Translation:The High Mountains/50

At the crack of dawn Phanis' companions from yesterday set out on their journey, and Andreas with them.

“We're going to take a short cut, said Andreas. Let's go directly to the fir tree, this way.”

They cut across and arrived at the fir tree.

From there Andreas looked around the place, upwards.

“Evidently, he said, Phanis will not have gone from here downhill. He will have gone up towards the summits, I know. So that's where we're going to go.”

They advanced between the beech trees and the oaks, without any path, themselves opening the way, which should lead them to where Phanis is. And which way was it?

They arrived on top of wild, bare precipices. These precipices fell away deeply and marked out the great water gap. Their voices echoed here.

And from there they could see the whole terrible precipice.

“And if Phanis had slipped there somewhere and had fallen to the bottom?”

Each one thought this to himself, but they were afraid to tell the others.

They climbed up high onto the edge of the water gap. They leaned over to see right down, but very carefully, gripping stones or a root.

They couldn't see anything. They shouted, but their voices went down into the chaos of the gap, bouncing off the stones, then coming up again and the echo replied to them: “Phanis!” As if to tell them that they might as well give up hope.

Which way to go? Go down to the bottom of the gap? That would put their lives in danger. Go up onto the escarpment and move towards the fir trees? Retrace their steps and take another trail?

They stopped to consider the options. In this wild place, their courage was diminished, it was no longer the same as at the outset.

They decided to return lower down, to where they had left the trees, and to take another way. They turned back and walked anxiously. They went one behind the other. Nobody spoke. They had heavy hearts. Phanis had never hurt any of them! And now would he disappear just like that? Would they return home without him?

—Hey boys! said Andreas suddenly stopping.

The boys' hearts leapt in their chests.

—What? What? What've you seen? they cried.

—Nothing, I haven't seen anything; but tell me something. The first time we went to the Small Village, which of you gave his shoes to the cobbler to have them nailed?

—Me, I did, said Matthias.

—Me too, said Dimitrakis.

—How many nails did he put in the heels? Can you recall?

—Four.

—The same for me.

—But did he put four in everybody's? Can you remember?

—In Georgios's he put in six, said Matthias. Georgios wanted more. And six for Phanis.

—And six for Phanis? cried Andreas. Are you sure?

—Yes, I remember.

Then Andreas said, cautiously looking down at the ground, : “Here are Phanis's six nails”.

They bent down to see the trace of a footstep printed on some soft earth. It was so clear that they could count the nails.

—He went through here, said Andreas.

They all started jumping for joy.

—Slowly, said Andreas, Slowly, don't obliterate them. Walk carefully. The first footprint will guide us. D'you see! The foot is turned this way. That means he went over here. But where on earth can he have gone to? Perhaps towards that rock?

And he pointed to the Moor's rock.

They looked at him, not knowing this was the Moor's rock. And they went in that direction looking for other footprints.