Stephanie shook her head. 'I'm sorry, Robbie. I wish I could tell you, but I don't know. That is the truth. I swear it. Of course, you are right about the prospecting for oil being only a cover plan. That much Vaclav didn't attempt to conceal from me. But, on these sort of jobs, no one is ever told anything that is not strictly necessary for him to know in order to carry out his work. They may be making launching sites for rockets, or perhaps a chain of radar stations to assist the Communist submarine fleet that is based on the Albanian ports. Those are just shots in the dark. Honestly, I haven't a clue.'
'Oh, dear!' Robbie pulled down the corners of his mouth. 'That's very disappointing. Still, I quite see that they wouldn't have let out their secret further than they had to, and your job was confined to keeping an eye on me. We must start again from the beginning, then. But your mind is much more fertile in ideas than mine. What do you suggest should be our next move?'
'To cover up your disappearance further by every possible means we can,' she replied without hesitation. 'We've had a lucky break to start with, by being picked up by two Americans. They can't read the Greek papers, so all the chances are against any account of this evening's affair coming to their notice. Even if it does, I shall be reported as dead and the police will be looking for an Englishman on his own; so our American friends are most unlikely to think that one of the German hikers to whom they gave a lift might have been you. Again, the people in the cafe in Tripolis and the landlord here will have no reason to connect a German couple with the wanted Englishman. So, so far, so good; but we must not let the grass grow under out feet. The sooner you can get out of Greece, the better.'
'Out of Greece!' echoed Robbie. 'But I'd be caught when I showed my passport. Besides, if we are going to try-'
'You don't need to show your passport when going to any of the Greek islands,' she interrupted, 'and surely the least risky place to try to find out what Vaclav's group are up to is on one of them.'
'You're right,' he agreed. 'Which do you favour?'
She considered a moment. 'I think it should be either Crete or Rhodes, because many more people go there than to the others. In any of the smaller ones, more notice would be taken of you as a visitor; so when your photograph is put into the papers, there would be a bigger risk of someone identifying you.'
'That's one thing we needn't worry about.' Robbie gave a little laugh. 'I haven't had a photograph taken since I was a small boy, except for my passport, and they won't get hold of that because I've got it on me.'
'Well, that's a blessing. But I still favour Crete or Rhodes. There's an air service to both, so we could get to either of them quickly. And time matters, because it's not on our side—or won't be, once the police start an all-out search for you.'
'If we are to go by plane, we'll have to return to Athens.
Since so many people know me there, that will mean my running a big risk.'
'Not if we keep to the poor parts of the city, and eat in the sort of places to which people we know never go. There is certain to be a train from here tomorrow morning and we'd better go by it. Lorry drivers and drivers of cars who give lifts would be much more likely to remember our faces than would other travellers in a third-class railway compartment. There is one thing, though. We shall need money and as soon as the police learn that you are carrying a Letter of Credit, they will notify the banks to hold you should you attempt to draw any money. It is bound to be two or three days before they get round to that; but, all the same, I suggest that you go to the bank here first thing in the morning and draw out as big a sum as they will let you have.'
Robbie gave her a glance of admiration. 'You think of everything, don't you? Without you, I wouldn't last twelve hours.'
She smiled back at him. 'You saved my life this evening, Robbie. And, knowing that you can't face heights, I can guess what coming down that slope to get me must have meant to you. For what my mind is worth, every bit of it is yours. Can you draw enough money to keep us going for a week or two?'
'Yes. When we left Athens, I had no idea how long we should be away; so the Letter of Credit I'm carrying is still good for
quite a large-' Suddenly he stopped in mid-sentence, then
continued with a frown: 'But I've just remembered. Tomorrow is Sunday.'
'So it is. I'd forgotten that, too. Then you'll have to draw the money in Athens on Monday. That is a pity as it will give away the fact that you have been there. Still we should be out of the capital again before your bank learns that the police are after you.'
They talked for another ten minutes or so, making further plans. There was always the odd chance that the Americans might learn that a car smash and murder had taken place just before their arrival at the spot where they had picked up the two young Germans. If so, and they informed the police, it was certain that the police would endeavour to trace the hikers, in order to find out if they had seen Robbie or could give any information about the affair; so they decided that, on reaching Athens, they would change their identities again and pass themselves off as French. They also decided that they would go to Rhodes. By then it was getting on for half-past-twelve, and the scruffy landlord came in to say that he was shutting up for the night.
In spite of the hardness of the beds, they were both so tired that they slept well. In the morning, a slatternly woman brought them unappetizing breakfast of bad coffee and sweet buns. The geyser in the only bathroom did not work, and the lavatory stank to high heaven but at least the bill amazed Robbie by its modesty. Having never before stayed in any but expensive hotels, he had had no idea that it was possible to get a night's lodging so cheaply.
The train for Athens left at eleven o'clock. It consisted of only four coaches: three thirds and one first. Robbie had travelled on a Greek train some months before, out to Marathon, so he knew that going first class was much more pleasant than travelling first on British Railways. A third of the coach consisted of a kitchen, and between each pair of broad, stuffed seats there was a wide table on which at any hour one could have a well-cooked meal of one's own choice from an'enormous menu.
But Stephanie insisted that they would draw less attention to themselves if they travelled third, and the third-class coaches were very different. They had wooden seats and were packed to capacity. As it was a Sunday, the travellers were mostly dressed in their best and no live-stock accompanied them. Even so the smell was considerable, and the strong sun grilling down on the roof of the carriage soon set everyone perspiring freely.
The little train puffed its way past Mycenae and up into the mountains, then round bend after bend through them and so down to Corinth. From there it crossed the canal and, ascending again to several hundred feet above sea level, followed the north shore of the Gulf of Athens as far as Eleusis. When it stopped there, Robbie drew Stephanie's attention to the name of the station and sighed with relief. They had already been cooped up in considerable discomfort for over four hours, and he judged that another quarter of an hour should see them at their journey's end. But he was counting his chickens. Instead of following the coast further, the train turned inland and, stopping frequently, made an hour-long detour right round the capital; so it was after five o'clock before they arrived in Athens.