A Hero for Leanda

out.... Besides, aren’t you forgetting something?”
    “What am I forgetting?”
    “If those people survive, as they may do, it will prove they had enough water and were in no real danger, so they’ll have no serious ground for complaint. If they die of thirst, no one will ever know what I did.”
    Conway eased up a section of floorboard with his foot and gave the grease cap on the stern tube a couple of turns. “There were witnesses,” he said. “Leanda and myself. Remember?”
    Kastella gave a bleak smile. “Well, I hardly think I’ve anything to fear from you, Conway. You, after all, are going to take me to Africa —not merely because I have a gun, but because you intend to earn your twenty thousand pounds and keep this ship that you’re so fond of. And you’re not likely to go spreading it around the world that you knowingly carried a callous murderer to safety for money, are you? I think I can rely on your discretion. As for Leanda— I know I can count on her.”
    “Do you?” she said.
    “Of course, my dear girl. At present you’re shocked and angry at the methods I’ve had to use; you’re full of a very understandable compassion. But in the end you’ll agree that I was right. You’ll realize how unimportant yesterday’s incident was against the general background of our struggle. Spyros comes first—and you belong to Spyros. You belong to the liberation movement, whatever your personal feelings may be at this moment. You’ve already served it magnificently, and you’ll go on doing so. Your allegiance is to it—and to me, its leader.”
    “It was,” she said. “Until yesterday, I think I’d have given my life for you. Now, tilings have changed. The man I believed in, and followed, wouldn’t have done what you’ve done. I don’t acknowledge you any more. I don’t trust you any more. I—I think you might be an evil thing for Spyros.”
    Kastella said, “That’s dangerous talk, Leanda .“
    “Dangerous?”
    “If you translated it into action, very dangerous.” He regarded her thoughtfully for a moment. “If you were to spread hostile reports about me—stories about abandoned fishing boats, for instance—you would be undermining our work and helping the English. And you know how the movement treats those who help the English, don’t you? You remember the village of Meos , and what happened to Sophianopoulos and Kalides and the rest? Even worse things could happen to you....” He paused again. “And no doubt would happen.”
    Leanda gazed at him in mingled horror and disbelief. “I—I don’t understand.... You were against what happened in Meos—you denounced it. Now you sound as though you approve ! ”
    Kastella’s smile was sardonic. “You know,” he said, “I think it’s about time I told you some of the facts of revolutionary life—if only to stop you doing anything rash.... The truth is , I am not quite the person you imagine. I denounced what happened in Meos, yes, but I wasn’t against it. On the contrary—I ordered it!”
    She stared at him. “ You ... ?”
    “Who else? I lead the movement—the whole movement. I am the movement. And it had to be done. You cannot win freedom for a country without ruthlessness.”
    She had turned very pale. “But you were always against terrorism. Those speeches you made... !”
    “My dear Leanda, a good leader must be a Machiavelli. The world dislikes terror. Terror is bad publicity. So there must be a constitutional front, a respectable front. The leader must denounce violence. He must appear a humanist, and talk of rights and dignity, and urge conciliation and negotiation. In that way, he wins over not merely the neutrals, but also wealthy romantics like your friend Metaxas, so that the coffers are kept filled. The real work, the fighting, must be done secretly through lieutenants, with guns and bombs. With care, the leader can thus have the best of both worlds—he can reap the fruits of moderation, and of terror. And that is exactly what I’ve done. Not that it is much of a secret now in the top ranks of the movement. You and Metaxas have been too long away from Spyros.”
    “When the ordinary people know,” Leanda said, “they will never forgive you.”
    “Not if I fail, my dear. But if I succeed, I shall be doubly a hero. My deceit will be wisdom, and my severity, courage.”
    “Meos wasn’t just severity! It was a hideous, unforgivable crime. A ghastly atrocity... Do you know what they did