CHAPTER XIII
THE MASTER OF THE FOREST
On our return from the monastery we
had the great joy of finding my brother
at home, back that very day from
Europe. I was so delighted I could hardly sit
still. My happiness was dashed to the ground,
when, in the course of the next half hour, he remarked
that he must leave us in a few days to
see the Bishop of Xanthy. I was speechless with
disappointment until my mother said:
"Oh! that is lucky. The little one needs a complete change to become quite herself again. She can go with you."
Thus it was quickly settled, and a few days later we set off. The first part of the journey was like any other. We went to Constantinople and took a train, which, after due deliberation, started, and in due time again—or rather, not in due time—reached Koumourtzina. There began what seemed to me our real journey, for we were now to travel entirely on animal-back.
We started on mules, in the afternoon, and rode for three hours at a smart trot. In front of us lay the forest of Koumourtzina. Geography has
