The Angry Hills - Leon Uris [70]
“Bah,” Michalis grumbled. He leaned over the table and pointed his finger almost into Papa-Panos’ beard. “Are we receiving milk and honey from the Germans now? Only yesterday the Nazi butchers massacred a hundred civilians in Crete. If our people do not have guns they will fight back with rocks and sticks. Is it better to die with a gun in your hand or a pitchfork?”
“It is one thing to aid British escapees or to seek food. It is another to signal a mass uprising,” Papa-Panos said. “When the British begin smuggling in arms, they will be used—and who here thinks we can defeat the German army?”
Thanassis interrupted. “As much as I love and respect you, Father, I must agree with Michalis. Passive resistance has proved fruitless. The cities and the hills are angry and our people will fight.”
“And do you agree with them, Dr. Thackery?”
The bony-faced man remained silent for many moments. “I do not choose sides,” he finally said. “It is not my affair. We know that the British will establish a mission here when they receive the Stergiou list. It means that we must organize and act on information about arms shipments, train schedules, troop movements, submarines... It means the British will ship in arms to help us carry out missions. We know, too, that the Germans will destroy villages and cities and kill your citizens for every act we commit against them. What is our gain? If we become strong—if we can place enough pressure on the Germans, they will be forced to keep their troops here and will not be able to release them for fighting on the main fronts. Neither you nor I can stop the Greek people from striking back. Truly, Papa-Panos, the hills are angry.”
The priest sighed. He knew these men spoke the truth. Greece was destined for a blood bath that would make all the ancient tragedies trivial by comparison. He nodded his head slowly. “Very well, we will spare no expense in finding the American and getting him out of the country.”
Then the four of them turned to Lisa. Her lips were white. She arose slowly and spoke. “Before you make a decision, there is more I must tell you now.”
In slow, deliberate words, Lisa unfolded her story beginning with the day that the Gestapo had picked her up and taken her to Konrad Heilser. The four men looked shocked. Then she told of the weeks of terror and ended her story at the point where Morrison had dashed from the apartment at Satovriandou, 125.
She asked no mercy. The men sat in horrified silence. Lisa walked straight and proud to the door. “I shall wait in the next room,” she said.
She felt as though life itself was gone now. What did it matter? She had lost her children and she had lost him. At least she had purged herself....
Through the paper-thin walls she heard Michalis pound his fist on the table.
“Lisa Kyriakides is a traitor to the Greek people!”
Thanassis shook his head in disbelief. His studious appearance belied the fact that he was one of the most daring men in the movement. “Lisa—I can’t believe it—I can’t believe it. I have known her since she was a girl of sixteen. She was a student of mine at the university. I brought her in to our organization....”
“I too have known her and her family for many years,” Michalis said. “We cannot let sentimentality rule us.” He spoke as one who had lived a life of iron-clad discipline. He felt no sympathy for those who failed to perform their duty. He had dealt too long with too many of those who played both sides.
“It seems we have no choice,” Thanassis said. “But I will not be the man to pull the trigger.”,
Thackery said nothing. This was not his matter.
“If she was a traitor, would she have told us her story?” Papa-Panos said.
“Do not be taken in by female tricks, Father. She is a marked woman. She came to us first in hopes we would be more merciful than the Germans. If we are to maintain discipline in this organization we