All seasons sweet, but autumn best of all.

be the most important thing in the world to him: on the other hand, he knew what an appalling handicap he had becomehe had heard Mallory say so; he knew, too, that Mallory's primary concern was not for his welfare but the fear that he would be captured, crack under pressure and tell everythinghe bad heard Mallory say so; and he knew that he had failed his Mends. It was all very difficult, impossible to say how the balance of contending forces would work out eventually. Mallory shook his head, sighed, lit a fresh cigarette and moved closer to the fire. Andrea and Louki returned less than five minutes later, and Miller and Panayis were almost at their heels. They could hear Miller coming some distance away, slipping, falling and swearing almost continuously as he struggled up the gully under a large and awkward load. He practically fell across the threshold of the cave and collapsed wearily by the fire. He gave the impression of a man who had been through a very great deal indeed. Mallory grinned sympathetically at him. "Well, Dusty, how did it go? Hope Panayis here didn't slow you up too much." Miller didn't seem to hear him. He was gazing incredulously at the fire, lantern jaw dropping open as its significance slowly dawned on him. "Hell's teeth! Would you look at that!" He swore bitterly. "Here I spend half the gawddamned night climbing up a gawddamned mountain with a stove and enough kerosene to bath a bloody elephant. And what do I find?" He took a deep breath to tell them what he found, then subsided into a strangled, seething silence. "A man your age should watch his blood pressure," Mallory advised. "How did the rest of it go?" "Okay, I guess." Miller had a mug of ouzo in his hand and was beginning to brighten up again. "We got the beddin', the medicine kit" "If you'll give me the bedding I will get our young friend into it now," Andrea interrupted. "And food?" Mallory asked. "Yeah. We got the grub, boss. Stacks of it. This guy Panayis is a Wonder. Bread, wine, goat-cheese, garlic sausages, riceeverything." "Rice?" It was Mallory's turn to be incredulous. "But you can't get the stuff in the islands nowadays, Dusty." "Panayis can." Miller was enjoying himself hugely now. "He got it from the German commandant's kitchen. Guy by the name of Skoda." "The German commandant'syou're joking!" "So help me, boss, that's Gospel truth." Miller drained half the ouzo at a gulp and buyers guide to digital camera lenses expelled his breath in a long, gusty sigh of satisfaction. "Little ol' Miller hangs around the back door, knees knockin' like Carmen Miranda's castanets, ready for a smart take off in any direction while Junior here goes in and cracks the joint. Back home in the States he'd make a fortune as a cat-burglar. Comes back in about ten minutes, luggin' that damned suitcase there." Miller indicated it with a casual wave of his hand. "Not only cleans out the commandant's pantry, but also borrows his satchel to carry the stuff in. I tell you, boss, associatin' with this character gives me heart attacks." "Butbut how about guards, about sentries?" "Taken the night off, I guess, boss. Old Panayis is like a clamnever says a word, and even then I can't understand him. My guess is that everybody's out lookin' for us." "There and back and you didn't meet a soul." Mallory filled him a mug of wine. "Nice going, Dusty." "Panayis's doin', not mine. I just tagged along. Besides, we did run into a couple of Panayis's palshe hunted them up, rather. Musta given him the tip-off about somethin'. He was hoppin' with excitement just afterwards, tried to tell me all about it." Miller shrugged his shoulders sadly. "We weren't operatin' on the same wave-length, boss." Mallory nodded across the cave. Louki and Panayis were close together, Louki doing all the listening, while Panayis talked rapidly in a low voice, gesticulating with both hands. "He's still pretty worked up about something," Mallory said thoughtfully. He raised his voice. "What's the matter, Louki?" "Matter enough, Major." Louki tugged ferociously at the end of his moustache. 'We will have to be leaving soonPanayis wants to go right away. He has heard that the German garrison is going to make a house-tohouse check in our village during the nightabout four o'clock, Panayis was told." "Not a routine check, I take it?" Mallory asked. "This has not happened for many months. They must think that you have slipped their patrols and are hiding in the village." Louki chuckled. "If you ask me, I don't think they know what to think. It is nothing to you, of course. You will not be thereand even if you were they would not find you: and it will make it all the safer for you to come to Margaritha afterwards. But Panayis and Iwe must not be found out of our beds. Things would go