugh and they started 
 bravely after their guide. 
 
 He headed them toward the west, for the 
 plan was to stop an hour at the old quarry 
 near Ambelouzos, still considered the labyrinth 
 of the Minotaur by many who are loth to 
 accept Evans' theory in regard to the palace 
 at Knossos. The Four had been advised to 
 have a special guide for the cavern and a bar- 
 gain had been struck with a little old Cretan 
 who shall charitably be left nameless. A con- 
 scientious historian feels it his duty to record 
 even the failures of his heroes, so it must be 
 
THE FOUR IN CRETE 131 
 
 sorrowfully set down that here the Scholar 
 made the one grand mistake of his brief Cretan 
 career. When the little old man approached 
 him the preceding evening and explained that 
 he must have a drachma to buy candles for the 
 cave the money was cheerfully handed out and 
 forgotten. But in the morning, though he 
 appeared promptly at six o'clock to keep his 
 appointment, it was evident soon after starting 
 that something was wrong with the old man. 
 He walked feebly and uncertainly, and when 
 Bardakes, with a significant smile, reached 
 down and, picking him up in his arms, set him 
 behind him on his horse in spite of that animal's 
 manifest objections to carrying double, it be- 
 came clear that the Four had to do with an 
 intoxicated guide. "Fool!" stormed the 
 Scholar. 
 
 "Who?" innocently inquired the Coffee 
 Angel. 
 
 "Myself! I might have known better last 
 night than to give him a drachma ! He's spent 
 it on ouzo,'" 
 
132 THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
 "What's ouzol" 
 
 "It's a powerful Greek wine. Ordinarily 
 the Greeks drink the retsinato — a wine flavored 
 with resin from the pine trees — which isn't 
 very strong; but masticha is stronger and 
 makes them fighting mad, if they take too 
 much; and ouzo is still more potent. Lucky 
 that I gave him only one drachma and that he 
 had to buy a few candles, for he's had just 
 enough to make him wabbly. As a guide, he's 
 worthless, but Bardakes will probably manage 
 some way. He's hard to beat." 
 
 He seemed to be thoroughly familiar with 
 the route, for he led them without hesitation. 
 The quarry lies high on a steep hillside, away 
 from the traveled road, and the fair path which 
 starts from Hagii Deka soon resolves itself 
 into a scarcely perceptible trail and then dis- 
 appears altogether from the stranger's eye as 
 the grade becomes steeper. But under the 
 sure guidance of Bardakes the horses picked 
 their way zigzag up the steep ascent till the 
 mouth of the quarry, a low opening in the 
 
THE FOUR IN CRETE 133 
 
 midst of horizontal layers of limestone rocks, 
 came into view. Then all dismounted and 
 made their way on foot to the entrance, Bar- 
 dakes assisting the old Cretan, who was show- 
 ing more and more the effects of his intoxica- 
 tion. Several curious peasants, who had spied 
 the party from afar and had immediately 
 abandoned their field work to investigate the 
 foreigners, followed in their trail with the evi- 
 dent intention of accompanying them into the 
 cavern. The Coffee Angel began to feel vague 
 misgivings about brigandage and robbery in 
 subterranean vaults, but the Scholar, as usual, 
 knew no fear and plunged gayly through the 
 shadowy opening. 
 
 For awhile the old man led securely enough, 
 muttering to himself and stumbling occasion- 
 ally. But at a place where many galleries 
 diverged he showed signs of confusion as he 
 tried first one passage and then another and 
 at length led on in hesitating uncertainty. The 
 Scholar kept discoursing about the enormous 
 amount of building stone which had been re- 
 
134 THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
 moved from the quarry, leaving the great 
 rooms and galleries, from which one could gain 
 an impression of the size of old Gortyna, And 
 as he speculated on the ancient methods em- 
 ployed to convey the great blocks down the 
 steep hillside he was too absorbed in his theories 
 to note the vagaries of the tipsy guide. The 
 Sage was engrossed in accommodating his six 
 feet of height to the low places, occasionally 
 stifling a groan as he doubled his rheumatic 
 joints and suggesting more than once that it 
 wasn't necessary to go much farther. The 
 Western Woman kept her eye on Bardakes, 
 who at first suavely, then with growing im- 
 patience, held frequent colloquies with the tot- 
 tering old man, sometimes correcting his course 
 and evidently himself knowing the quarry far 
 better than this local authority. Finally, when 
 Bardakes, after a prolonged argument, re- 
 sorted to the drastic measure of collaring the 
 old fellow and marching him in an opposite 
 direction, she noted that he extinguished his 
 candle. She quietly followed his example, 
 
THE FOUR IN CRETE 135 
 
 resolved to save her means of illumination as 
 an emergency resource. 
 
 Meantime, Bardakes was sternly marching 
 the old man along without pause, the Four 
 following, and the Cretan peasants bringing 
 up the rear. By this time the Coffee Angel's 
 fear of the strangers had been replaced by a 
 feeling of thankfulness that these able-bodied 
 men were at hand to assist, should any occa- 
 sion for help arise. 
 
 And now the Scholar, who had been peering 
 around dark corners pretending to look for the 
 fiery-breathed Minotaur, had at last become 
 aware of the shortening of his candle. "Who's 
 got an extra candle?" he asked. No one 
 answered. "Well," he said, cheerfully, "I may 
 have to burn my coat for a torch! I wonder 
 how the Christians illuminated this place!" 
 
 "Christians," said the Western Woman, 
 who often gave evidence of never having read 
 any history; "what about them?" 
 
 "They lived here, five hundred of them," 
 explained the Scholar, patiently, "during the 
 
136 THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
 war ending in 1869. People from all these vil- 
 lages took refuge here from the Turks. They 
 must have found this a gloomy dvrelling and 
 must have suffered from poor ventilation and 
 lack of water. I've been told, though, that 
 there was a spring in some part of the cavern, 
 and of course it was such an immense place that 
 they may not have been so badly off for good 
 air, after all. There's quite a suction in these 
 galleries, you see. Whew ! I should say there 
 was!" For a sudden gust had extinguished 
 his light and the party was left in total 
 darkness. 
 
 The Western Woman thankfully held fast 
 her bit of candle and wondered why Bardakes 
 didn't light his; but he merely kept the guide 
 moving and they distinguished in the distance 
 a faint glimmer as of a star gradually growing 
 brighter. 
 
 "The light, the light!" cried the Coffee 
 Angel vdth a note of relief in her voice, and 
 all pressed eagerly forward to the opening. 
 Once outside, the Four showed traces of their 
 
THE FOUR IN CRETE 137 
 
 exploit — the Scholar spotted with yellow 
 candle grease which he had dribbled gener- 
 ously on his clothing, the Sage flushed from 
 creeping through narrow passages, the Coffee 
 Angel rather pale from fright, the corpulent 
 Western Woman plastered with mud which 
 she had scraped from walls and ceilings of 
 passages too contracted to accommodate her 
 bulk. Bardakes alone showed no signs of the 
 fray, but, suave and weU-groomed as ever, 
 posed in front of the hmestone entrance to be 
 photographed with the little old man smiling 
 feebly beside him. Then the tottering gray- 
 beard was dismissed with his stipulated pay — 
 "enough to supply him with ouzo for several 
 days," the Scholar remarked — the peasants 
 went back to their work, and the Four followed 
 Bardakes as he struck unerringly across the 
 fields to the highway. 
 
 XX 
 
 On this level road, which follows the beau- 
 tiful Lethaeos flowing westward through the 
 
138 THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
 plain, the horses trotted cheerfully along, 
 though the Four would fain have tarried on 
 the pleasant banks, shaded by oleanders and 
 plane trees. They had planned to go on to 
 Vori and then return to the palace at Phsestos, 
 but when the guide suggested that they visit 
 this site en route there was an enthusiastic 
 affirmative. The day was fine, the horses 
 fresh, and the Four alive with the spirit of 
 adventure. The Sage especially gave evidence 
 of high spirits, and once, when Bardakes 
 turned sharply to the left and the pace was 
 slackened while the horses splashed slowly 
 through the sparkling waters of the stream, 
 an explosive chuckle broke the sweet stillness 
 of the summer air. The Sage straightened 
 himself in the saddle and tried to look uncon- 
 scious, but the Scholar mercilessly demanded 
 the joke. 
 
 "I was thinking," confessed the Sage, "what 
 an awful trip this is — ^blue sky, beautiful 
 stream, fine road, gentle horses, and an expert 
 guide ! Here I am as fresh as a daisy when I 
 
THE FOUR IN CRETE 139 
 
 expected to be half dead! And" — he paused 
 a moment and looked embarrassed — "I sup- 
 pose it's silly, but I've been wishing all morn- 
 ing that one of you would take my picture on 
 this horse to send back to my wife. The last 
 time I took a horseback trip was thirty-seven 
 years ago, when I rode eighteen miles to court 
 my girl. She'd like to have it, you see !" 
 
 Two cameras were instantly snapped at the 
 Sage — ^to the displeasure of the horse, it 
 seemed, for he chose this moment to throw his 
 rider forward out of the saddle. The result 
 was not exactly what the beast had expected, 
 for the Sage landed astride the horse's head 
 and bravely commenced the difficult task of 
 shinnying backward up the smooth incline of 
 the long neck. There was a moment's keen 
 anxiety, but before the Scholar could render 
 assistance the Sage had regained the saddle 
 and was applauded with shouts of "Bravo!" 
 from the others. "O!" lamented the Scholar 
 when they had calmed down, "if I only had 
 that picture to send to your wife!" 
 
140 THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
 "I don't blame the poor beast for trying to 
 rid himself of his load if we are to climb those 
 heights," said the Sage, pointing to a chain 
 of hills toward which Bardakes was leading. 
 
 "We don't climb the highest one," the 
 Scholar assured him, "for the palace ruins are 
 on the eastern spur. Halbherr did find re- 
 mains on the two higher summits, but nothing 
 so imposing as the lowest one yielded." 
 
 "Do we stay here as long as we did at 
 Knossos?" asked the Western Woman. 
 
 "Probably not," the Sage comforted her, 
 "for the ruins are not so extensive." 
 
 "No, and they are so similar to the ruins at 
 Knossos," the Scholar added, "that they won't 
 be so hard for us to understand. There's a 
 great Central Coiirt with its long diameter 
 running north and south, just as at Knossos, 
 and at one time there were apartments all 
 around it. But the rooms on the southeast 
 have slipped down the hill so we can only 
 conjecture what may have been there. The 
 essential parts of a Minoan palace seem to be 
 
THE FOUR IN CRETE 141 
 
 left. There's a West Court, as at Knossos, 
 and a so-called Theatral Area with a flight of 
 steps at the north end which may have served 
 as seats. It's a one-sided theater, in any case, 
 for there is no second row of steps joining these 
 at right angles, as there is at Knossos, and the 
 royal box is lacking. By the way, this is a 
 stiff climb for the horses, so I'll walk a bit." 
 
 "Bardakes is dismounting just ahead," said 
 the Sage, "so we must have arrived." And 
 his conjecture was immediately verified by the 
 magnificent panorama which burst upon their 
 view. 
 
 Immediately below, on the eastern end of 
 the ridge, a network of walls, still standing 
 eight or ten feet high, revealed the plan of 
 the great palace ; while beyond and three hun- 
 dred feet lower, stretched the fertile Messara 
 plain with its checkerboard effect of brown 
 and green patches. 
 
 "It's almost like looking into an unroofed 
 city from a balloon, commented the Scholar 
 as he started down the hill with a hop, skip. 
 
142 THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
 and jump which landed him in the center of 
 the Theatral Area. "Come one, come all! 
 Seats are free, and the performance about to 
 begin!" he shouted back in the manner of a 
 professional "barker" as the others more cau- 
 tiously picked their way down the rough slope. 
 And he insisted on ushering them to seats on 
 the flight of steps backed by the great wall of 
 huge limestone blocks. 
 
 "Ladies and gentlemen," he contiQued, as- 
 suming a pompous mien and a stentorian voice 
 which reechoed through the deserted palace, 
 "you are now seated in the Minoan theater 
 looking down on the Western Court, and it 
 will be your privilege to listen to a lecture on 
 the various periods of Minoan architecture. 
 For know, sweet friends, that the palace of 
 Phsestos had a history similar to that of 
 Knossos. Neolithic pottery has been found 
 here and some early Minoan pottery; also re- 
 mains of a palace which was built about the 
 same time as the early palace at Knossos. 
 Both were destroyed, both rebuilt, though 
 
RUINS AT PH.^STOS 
 
 STOREROOM AT PH.ESTOS 
 
THE FOUR IN CRETE 143 
 
 these vicissitudes seem to have taken place 
 somewhat later on this site than at Knossos. 
 Be that as it may, we find both later palaces 
 flom-ishing contemporaneously in the period 
 called Late Minoan II — about fifteen hundred 
 B. C. Even in their modern history the two 
 sites are similar, for while Evans was working 
 at the excavating of Knossos, at the same time 
 the Italian Halbherr was busily digging away 
 in the young olive groves which then crowned 
 this summit. The results of his stupendous 
 labors you see before you — a great palace built 
 on the ruins of the earlier structure — a monu- 
 ment, may it please your honors, where one 
 may study with unparalleled advantage the 
 various building periods in Minoan struc- 
 tures." Here the Scholar, interrupted by wild 
 applause from his audience, took the oppor- 
 tunity of mopping his perspiring brow, and 
 then, with a deep bow, resimied: "In proof of 
 this assertion I need only call your attention 
 to the phenomena here displayed before your 
 eyes. Not to mention the Neolithic walls 
 
lU THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
 which were found in the deep pit at my right, 
 nor the walls of cellars belonging to the early 
 palace, you will observe, comrades, that the 
 paved area where I now stand is some five feet 
 lower than the level of the platform along this 
 whole east side. This Theatral Area, ladies 
 and gentlemen, belonged to the early palace, 
 and was covered over by the later palace, which 
 had its main apartments on the higher level. 
 The general plan of this later palace you will 
 easily grasp if you will lend me all your ears 
 for a few moments of time. Immediately at 
 the end of the great wall which is now screen- 
 ing your honorable backs, you will find a nar- 
 row stairway, leading to a higher level behind 
 you. That, fellow citizens, was not the main 
 entrance to the palace, but merely gave access 
 to some upper rooms. Nor did the magnificent 
 stairway at your left lead into the main section 
 of the great building, but these great steps 
 formed the imposing entrance to the hall of 
 state which, as you can see, was on a level 
 intermediate between those upper rooms and 
 
THE FOUR IN CRETE 145 
 
 the main body of the palace. Fellow country- 
 men, that stone stairway has been described as 
 the finest example of domestic architecture in 
 existence, and one writer asserts that no archi- 
 tect ever made such a flight of steps outside of 
 Crete. This grand staircase is over forty-five 
 feet wide, and embassies could have mounted 
 it ten or twenty abreast and have been received 
 in solid phalanx into the stately audience 
 chamber. Methinks too that mayhap this 
 great stairway fulfilled a double function and 
 that it took the place of the second tier of seats 
 which we found in the Knossian theater. To 
 be sure, it is not contiguous to the tier which 
 you are now occupying, but the great steps 
 run at right angles to your seats, as did the 
 second row of seats at Knossos, and would have 
 formed no bad vantage point from which to 
 enjoy either the ancient games or the present 
 illuminating lecture." 
 
 But at this point the Western Woman 
 interrupted with: "I don't beheve these were 
 theaters at all, I'd like to have this wall be- 
 
146 THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
 hind us taken down and see what we could 
 find. And even if there's nothing to be found 
 now, I beheve that these big stairways on both 
 sites did lead into some parts of the palaces. 
 How did you learn all this, anyway?" 
 
 "Madame," replied the Scholar, with a 
 dignified bow, "all that I know and a great 
 deal more you may read for yourself in the 
 official reports of the excavations. For your 
 use, however, I should recommend three recent 
 books — one by Burrows, another by Baikie, 
 and a choice little book by Mr. and Mrs. 
 Hawes. I have read and enjoyed them all and 
 have freely appropriated whatever pleased my 
 errant fancy. But to resimie. Having elim- 
 inated the small stairway and the great one 
 in our search for the main entrance, let us 
 now, my hearers, consider this long corridor 
 leading east from my right hand. There's a 
 huge square pillar in its center and my vision 
 can pass beyond that into the great Central 
 Court. But it was not thus in the palmy days 
 of Cretan prosperity, for at that time this end 
 
THE FOUR IN CRETE 147 
 
 of the corridor was closed by a wall and access 
 to it could be had only through a small door 
 near a sentry box, in which a guard was sta- 
 tioned. In fact, this inclosed corridor was 
 nothing more or less than the main artery of 
 the storage department. Unlike the long gal- 
 lery at Knossos, its trend is at right angles to 
 the long diameter of the Central Court, and 
 it has magazines branching out from both sides 
 instead of merely on one side. The magazines, 
 however, are not so numerous as at Knossos, 
 so the Coffee Angel need have no fear of 
 getting lost; and though there are some jars 
 left standing in them, they are not so big as 
 the greatest ones in the other palace." 
 
 "But how long is this suspense to last," 
 interrupted the Western Woman impatiently, 
 "and where is the entrance to the main part?" 
 
 "Madame," said the Scholar, "I was just 
 on the point of remarking that the main en- 
 trance was this corridor parallel to the one of 
 the storerooms, which will conduct us imme- 
 diately to the Central Court and the rooms 
 
148 THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
 surrounding it. And now, ladies and gentle- 
 men, thanking you one and all for your kind 
 attention, I profess myself ready to penetrate 
 into the interior of this palace." And without 
 deigning to notice the tumultuous applause 
 evoked by his eloquence, the Scholar vaulted 
 lightly upon the higher platform at his right 
 and disappeared from view between the walls 
 of the main corridor, 
 
 XXI 
 
 In the Central Court the others found him 
 talking with a strange Cretan guard, both of 
 them looking away toward the north and 
 swinging their arms in excited gestures. "Do 
 you see that peak of Mount Ida that looks 
 like a truncated cone?" the Scholar asked as 
 the others came up. "Well, do you see that 
 long horizontal patch of snow near the top 
 edge? Then just below that, and a little to- 
 ward the right end, do you see that dark spot? 
 That's the entrance to the Kamares Cave — 
 the cave where Mr. Myres found the beautiful 
 
THE FOUR IN CRETE 149 
 
 pottery which everybody calls Kamares ware 
 from the place of its discovery. The Sage and 
 I saw a lot of it in the museum. It's as thin as 
 eggshells and the color designs are wonderful. 
 Since its discovery by Mr. Myres it has been 
 found on many other sites — at Knossos, here at 
 PhEEstos, in the Dictsean Cave, and so forth — 
 but I suppose it will always go under the name 
 of Kamares. By the way, didn't these people 
 have a great view of Mount Ida ! We may go 
 up those steps at the left to the highest level 
 and get even a finer view, but we'd better do 
 our exploring first. The domestic quarters are 
 on this same level — not down a big flight of 
 steps, as at Knossos. That doorway in the 
 north wall will take us to them." 
 
 The Four must have spent half an hour in 
 these rooms, finding them fairly intelligible 
 because of many resemblances to the family 
 quarters at Knossos, and were just retracing 
 their way to the Central Court when the 
 Scholar missed the Coffee Angel. 
 
 "She can't have lost herself in this place!" 
 
150 THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
 he exclaimed, and then they saw her within 
 the entrance to the Central Court bending over 
 a large jar which stood against the north wall. 
 "I didn't know you were interested in the old 
 jars," said the Scholar, "and I wonder how 
 old these are, anyway — they may have been 
 standing right here for more than three thou- 
 sand years." But the Coffee Angel merely 
 looked mysterious and answered not at all. 
 Suddenly the Scholar threw back his head and 
 sniffed the air like a dog trying to recover a 
 lost scent, then "Coffee!" he shouted and 
 peered into the depths of the great jar. There 
 sat the little traveling lamp, secure from drafts, 
 and the coffee, just beginning to boil, was 
 sending up its enticing aroma. 
 
 "But where did you get the water?" asked 
 the Western Woman. 
 
 "From the guard," answered the Coffee 
 Angel. "I showed him the empty coffee pot 
 and the alcohol, and he understood right away 
 and pulled a bottle of water out of his pocket 
 and gave it to me. It was probably his day's 
 
THE FOUR IN CRETE 151 
 
 supply from home. And there was such a 
 strong breeze that I had to look a long time 
 to find a sheltered spot, and finally this idea 
 struck me. You see, I chose a rather small 
 jar so that I could reach to the bottom." 
 
 "Coffee Angel," cried the Scholar, sinking 
 on one knee and clasping his hands in impas- 
 sioned appeal, "when I grow up will you elope 
 with me? My heart tells me that any woman 
 who can serve coffee from a Minoan jar is my 
 affinity! I read once of a woman who went 
 about offering cups of fragrant tea to fagged 
 victims of the modern strenuous life. She was 
 called 'The Woman with a Teapot in her 
 Soul,' and she seemed to me angelic. But, 
 Coffee Angel, a woman with a coffeepot in 
 her soul is my ideal!" 
 
 "Well," acquiesced the Coffee Angel, "I was 
 fifty last month, and when you catch up to 
 me, we'll elope. Meantime, you might find 
 some suitable place for lunch, for the alcohol 
 has burned out and the coffee is cooling." 
 
 "Easy enough," cried the Scholar, lightly 
 
152 THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
 diverted from his love-making. "No rooms on 
 the south or east, and we found no special 
 attractions in the north rooms. Let's eat over 
 here on the west side in the men's megaron. 
 It may have been the king's audience chamber, 
 like the Throne Room at Knossos, and we 
 ought to drink our coffee where the official 
 spirit of royalty still lingers." 
 
 "You don't tell us so much about the museum 
 things found here as you did at Knossos," 
 remarked the Western Woman after the 
 pangs of hunger had been somewhat appeased. 
 
 "Because there isn't so much to tell," 
 answered the Scholar. "Very little has been 
 found here except the palace itself. They 
 don't seem to have used fine frescoes for these 
 palace walls, and the excavators discovered no 
 royal gaming boards or ivory figurines here. 
 The famous disk, however, atoned somewhat 
 for disappointment in regard to artistic finds. 
 That is in the Candian museum, and we must 
 look at it when we get back, for it has an 
 important bearing on the subject of early 
 
THE FOUR IN CRETE 153 
 
 writing. It is a clay disk about seven inches 
 in diameter and on each side there is an in- 
 scription coiled around the center." 
 
 "Can we read that, or is it like the Knossian 
 tablets, an unsolved mystery?" asked the 
 Western Woman. 
 
 "A mystery, surely," said the Scholar, 
 "though Evans sees a general resemblance to 
 characters on Cretan sealstones — figures of 
 animals and human beings and their utensils 
 and arms; but though the resemblance is 
 noticeable, some of the signs are new and he 
 believes that the inscription isn't Cretan at all, 
 but represents another civilization, perhaps a 
 Lycian. He dates it not later than sixteen 
 hundred B. C. and that makes it probably the 
 earhest thing known of its kind. But here 
 comes Bardakes to tell us it is time to start. 
 It's two o'clock, and if we want to visit Hagia 
 Triada before supper time, we must go right 
 along. If you'll be getting mounted I'll be 
 with you in a minute. I just want to walk 
 around the broken walls on the south slope." 
 
154 THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
 Perilously near the edge of some he walked, 
 as the others could see from their lofty station 
 by the horses while Bardakes was helping them 
 moimt. Once, as he was bending over to peer 
 at something below on the steep hillside, he 
 slipped and turned a couple of involuntary 
 handsprings down the slope, finally landing 
 on his feet, however, with his hat still on his 
 head! 
 
 "It isn't everyone who could do that without 
 dislodging his hat," he laughed as he scrambled 
 up to a safe place. And then, pulling up 
 huge bunches of the great daisies which 
 crowded about the ancient walls, he came 
 bounding up the hill and sprang into the saddle 
 as Bardakes began to lead in the descent to the 
 valley. Then came the prettiest part of the 
 Cretan trip, the two miles along the course of 
 the Lethseos — quite a considerable stream as 
 it nears the western sea coast, its clear water 
 gliding almost without a ripple over the clean, 
 pebbly bed and its banks shaded by large trees. 
 The rich fields on either side give an appear- 
 
THE LETH.^OS 
 
 CHAPEL OP SAINT GEORGE 
 
THE FOUR IN CRETE 155 
 
 ance of thrift and plenty, while a lonely palm 
 tree adds a tropical suggestion. 
 
 XXII 
 
 The little Venetian chapel of Saint George, 
 on the hiU above the Italian excavations at 
 Hagia Triada, is a conspicuous landmark for 
 the tourist, and has, besides, some interesting 
 old frescoes on its walls. 
 
 As the Four slowly forded the stream and 
 rode on toward the hill, their first impression 
 of the ruins was totally different from that 
 gained at Knossos and Phsestos, for here they 
 were confronted, as it were, by a cross section 
 of the Villa which emphasized its arrangement 
 on different terraces. A score or so of laborers 
 were at work on the lowest level, digging and 
 shoveling and carting, and women were clip- 
 ping and pulling the weeds which persisted in 
 the crevices of walls already cleared. 
 
 "That is one of the drawbacks of excavating 
 in a tropical climate," said the Scholar, point- 
 
156 THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
 ing to the women bending over at their weed- 
 ing. "Everything grows so fast that constant 
 labor is required to keep the walls clear of 
 grass and shrubs. I've been told that here at 
 Plagia Triada at the end of the season the 
 Italian mission gives the 'dig' over to the 
 charge of the Cretans with the vmderstanding 
 that the guard shall keep the place clean. But 
 one year when they returned to resume work 
 they found a rank young forest flourishing 
 on the site, and they had to clear this away 
 before they could proceed with their excava- 
 tions." 
 
 Here some words of Bardakes made the 
 Scholar spring from his horse and in a moment 
 he explained: "He wants us to see this bee- 
 hive tomb. It is unroofed and nothing is left 
 in it, but you can see the circular shape all 
 right. And over yonder that depression in 
 the grovmd is the place where the painted 
 sarcophagus was found. You'll be able to see 
 that in the museum. Its artistic merit is not 
 great, but the paintings on it are interesting. 
 
THE FOUR IN CRETE 157 
 
 They depict scenes connected with the care of 
 the dead which show undoubted Egyptian in- 
 fluence. Lots of really artistic things too have 
 been found on this site. Besides the boxers' 
 vase, which we talked about in connection with 
 the bull fights, there is the beautiful little vase 
 showing a wonderful decoration representing 
 some kind of a procession. And the frescoes 
 found here have been surpassed by none. I 
 don't know much about the history of the Villa, 
 but there seem to have been at least three 
 periods — the first and third rather unim- 
 portant, but the second distinguished by hand- 
 some rooms and fine furnishings. Over yon- 
 der are two drainage canals right together at 
 different levels, representing different periods 
 in the hfe of the Villa; and if Dr. Halbherr 
 were only here, he could tell us all about them, 
 but one of the workmen says that he had to go 
 home early to-day. However, I remember a 
 little about these rooms below the chapel. 
 This is evidently a megaron with its gypsimri 
 seat extending around the wall — an arrange- 
 
158 THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
 ment similar to that of the Throne Room at 
 Knossos — and this door to the left evidently 
 leads to a sleeping apartment, windowless, ap- 
 parently, like the one off the Throne Room. 
 Bardakes calls this other room a kitchen. That 
 flat slab in the center was probably the table, 
 but I can't make out these great irregular 
 stone objects. Stoves! He says they are 
 stoves — three of them! Well, I can't imder- 
 stand the mechanism, but perhaps this stone 
 trough was for removing the ashes, and prob- 
 ably the smoke came out into the room. I 
 suppose they were heated thoroughly Uke the 
 old-fashioned brick oven of our grandmothers' 
 day, and then the coals were raked out and 
 the bread laid on the hot stones to bake. But 
 I'm only guessing, and I'm out of my depth, 
 anyway, in the conmiissary department. I 
 move that the ladies study out the culinary 
 arrangements of the Minoans while the Sage 
 and I take a swim in the River Lethjeos. Isn't 
 it in Carlyle's French Revolution that we read 
 'Oblivious Lethe flows not above ground'? 
 
THE FOUR IN CRETE 159 
 
 But it does — in Crete — and I propose a dip in 
 the Stream of Forgetfulness !" 
 
 "If it will make me forget the fleas we slept 
 with last night and those we shall probably 
 sleep with to-night, I ask no more," said the 
 Sage. 
 
 "It will give surcease from all sorrow and 
 a respite from pain," promised the Scholar. 
 "Hurrah for the Stream of Oblivion!" and 
 the men departed as gleefully as two school- 
 boys. 
 
 XXIII 
 
 An hour later the Four were again mounted 
 and splashing through the shallow waters of 
 the stream, headed northeast for Vori, where 
 they must seek quarters for the night. The 
 village seemed far from attractive, for its main 
 street was rough and dirty and served also as 
 a conduit for the little stream which supplied 
 the inhabitants with water. Into the inevit- 
 able courtyard and up the outside stairway 
 the Four followed Bardakes and found, as at 
 Hagii Deka, an upper room, comparatively 
 
160 THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
 clean, with the usual hard-cushioned seat run- 
 ning around the walls. No lower room was to 
 be had here for the bargaining, but opening 
 off the large room was a small storeroom with 
 a great heap of wheat in one corner and a 
 wine- jar in another. 
 
 "The ladies want to sleep with the wheat 
 and the wine," announced the Western 
 Woman. "We had the hall of state last night 
 and the men must have it to-night." And no 
 amount of argument could move her. So a 
 blanket was spread on the floor and the bed- 
 room was ready for occupancy. 
 
 The silence that followed the completion of 
 these simple arrangements was tinged with an 
 indisputable air of depression, for the Four 
 were experiencing the reaction incident on a 
 day of excitement with short rations. It was 
 their time of lowest ebb, and even the Scholar's 
 face showed the unmistakable discouragement 
 of a hungry man. But in a moment he rose 
 and with a resolute shake of his shoulders said : 
 "We'd better waste no more time. We must 
 
THE FOUR IN CRETE 161 
 
 find some place to get supper and then be back 
 here before dark or we shall break our necks 
 on these cobblestone streets." 
 
 But here the deus ex machina appeared in 
 the shape of Bardakes introducing a bearded 
 man with whom the Scholar talked a few 
 minutes. 
 
 "He seems like a gentle sort of a fellow," 
 commented the Scholar, "and he may be our 
 only chance, so we'd better hold on to him. I 
 can't exactly make it out, but he says he will 
 have something for us to eat at eight o'clock 
 and begs us to tell him what we should like. 
 He seems very anxious to have us come." 
 
 "O, tell him to have anything but eggs," 
 said the Western Woman. "Maybe he could 
 give us some lamb." 
 
 "He says 'Certainly,' " reported the Scholar, 
 "that he hasn't any lamb ready, but will kill 
 one for us, and that he will come back at eight 
 o'clock to escort us through the dark streets. 
 So I told him to go ahead with the lamb." 
 
 "Don't you think you had better talk to him 
 
162 THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
 a little more?" suggested the Sage as the 
 stranger turned to go. "He doesn't seem to me 
 like a restaurant keeper. There is something 
 queer about this." 
 
 So the Scholar called him back and ques- 
 tioned him again. The others could not 
 understand, of course, but they noted a change 
 in the Scholar's manner and a dull red flush 
 creeping over his face under the tan as the 
 stranger finally bowed himself out. 
 
 "He is Dr. Halbherr's servant," he an- 
 nounced, rather sulkily, "and he brought an 
 invitation from Dr. Halbherr to dine with hira 
 at eight o'clock! And I've sent back word for 
 him to kill a lamb ! Ye gods ! What a break !" 
 And the Scholar groaned — and groaned once 
 again at the laughter of the others who refused 
 to regard his mistake seriously. The Western 
 Woman especially seemed to take the matter 
 as a huge joke and laughed till the tears ran 
 down her cheeks. 
 
 "It's all right," she said when she finally 
 regained control of her voice; "Dr. Halbherr 
 
THE FOUR IN CRETE 163 
 
 doubtless has heard that there are tourists in 
 town and has invited us to keep us from starv- 
 ing. And roast lamb will be a good thing to 
 have 'no matter how it is come by,' especially 
 as there is just enough alcohol to boil water 
 for the canteen and we shall have to start 
 without coffee to-morrow morning." But the 
 Scholar still looked rather chagrined. 
 
 At eight o'clock the servant appeared carry- 
 ing a lantern, as by this time the streets were 
 very dark, and a five minutes' walk brought 
 the Four to Dr. Halbherr's home. Here they 
 were ushered at once into the large room where 
 the table was spread. Dr. Halbherr himself, 
 as well dressed and immaculate as if he had 
 just stepped in from some Rue de Rivoli, soon 
 put the Fom- at ease by his perfect courtesy, 
 though they were somewhat conscious of their 
 incongruous attire and travel-stained appear- 
 ance. The conversation began in Greek, but 
 only the Scholar could make any adequate 
 response in that language. Then their host 
 tried them in Italian; blank silence. Next in 
 
164 THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
 French; the Coffee Angel feebly ventured on 
 "Oui, monsieur," and then relapsed into ex- 
 hausted embarrassment. It seemed doomed to 
 be a silent meal. But at last Dr. Halbherr 
 surprised them all by saying, "Perhaps you 
 speak English?" And from then on they 
 chatted easily, as the host related many witty 
 stories about his thirty years' experiences in 
 Crete, through the varied vicissitudes which 
 that island has undergone in recent times. 
 
 And how the Four did eat ! It was really a 
 civilized dinner — soup and fish and chicken and 
 lamb and salad and pie and coffee, and all so 
 daintily served! There was one moment of 
 embarrassment when the lamb appeared, but 
 as Dr. Halbherr remarked with a sly twinkle 
 in his eye, "You see, I received your message," 
 all had a hearty laugh over the lamb episode 
 and the Scholar's discomfiture. "I am never 
 surprised by any answer which I receive to 
 my invitations," said Dr. Halbherr, "for I 
 never know just how they will be delivered. 
 When I hear that foreigners have visited the 
 
THE FOUR IN CRETE 165 
 
 excavations, since I don't know in what 
 language to address them, I always send this 
 man to find their guide and tell them to take 
 dinner with me. Some funny misunderstand- 
 ings have arisen, but the important thing is to 
 convince visitors that they need not go hungry 
 to bed. It is really very difiicult to get a meal 
 in the town, especially as the water isn't very 
 safe. You needn't fear to drink all you want 
 of this — I send three miles to a safe spring for 
 it, and I always urge my guests to drink plenti- 
 fully, for it is a long day's ride back to Candia 
 and no good water on the way." 
 
 It is needless to say that the Four did full 
 justice to the invitation, so that on their way 
 back to their rooms the Sage expressed the 
 fear that Dr. Halbherr would need to send a 
 special carrier to the spring next day to re- 
 plenish his supply. 
 
 This night the Sage and the Scholar could 
 sleep in defiance of the fleas, for the Western 
 Woman remembered to offer them her extra 
 box of insect powder. 
 
166 THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
 "This reminds me of a remark a great pro- 
 fessor of Greek once made," said the Sage as 
 he accepted her courtesy; "I asked him if he 
 knew Dorpfeld, and he rephed, 'Yes, I am 
 quite well acquainted with him — not well ac- 
 quainted, either, but — O, the kind of friend- 
 ship which comes from lending one's insect 
 powder in Greece!' So you have learned the 
 proper method of making yourself popular in 
 these lands!" 
 
 Next morning there was the usual earty 
 start, but this time with only Graham crackers 
 for breakfast. Therefore the Four were not 
 sorry when about ten o'clock Bardakes took 
 them through a little village where he procured 
 some alcohol and a dozen fresh eggs. Just 
 beyond the town they stopped to make coffee 
 in a deserted stone hut, where some curious 
 peasants came up to watch the process. Apart 
 from this, the day was an uneventful one of 
 slow quiet progress toward Candia. The road 
 chosen for the return was a few miles longer, 
 but the Four now felt that there was no need 
 
THE FOUR IN CRETE 167 
 
 of haste and decreed that the horses should 
 walk all day and the riders have a chance to 
 enjoy the flowers and scenes along the way. 
 Just at six o'clock they entered the principal 
 street of Candia and in a few minutes di-ew 
 rein before the Hotel Knossos. The servants 
 there are evidently used to assisting fatigued 
 travelers, for obsequious boys ran out with 
 chairs and reached up to receive the riders into 
 their arms. But with a superior smile Bar- 
 dakes waved them away. By this time he knew 
 his party, and seemed as pleased as a child to 
 have them laugh and dismount so easily in full 
 view of the curious spectators. 
 
PART FIVE 
 
PART FIVE 
 
 XXIV 
 
 A STEAMER was due to leave for Athens that 
 night, but the Four had seen httle of Candia, 
 so they decided to wait till the next opportunity 
 of leaving and meantime to explore the 
 museum and the town, especially as the Scholar 
 professed his readiness to reveal the mystery 
 about the ruby-lipped lady who would surely 
 be at the museum next morning if the Western 
 Woman and the Coffee Angel wished to meet 
 her. So they all accompanied him to visit his 
 lady love, following him to the second floor of 
 the museum and into the large room where 
 are exhibited the greatest treasures from 
 various Cretan sites. Without pause he 
 marched them to the left and halted them 
 before a fresco on the wall near the door. It 
 is a painting, less than life size, representing 
 the profile of a girl of rather piquant beauty, 
 
 171 
 
172 THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
 dressed in a gown of some diaphanous material 
 effectively trimmed with blue, black, and red 
 stripes. Her great dark eye and bright red 
 lips, the black curling hair drawn back from 
 the forehead in a decided pompadour and fall- 
 ing in loose waves on the shoulders, the general 
 effect of smartness and style, would make such 
 a girl conspicuous anywhere. The effect of 
 the apparition in the Candian museum is really 
 startling, and the Four all yielded to the charm 
 of her somewhat pert beauty till the Western 
 Woman's curiosity recalled her to the object 
 of their visit and she reminded the Scholar of 
 his promise that they should meet the ruby- 
 lipped lady. "This is the 'ruby -lipped lady,' " 
 he replied, with a chuckle of delight that he had 
 kept his secret so well. "Don't you admire her 
 cherry lips? And see how she is smiling at 
 me now ! Just to think that she has been smil- 
 ing like that more than three thousand years 
 and I haven't been here to see her!" 
 
 "Humph!" ejaculated the Western Woman, 
 with spinsterial venom, "she has had time to 
 
THE FOUR IN CRETE 173 
 
 smile on thousands of other men in her long 
 career!" 
 
 "Yes, but it is for me that she is waiting, 
 I'm sure, on the shores of Acheron," persisted 
 the Scholar, optimistically, "and I'd be willing 
 to become a shade if I might catch a glimpse 
 of the ruby-lipped lady in the realms of Dis I" 
 
 "Tut! tut!" interrupted the Sage, sharply, 
 "don't be sacrilegious, my boy — at any rate, 
 not imtil you get us out of Crete. And here 
 is the fresco of the Cup-bearer that the ladies 
 want to see, and all these other things that are 
 new to them." 
 
 So the Scholar made the rounds, giving in- 
 teresting data about the pottery and bronzes. 
 The Western Woman listened awhile, but 
 presently abandoned the others to their pursuit 
 of knowledge and slipped out in search of 
 photographic adventure. She found abundant 
 material on every side. There were narrow 
 business streets with tiny shops displaying 
 bright garments and gaudy weaves xinder 
 canvas awnings. 
 
174 THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
 At one street corner she saw a cobbler sitting 
 on the curbing while he conifortablj^ plied his 
 trade. In an open space nearby stood men and 
 boj^s selling various products of the baker's 
 trade, their wares piled on traj's which they 
 carried suspended in front of them by a strap 
 
 A PACK MULE IN CANDIA 
 
 or which rested on temporary stands — the 
 venders much more interesting than their 
 wares, for everj^ conceivable combination of 
 Cretan garments with cheap American cloth- 
 ing was to be seen in this group. 
 
 As in Athens, pedestrians sauntered non- 
 chalantly along the narrow streets, confident 
 
STREET SCENE IN CANDIA 
 
 STREET SCENE IN CANDIA 
 
THE FOUR IN CRETE 175 
 
 that the occasional vehicles would give 
 them right of way. Much of the "packing" 
 seemed to be done by patient httle donkeys 
 who plodded along almost concealed by their 
 big loads of furniture, or building materials, 
 or casks. 
 
 In a crowded downtown street some little 
 girls, carrying their embroidery home from 
 school, delightedly stood to be photographed, 
 and in the Prince George Square a group of 
 school children in charge of their master was 
 going through some gymnastic drill in the 
 open air. 
 
 The only well-dressed women whom the 
 Western Woman encoimtered were invariably 
 clad in black and wore black masks covering 
 the face up to the eyes. These she met always 
 in some secluded residence street, passing 
 quickly along as if anxious to avoid observa- 
 tion and vanishing into some house whose 
 latticed windows conveyed an impression of 
 mystery. Sometimes, however, the residences 
 had a sociable air, for second-story bay-win- 
 
176 THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
 dows, built out on opposite sides of the very 
 narrow street, nearly touched and provided 
 every facility for gossiping without exertion. 
 
 Besides the finer mosques, here and there 
 were older ones, picturesque in their dilapida- 
 tion, with their minarets of various shapes and 
 sizes. 
 
 AN OLD MOSQUE 
 
 On the beach the Western Woman watched 
 the fishermen mending their great brown nets, 
 hung up in parallel rows to dry. Later as she 
 walked around the city wall at sunset, she had 
 a distant view of the little harbor fort pro- 
 jecting far out into the water. Everywhere 
 
THE FOUR IN CRETE 177 
 
 she turned the Western Woman found some- 
 thing interesting to one who was having her 
 first ghmpse of the nearer East. She was 
 sorry when on Wednesday the hotel clerk 
 reported that two vessels bound for Athens 
 would stop at Candia that day. 
 
 "One is a North German Lloyd steamer 
 and one a Greek vessel," the Scholar reported, 
 "and we had better take the first one that 
 arrives." So the bags were packed and the 
 Four held themselves in readiness to leave the 
 hotel at a moment's notice. Three times dur- 
 ing that day was the warning given that a 
 steamer was near and three times did the 
 Scholar run to the museum to say yet one 
 more farewell to the ruby-lipped lady. Finally 
 at five o'clock the Greek vessel had actually 
 arrived, the tickets were purchased, and the 
 Four started to the dock, escorted by Bar- 
 dakes, who had appeared at the proper time 
 with an enormous bunch of roses which he 
 presented to the ladies. He looked handsomer 
 than ever, for in honor of the occasion he had 
 
178 THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
 donned a shirt of light blue gingham, and its 
 wide sleeves, hanging free against the dark 
 blue of his sleeveless jacket, gave him a gala- 
 day appearance. 
 
 "Our steamer is too narrow and too high for 
 her length," chuckled the Scholar, gleefully, 
 as the Four clambered on board, "and now I 
 believe what they told me at the steamship 
 office — that she is the worst boat that sails the 
 seas. Just see how she rocks at anchor and 
 the sea is as smooth as glass." 
 
 "You seem pleased over the prospect of a 
 bad voyage," said the Western Woman. "Are 
 you never seasick?" 
 
 "Never," replied the Scholar, cheerfully. 
 "First-class passage is a waste of money for 
 me. I'm sure I could go steerage without the 
 slightest inconvenience. But we shall all have 
 a chance to test our endurance this trip, for 
 you can feel that there is a nasty ground swell 
 imder this oily surface and as soon as we get 
 out from land the fun will begin." 
 
 The ladies said nothing, but the Cojffee 
 
THE FOUR IN CRETE 179 
 
 Angel served coffee and sandwiches, making 
 sure of a meal before the vessel should put out 
 to sea. The Western Woman visited her 
 stateroom, and finding that the water was 
 splashing against the port holes, carried a 
 blanket and pillow on deck with the thought 
 that she might pass the night under the stars. 
 A few minutes later she noticed the Scholar 
 and the captain engaged in an excited alter- 
 cation. "This fellow insists that some one has 
 brought a blanket out of a stateroom," ex- 
 plained the Scholar, returning somewhat 
 flushed from the encounter, "and I had to 
 swear by all that is holy that it isn't true." 
 
 "But it is true," cried the Western Woman. 
 "I passed the captain on the way up and he 
 saw the blanket. Go tell him it is true." 
 
 So the Scholar delivered her message and 
 came back smihng. "He is just like all these 
 Greeks. When I deny it he tells me it isn't 
 allowed; and now that I confess, he smiles and 
 says: 'Certainly! Tell the lady to use what- 
 ever she likes!' That is discipline for you!" 
 
180 THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
 Then, leaning over the rail as the boat 
 steamed away from the city, the Scholar sadly 
 murmured, "Farewell to the ruby -lipped lady! 
 She has promised to wait for me tiU my re- 
 turn! And I shall carry her picture always 
 next to my heart !" And he took from his note- 
 book a slip of paper on which was a sketch of 
 the Minoan beauty. "The American artist did 
 that for me," he explained, "and I shall 
 treasure it always." But his audience had dis- 
 persed. The Western Woman was already 
 stretched out on the bench of the hatchway, 
 the Sage was seated near her with his head 
 resting on one of the hampers of oranges 
 which covered the rear deck, the Coffee Angel 
 leaned limply back in her steamer chair. "So 
 soon!" ejaculated the Scholar. 
 
 "Yes, so soon!" snapped the Western 
 Woman. 
 
 During all that night the steamer proved 
 her right to the reputation of being the worst 
 vessel on the sea. Other boats may pitch and 
 toss, but the Thessaly simply got down and 
 
THE FOUR IN CRETE 181 
 
 wallowed! All the way from Crete to Athens 
 she wallowed! The Western Woman, lying 
 on the bench which rmis athwart the deck, at 
 one moment would be almost standing on her 
 feet looking down at the waves directly below 
 her, and the next, as the boat rocked and her 
 feet went up, she would open her eyes upon 
 the billows below her head. The hampers of 
 oranges, at first securely lashed, became loos- 
 ened during the night, and with each shifting 
 of the level would slide against her bench and 
 then away from it, till she got to expecting a 
 dull thud against her head at regular intervals. 
 The Sage and the Coffee Angel too succumbed, 
 and during the whole night occupied two other 
 of the hatchway benches, but the Scholar had 
 a fine sleep in his berth and emerged in the 
 morning as fresh as a June rose. It devolved 
 upon him, as the only normal member of the 
 party, to usher his limp companions into the 
 rowboat and to conduct them safely to the 
 Monastiraki station in Athens. As he put the 
 Western Woman into a carriage and bowed to 
 
182 THE FOUR IN CRETE 
 
 sa)^ farewell, a slip of paper fell from his 
 pocket. The Western Woman quietly picked 
 it up and slipped it into her Baedeker. It was 
 the sketch of the rubj^-lipj^ed lady which the 
 Western Woman returned to him the next 
 week — after she had photographed it. 
 
 /f^^^^mK 
 
 r 
 
 THE RUBY-LIPPED LADY