Evening star., 1900-06-30

but the speech was always drowned in
hoarse roar.
Curtis at first could not understand
word that was said. but he felt himself
seized with growing excitement. II ne
started for the Acropoiis or the garden OF
Plato, he forgot his intention and found
himself running. he knew not where, and
longing to shout. he knew not what; Tor as
his ears became accustomed TO the SOUND
he observed that the whole city was shout
ing the same words over and over again.
know thee by the lightning
Of thy terrible swift brand;
know thee by the Frightening
When thy proud eyes sweep the land!
From the blood Of the Greeks upspringing
Who died that We might be free.
And the strength OF thy strong youth bringing
Hail. Liberty, hail to thee.
What is it they are yelling all the time?"
Curtis asked himself repeatedly, land what
are they singing? Tra-la-la, tra-la-la-la."
he was humming the tune himself. A GER
tain pride prevented his seeking !nforma-
ton from the hotel proprietor or one of the
official couriers. He had been no mean Gre
clan at Harvard, and had read 'Loukas
Laras' in the modern vernacular. He could
speak modern Greek fairly well with the
mystery himself. And he did. 1t came to
him like revelation. Three words. scrawled
or printed began to appear on all the white
washed fences and walls of the city. Win
plain for foreigner to read: "Zeto pole
moS'-Hurrah for wari
Then he Listened again. Ten minutes later
he was in the midst of a swaying, strug-
Cling throng before the palace, shouting
"Zeto polemos.
AT dinner he heard his waiter humming
the tune that seemed on the lips and in the
heart of the whole world. and he %sked
What are you singing?" The boy. with eyes
blazing. recited in Greek two or three STAN
Zas that sent chill to the roots of Curtis
hair
1t was the grand war hymn of Solomos
one of those songs that march down the
years, fighting like thousand mon for lib
erty
Curtis was twenty-five, and imagined him
self an ancient Greek or a Lord Byron. He
would get into this thing somehow. He
went back to the hotel and thought it over,
and then he discovered that he had been
carried away with excitement.
I'm crazy he said; I'D have gone any
where with those chaps. and the fact of the
matter is 1 ought to be In Jerusalem at this
minute. I've overstayed my time here four
days now.
But his enthusiasm for the Greeks and
their cause would not down. There had
been another massacre Of Christians in
Crete. and the king had sent Col. Vassos
with an army to seize the island in the
cause of humanity. Prince George had fol-
lowed coon after with the torpedo squadron
I'D be a chump to enlist as common
soldier thought Curtis; besides couldn't t
do much good that way. and the governor
never would give me money enough to fit
out company with"
Then he thought of the book
Il have it, he cried. Il will show up this
Cretan question to the whole civilized world.
I'll get right out among the people. I'll de-
scribe them as they are-their manners and
customs. I'll see some of these villages
that the Turks have burned, and I'll get a
lot of stories Of outrages from the peas
ants themselves. I'll touch the thing up
too, with history and poetry.
John Curtis inherited from his father a
strong Will, and the sort of courage that
grows with the danger which requires it.
lie had also. as we shall see later. inherited
a regulating strain of Yankee caution. His
mind was like a Pendulum, caution taking
the place of the attraction Of gravity. Just
at the moment when it reached ths highest
point of oscillation there was an ever pres
ent force waiting to pull 1t the other way.
But at present he was only twenty-five,
and the struggle between New England
prudence and Youthful enthusiasm had not
yet been decided.
Besides. his mother had bestowed upon his
nature tinge of romanticism, and that i'm
pulsiveness which sometimes becomes rash
ness in a man. He was rather short in
stature, with thick neck, long arms and
sinewy hands. His closely cropped hair
was dark brown, and his mustache was
more of a promise than a fulfillment. There
was healthy color in his boyish cheek.
neither ruddy nor yale. The fact is that
John Curtis had been an all-around athlete
at college whose fame will last for many a
day
AS he stood now upon the deck of the
caique he looked every inch the thing that
he was. wholesome. healthy min ded
American youth-clear grit muscle and self
reliance. lie wore an English yachting
cap and a heavy new ulster. Suspended
from his shoulder by a strap hung a
camera.
The three comrades-for hearts strike
hands in a moment on the sea and in the
wilderncss-sat silently upon the deck A
sailor approached on tiptoe and offered Cur
tbs a guitar. Without word the Ameri-
can passed II to the Greek.
But perhaps you play and sing?" said
the latter. Offering the instrument to the
Swede.