The party had wasted no time before setting up their camp. The headman of the village, with whom Adam had been acquainted on his previous visit, had come to inspect the excavation the day they had begun digging, surrounded by a band of villainous-looking supporters. At first, they had shouted and raged at the travellers but they had regarded the firman Fields bore with an almost religious awe. Only the headman had proved literate but he had read the letter aloud to his comrades and all had been impressed. The document had been returned to the professor with much bowing of the head and the deputation had soon departed. From that first day, they had been little troubled by the villagers. Occasionally, small grubby boys had appeared on the crest of the hill overlooking the mound in which Fields had chosen to dig. They would stand and stare until their presence was noted. Then they would turn tail and disappear. Now the presence of the foreigners in the vicinity seemed scarcely to be acknowledged.
All the digging the foreigners had undertaken, however, had as yet unearthed little of interest. On the seventh morning, all of the party had stripped to their shirtsleeves and laboured in the earth with spade and pick. They had been standing in one of the deep trenches they had dug on the sloping bank of the largest tumulus for miles around. This, Fields had announced, was undoubtedly the one that Euphorion had singled out in his ancient text. Dig deep enough, he had said, and they would inevitably strike the vast stone slabs which made up the vaults of the Macedonian tombs. Inside these, indescribable treasures would lie. So far, they had come across little of any value at all. The digging had become a routine, a monotonous toil in the heat that all of them had grown to dislike.
This morning, however, the routine had been broken by the arrival of three visitors. They had not approached the trench but had stood close to where the travellers had pitched camp and shouted. They had sounded angry. Rallis, who had just climbed out of the diggings to fetch water, had been the only one who could see them.
‘What is all the noise, Rallis?’ Adam had asked, looking up from the earthwork. ‘Whose voices can we hear?’
‘It appears to be men from the village. The headman, I think.’
‘What the devil do they want?’
‘I do not know. They are waving their arms,’ the lawyer had reported. ‘They wave them towards the north.’
‘Go talk to them, Rallis,’ Fields had said. ‘Point out to them that they cannot come here whenever they choose to do so. Tell them that our work is too important to be disturbed. Speak to them again of the firman, if necessary.’
The Athenian had looked down at Fields as if he was minded to disobey his instructions. Then he had turned and begun to walk back towards the camp. The others, scrambling out of the trench, had watched him as he neared the villagers. As he had come closer, the headman and his companions had increased the volume of their cries and the energy of their gestures. Rallis had made soothing movements with his hands as he approached. The men from the village had however refused to be soothed and an animated conversation ensued. After several minutes had passed, the lawyer had begun to make his way back to the group now standing awkwardly by the trench.
‘What is it?’ Adam had called when Rallis was still twenty yards from them.
‘They have news that disturbs them,’ the lawyer had replied, quickening his pace to join his fellow diggers. ‘There is another party of strangers riding towards their village. From the north.’
‘Are they so unused to outsiders that they panic at the very thought of more arriving?’ Fields had asked, his voice thick with contempt for the Greek villagers. ‘Perhaps they believe that the visitors are tax collectors come to squeeze more from them.’
‘No, that is not what they fear, Professor.’
‘I find it difficult to care greatly what they fear.’ Fields had shrugged and made as if to turn back to the diggings. ‘And I cannot believe that it is any of our concern. You have told them to depart and leave us in peace, I presume.’
‘They will not do so. The riders, they say, are like you and Adam. They are Franks. They are your friends, they think.’
Fields sighed in exasperation.
‘Do they believe that every European in the land is our friend? Who are these riders?’
‘I do not know. But the headman has had word from his uncle who lives in a village further to the north. The party rested there last night. One of the Franks calls himself Garland.’
‘Garland!’ Adam was astonished. ‘What on earth is Garland doing out here in the wilds?’
‘That is not all, Adam. The headman says that one of the riders is a woman.’
‘Emily!’
‘Nonsense!’ Fields had said sharply. ‘That young woman will be safely home with her mother in Salonika. I cannot understand why Garland, if it is he, should be here. But, assuming that he is, he must be travelling with some doxy he picked up in Athens. He has a reputation, I believe.’
‘We must make our way to meet them.’
‘That is what the headman wishes,’ Rallis had said. ‘He will allow us the use of the only horses in the village. He wants us to confront the visitors. And tell them to turn back.’
‘I will set out immediately,’ Adam had said.
‘Not you, Adam. The headman is of the opinion that only the old man, as he calls the professor, will have the authority to persuade Mr Garland to return to Salonika. Ever since he saw the writing from the minister in Constantinople, the headman has been of the opinion that the professor is a man of power and reputation.’
‘One of that idle scoundrel’s few opinions of any worth,’ Fields had said complacently. ‘But I cannot drop what I am doing here on a mere whim of his. Someone else must go to meet Garland and his party.’
‘I tell you, Rallis,’ Adam had declared, ‘I shall set off northwards. Perhaps it is Emily.’
Adam had felt his heart leap at the prospect of seeing the young woman again. He had begun to make his way towards the camp where the three men from the village had still been standing. As he had moved past Rallis, the Greek lawyer had held out an arm to halt him.
‘The villagers will not allow you to go, Adam, I can assure you. I have already spoken to them about it. They have two horses only. One is for the professor. On that point they are adamant.’
‘I will take the other.’ Adam had made as if to brush aside the Greek’s arm but Rallis had still held him.
‘No, I must go with the professor. That is what they wish. They know that I can understand both English and the Greek spoken here. That I will be able to assist Fields in conveying their message.’
‘Garland will not listen to either of you,’ Adam had said, wresting his arm from the lawyer’s grasp. ‘If he wishes to visit us here, he will do so.’
Rallis had shrugged. ‘I suspect that you are right, Adam, but I think that we must do as the village headman asks. We must do all we can to remain on terms with him.’
Adam had looked towards the villagers and then back towards the trench. He had thought of continuing the argument. He had wanted very much to ride out of the camp, to see if it was, in truth, Emily who approached from the north. But he had known that Rallis was correct. They depended on the goodwill of the men of Koutles. He could not force the headman to provide him with a horse. He must contain his impatience and stay by the diggings.
‘But if you meet Garland and he insists on coming back with you?’ he had asked eventually.
The Greek had shrugged again. ‘That is a bridge to cross only when we must.’
Rallis had then turned to his servant and spoken a few words. The giant Greek had nodded and strode towards the headman and his two companions. Rallis had turned back to the others.