The Angry Hills by Leon Uris

church. He did get trapped into several conversations with an Australian who called himself Bluey. Bluey stayed with a family just a few cottages away from Christos’. His one claim to fame was a constant gas pressure on his stomach. Most of his sentences were punctuated by belching. Bluey, aside from repeating the story of his escape from the Stalag at Corinth, did reveal something of interest to Mike. It seemed that many wealthy Greek families in Athens had provided boats for British soldiers to escape to North Africa. Mike filed it as an ace in the hole should anything go wrong in his attempt to contact Dr. Harry Thackery.
    For the most part, however, Bluey spent his time denouncing the English....
    “Leaves us stranded in this ruddy place, they did. Where in ’ell is the bloody Royal Navy, I asks you, Jay? Nothin’ but one bloody Dunkirk after another...
    “Not that I gots anything against the Greek people, Jay. They’re as fine a lot of blokes as you’d come across anywhere, and the sheilas... But I tells you if it wasn’t for us diggers, the Anzacs and the rest of the bloomin’ Commonwealth troops the bloody Hun would be in London, that’s wot—and they strands us ’ere. Who’s goin’ to do their bloody fightin’ for ’em, I asks you?”
    As a “New Zealander” and brother “Anzac,” Mike was compelled to agree.
    “You missed the ’ell ’ole at Corinth, Jay.... You’re the lucky one. Every day we was buryin’ the dead in lime pits. Scurvy-ridden place it was; every joker there had the bloody cruds. Jerry is a mean lot, that he is. And I tells you wot happens—when I goes to make my first escape—who rats on me?—a bloody English doctor, that’s who.... Even in an ’ell ’ole like Corinth they’s got to have their snootin’ ways....”
    Nothing as low as an Englishman, Mike agreed.
    “I’m gettin’ to Athens, that’s wot, and find me a family to buy passage to North Africa.”
    When Mike inquired as to how Bluey would get to Athens, Bluey didn’t quite know. Every train was loaded with inspectors. Travel passes were needed to budge an inch in the country and it was open season on escapees.
    “Know somethin’, Jay? You talks like those Yanks I seen in the flicks.”
    That, Mike explained, was because he worked for a shipping company in San Francisco for fourteen years. Nice place, America.
    Ten days had gone by since Mike’s arrival in Paleachora. After his own survey of the situation, he knew he was trapped unless Christos would help him get to Athens. He waited patiently for word from Christos that he would be taking his boat out again but no mention of it came. On the eleventh night Mike decided to take the initiative.
    After dinner, Christos shooed Melpo and Eleftheria from the room and the two settled back with several bottles of krasi and some foul-smelling tobacco.
    “Christos, my dear friend, when do you plan to leave again with your boat?”
    “As soon as I find the right cargo. Many things move well these days. I wait.”
    “Christos. I’ll put it straight. I’ve got to get to Athens.”
    “You do not like it here?”
    “I like it here very much.”
    “Then why you want to leave? You damned fool. You’ll get picked up for sure.”
    “You know why, Christos. I endanger the whole village. They burned a village yesterday for harboring an escapee. Besides, as a soldier, it is my duty to escape.”
    “The crop looks fine this year, Jay. I have a very profitable proposition being worked out. I will be able to get some property in Athens.”
    Mike gritted his teeth. He drank a swig of krasi and puffed on his pipe. “Well, anyhow, now that I’m all well again you’d better send Eleftheria back to Dernica. I know your aged mother must need her.”
    “My aged mother stays at the home of a brother. She is fine.”
    “But, what I mean, Christos, I no longer have need for a nurse.”
    Christos scratched his bald pate, poured more wine and stared at Mike as though he