308 THE IMAGE OF WAE 



had got tired of inaction, was out when I reached the 

 cave, but soon returned, having seen nothing. 



Our Christmas dinner was simple ; it consisted of 

 chicken broth, and chicken out of the broth, which 

 was so tough as to be uneatable. There was also a tin 

 of pears left. Y. washed this meal down with tea such 

 as I have described, but I preferred not to adulterate 

 my water. Then we divided our last drop of brandy 

 and our last two cigars, and went to bed. 



Next morning, to our delight, we were able to 

 embark, and left Joura about half-past nine. It was 

 indeed not quite calm, though a Channel boatman 

 would have called it a lovely day. Our skipper, how- 

 ever, looked at things from a different point of view, 

 and we could not induce him to make for Skyros 

 direct. He said he did not want to be drowned. 

 As a compromise, he ran down to the island of 

 Skantzoura with a beam wind, and anchored there 

 about one, when we landed and made our way to 

 the monastery. 



Though Skantzoura is, like Joura, a limestone island 

 with, indeed, a great deal of marble, the vegetation 

 of the two differs greatly. Here the higher ground 

 was covered with heather of two different kinds and 

 dwarf coniferae, none of which are to be seen at Joura. 

 On our way we met a large herd of goats, and both 

 agreed that they in no way suggested the animals we 

 had been hunting. 



The monastery — a very good house, with a chapel 

 of the usual pattern, in which by the way were some 

 very suggestive skulls, one split almost in two by a 

 sword-stroke, and another perforated by a musket- 

 ball — was deserted ; but on our way back we met the 

 caloyer, or monk, and procured some eggs and some 



