Excitement of course sharpens the senses. Man is still enough of an animal to be far more keenly observant when he is in danger or engaged in illegalities; but I know that at any time I should have responded to the stillness and colours of the inlet and the strangely decisive shape of the cliff which faced me across the water. I lay among the terraces of olive on the steep northern slope of the cove with nothing to do till after sundown and probably nothing then. In an emergency I could reach the edge of the water by following a precipitous goat track which cut down through the crumbling stone walls. My orders were to delay or distract any interference on this, the only accessible side. It was unlikely that there would be any, for the water was out of sight from the scattered village behind and above me, and two cottages at the head of the inlet were safely tucked away up a winding valley. It may be that some money had passed to ensure that the fishermen and their families stayed indoors or visited the cinema.
