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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Yussuf the Guide, by George Manville Fenn
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Yussuf the Guide
+       The Mountain Bandits; Strange Adventure in Asia Minor
+
+Author: George Manville Fenn
+
+Illustrator: John Schonberg
+
+Release Date: May 8, 2007 [EBook #21378]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK YUSSUF THE GUIDE ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England
+
+
+
+
+Yussuf the Guide; or, the Mountain Bandits, being a Story of Adventure
+in Asia Minor, by George Manville Fenn.
+
+________________________________________________________________________
+
+Lawrence is a boy in his late teens, who has consumption, which makes
+him feel very tired and helpless.  He says one day that he would love a
+holiday somewhere hot and sunny.  He has no relations, but there is a
+guardian, a local lawyer; and a doctor and a retired professor elect to
+go to Turkey with him, to look at the antiquities.
+
+They travel first to Greece, where they find a lot of dishonesty, in
+particular in the crew of the little ship in which they sail to Turkey.
+Luckily they had sent their luggage on ahead, but the experiences they
+had were not very nice.  They had already employed a very charming and
+resourceful Turk as guide.
+
+But when they get to Turkey, they find that as they travel inland people
+become progressively less helpful, until eventually they are captured by
+bandits, and a ransom is demanded.  How do they get out of this?  And is
+Turkey still like this?
+
+An exciting thriller.  Recommended.
+
+________________________________________________________________________
+
+YUSSUF THE GUIDE; OR, THE MOUNTAIN BANDITS, BEING A STORY OF ADVENTURE
+IN ASIA MINOR, BY GEORGE MANVILLE FENN.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER ONE.
+
+MEDICAL AND LEGAL.
+
+"But it seems so shocking, sir."
+
+"Yes, madam," said the doctor, "very sad indeed.  You had better get
+that prescription made up at once."
+
+"And him drenched with physic!" cried Mrs Dunn; "when it doesn't do him
+a bit of good."
+
+"Not very complimentary to me, Mrs Dunn," said the doctor smiling.
+
+"Which I didn't mean any harm, sir; but wouldn't it be better to let the
+poor boy die in peace, instead of worrying him to keep on taking
+physic?"
+
+"And what would you and his friends say if I did not prescribe for him?"
+
+"I should say it was the best thing, sir; and as to his friends, why, he
+hasn't got any."
+
+"Mr Burne?"
+
+"What! the lawyer, sir?  I don't call him a friend.  Looks after the
+money his poor pa left, and doles it out once a month, and comes and
+takes snuff and blows his nose all over the room, as if he was a human
+trombone, and then says, `hum!' and `ha!' and `send me word how he is
+now and then,' and goes away."
+
+"But his father's executor, Professor Preston?"
+
+"Lor' bless the man! don't talk about him.  I wrote to him last week
+about how bad the poor boy was; and he came up from Oxford to see him,
+and sat down and read something out of a roll of paper to him about his
+dog."
+
+"About his dog, Mrs Dunn?"
+
+"Yes, sir, about his dog Pompey, and then about tombs--nice subject to
+bring up to a poor boy half-dead with consumption!  And as soon as he
+had done reading he begins talking to him.  You said Master Lawrence was
+to be kept quiet, sir?"
+
+"Certainly, Mrs Dunn."
+
+"Well, if he didn't stand there sawing one of his hands about and
+talking there, shouting at the poor lad as if he was in the next street,
+or he was a hout-door preacher, till I couldn't bear it any longer, and
+I made him go."
+
+"Ah, I suppose the professor is accustomed to lecture."
+
+"Then he had better go and lecture, sir.  He sha'n't talk my poor boy to
+death."
+
+"Well, quiet is best for him, Mrs Dunn," said the doctor smiling at the
+rosy-faced old lady, who had turned quite fierce; "but still, change and
+something to interest him will do good."
+
+"More good than physic, sir?"
+
+"Well, yes, Mrs Dunn, I will be frank with you--more good than physic.
+What did Mr Burne say about the poor fellow going to Madeira or the
+south of France?"
+
+"Said, sir, that he'd better take his Madeira out of a wine-glass and
+his south of France out of a book.  I don't know what he meant, and when
+I asked him he only blew his nose till I felt as if I could have boxed
+his ears.  But now, doctor, what do you really think about the poor
+dear?  You see he's like my own boy.  Didn't I nurse him when he was a
+baby, and didn't his poor mother beg of me to always look after him?
+And I have.  Nobody can't say he ever had a shirt with a button off, or
+a hole in his clean stockings, or put on anything before it was aired
+till it was dry as a bone.  But now tell me what you really think of
+him."
+
+"That I can do nothing whatever, Mrs Dunn," said the doctor kindly.
+"Our London winters are killing him, and I have no faith in the south of
+England doing any good.  The only hope is a complete change to a warmer
+land."
+
+"But I couldn't let him go to a horrible barbarous foreign country,
+sir."
+
+"Not to save his life, Mrs Dunn?"
+
+"Oh, dear! oh, dear! oh, dear!" sighed the old lady.  "It's very hard
+when I'd lay down my life to save him, and me seeing him peek and pine
+away and growing so weak.  I know it was that skating accident as did
+it.  Him nearly a quarter of an hour under the ice, and the
+receiving-house doctor working for an hour before he could bring him
+to."
+
+"I'm afraid that was the start of his illness, Mrs Dunn."
+
+"I'm sure of it, doctor.  Such a fine lad as he was, and he has never
+been the same since.  What am I to do?  Nobody takes any interest in the
+poor boy but me."
+
+"Well, I should write at once to the professor and tell him that Mr
+Lawrence is in a critical condition, and also to his father's executor,
+Mr Burne, and insist upon my patient being taken for the winter to a
+milder clime."
+
+"And they won't stir a peg.  I believe they'll both be glad to hear that
+he is dead, for neither of them cares a straw about him, poor boy."
+
+There had been a double knock while this conversation was going on in
+Guildford Street, Russell Square, and after the pattering of steps on
+the oil-cloth in the hall the door was opened, and the murmur of a gruff
+voice was followed by the closing of the front door, and then a series
+of three sounds, as if someone was beginning to learn a deep brass
+instrument, and Mrs Dunn started up.
+
+"It's Mr Burne.  Now, doctor, you tell him yourself."
+
+Directly after, a keen-eyed grey little gentleman of about fifty was
+shown in, with a snuff-box in one hand, a yellow silk handkerchief in
+the other, and he looked sharply about as he shook hands in a hurried
+way, and then sat down.
+
+"Hah! glad to see you, doctor.  Now about this client of yours.  Patient
+I mean.  You're not going to let him slip through your fingers?"
+
+"I'm sorry to say, Mr Burne--"
+
+"Bless me!  I am surprised.  Been so busy.  Poor boy!  _Snuff snuff
+snuff_.  Take a pinch?  No, you said you didn't.  Bad habit.  Bless my
+soul, how sad!"
+
+Mr Burne, the family solicitor, jumped up when he blew his nose.  Sat
+down to take some more snuff, and got up again to offer a pinch to the
+doctor.
+
+"Really, Mr Burne, there is only one thing that I can suggest--"
+
+"And that's what Mrs Dunn here told me."
+
+There was a most extraordinary performance upon the nose, which made
+Mrs Dunn raise her hands, and then bring them down heavily in her lap,
+and exclaim:
+
+"Bless me, man, don't do that!"
+
+"Ah, Mrs Dunn," cried the lawyer; "what have you been about?  Nothing
+to do but attend upon your young master, and you've got him into a state
+like this."
+
+"Well of all--"
+
+"Tut tut! hold your tongue, Mrs Dunn, what's gone by can't be recalled.
+I've been very busy lately fighting a cousin of the poor boy, who was
+trying to get his money."
+
+"And what's the good of his money, sir, if he isn't going to live?"
+
+"Tut tut, Mrs Dunn," said the lawyer, blowing his nose more softly,
+"but he is.  I telegraphed to Oxford last night for Professor Preston to
+meet me here at eleven this morning.  I have had no answer, but he may
+come.  Eccentric man, Mrs Dunn."
+
+"Why you're never going to have him here to talk the poor boy to death."
+
+"Indeed but I am, Mrs Dunn, for I do not believe what you say is
+possible, unless done by a woman--an old woman," said the lawyer looking
+at the old lady fixedly.
+
+"Well I'm sure!" exclaimed Mrs Dunn, and the doctor rose.
+
+"You had better get that prescription made up, Mrs Dunn, and go on as
+before."
+
+"One moment, doctor," said the lawyer, and he drew him aside for a brief
+conversation to ensue.
+
+"Bless me! very sad," said the lawyer; and then, as Mrs Dunn showed the
+doctor out, the old gentleman took some more snuff, and then performed
+upon his nose in one of the windows; opposite the fire; in one corner;
+then in another; and then he was finishing with a regular coach-horn
+blast when he stopped half-way, and stared, for Mrs Dunn was standing
+in the doorway with her large florid cap tilted forward in consequence
+of her having stuck her fingers in her ears.
+
+"Could you hear me using my handkerchief, Mrs Dunn?" said the lawyer.
+
+"Could I hear you?  Man alive!" cried the old lady, in a tone full of
+withering contempt, "could I hear _that_!"
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWO.
+
+THE SECOND GUARDIAN.
+
+"That!" to which Mrs Dunn alluded was a double knock at the front door;
+a few minutes later the maid ushered in a tall broad-shouldered man of
+about forty.  His hair was thin upon the crown, but crisp and grizzled,
+and its spareness seemed due to the fact that nature required so much
+stuff to keep up the supply for his tremendous dark beard that his head
+ran short.  It was one of those great beards that are supposed to go
+with the portrait of some old patriarch, and over this could be seen a
+pair of beautiful large clear eyes that wore a thoughtful dreamy aspect,
+and a broad high white forehead.  He was rather shabbily dressed in a
+pepper-and-salt frock-coat, vest, and trousers, one of which had been
+turned up as if to keep it out of the mud while the other was turned
+down; and both were extremely baggy and worn about the knees.  Judging
+from appearances his frock-coat might have been brushed the week before
+last, but it was doubtful, though his hat, which he placed upon the
+table as he entered, certainly had been brushed very lately, but the
+wrong way.
+
+He did not wear gloves upon his hands, but in his trousers pockets, from
+which he pulled them to throw them in his hat, after he had carefully
+placed two great folio volumes, each minus one cover, upon a chair, and
+then he shook hands, smiling blandly, with Mrs Dunn, and with the
+lawyer.
+
+"Bless the man!" said Mrs Dunn to herself, "one feels as if one
+couldn't be cross with him; and there's a button off the wrist-band of
+his shirt."
+
+"'Fraid you had not received my telegram, sir," said the lawyer in
+rather a contemptuous tone, for Mrs Dunn had annoyed him, and he wanted
+to wreak his irritation upon someone else.
+
+"Telegram?" said the professor dreamily.  "Oh, yes.  It was forwarded to
+me from Oxford.  I was in town."
+
+"Oh!  In town?"
+
+"Yes.  At an hotel in Craven Street.  I am making preparations, you
+know, for my trip."
+
+"No, I don't know," said the lawyer snappishly.  "How should I know?"
+
+"Of course not," said the professor smiling.  "The fact is, I've been so
+much--among books--lately--that--these are fine.  Picked them up at a
+little shop near the Strand.  Buttknow's _Byzantine Empire_."
+
+He picked up the two musty old volumes, and opened them upon the table,
+as a blast rang out.
+
+The professor started and stared, his dreamy eyes opening wider, but
+seeing that it was only the lawyer blowing his nose, he smiled and
+turned over a few leaves.
+
+"A good deal damaged; but such a book is very rare, sir."
+
+"My dear sir, I asked you to come here to talk business," said the
+lawyer, tapping the table with his snuff-box, "not books."
+
+"True.  I beg your pardon," said the professor.  "I was in town making
+the final preparations for my departure to the Levant, and I did not
+receive the telegram till this morning.  That made me so late."
+
+"Humph!" ejaculated the lawyer, and he took some more snuff.
+
+"And how is Lawrence this morning?" said the professor in his calm, mild
+way.  "I hope better, Mrs Dunn."
+
+"Bless the man!  No.  He is worse," cried Mrs Dunn shortly.
+
+"Dear me!  I am very sorry.  Poor boy!  I'm afraid I have neglected him.
+His poor father was so kind to me."
+
+"Everybody has neglected him, sir," cried Mrs Dunn, "and the doctor
+says that the poor boy will die."
+
+"Mrs Dunn, you shock me," cried the professor, with the tears in his
+eyes, and his whole manner changing.  "Is it so bad as this?"
+
+"Quite, sir," cried the lawyer, "and I want to consult you as my
+co-executor and trustee about getting the boy somewhere in the south of
+England or to France."
+
+"But medical assistance," said the professor.  "We must have the best
+skill in London."
+
+"He has had it, sir," cried Mrs Dunn, "and they can't do anything for
+him.  He's in a decline."
+
+"There, sir, you hear," said the lawyer.  "Now, then, what's to be
+done?"
+
+"Done!" cried the professor, with a display of animation that surprised
+the others.  "He must be removed to a warmer country at once.  I had no
+idea that matters were so bad as this.  Mr Burne, Mrs Dunn, I am a
+student much interested in a work I am writing on the Byzantine empire,
+and I was starting in a few days for Asia Minor.  My passage was taken.
+But all that must be set aside, and I will stop and see to my dear old
+friend's son."
+
+_Poo woomp poomp.  Pah_!
+
+Mr Burne blew a perfectly triumphal blast with his pocket-handkerchief,
+took out his snuff-box, put it back, jumped up, and, crossing to where
+the professor was standing, shook his hand very warmly, and without a
+word, while Mrs Dunn wiped her eyes upon her very stiff watered silk
+apron, but found the result so unsatisfactory that she smoothed it down,
+and hunted out a pocket-handkerchief from somewhere among the folds of
+her dress and polished her eyes dry.
+
+Then she seemed as if she put a sob in that piece of white cambric, and
+wrapped it up carefully, just as if it were something solid, doubling
+the handkerchief over and over and putting it in her pocket before going
+up to the professor and kissing his hand.
+
+"Ha!" said the latter, smiling at first one and then the other.  "This
+is very good of you.  I don't often find people treat me so kindly as
+this.  You see, I am such an abstracted, dreamy man.  I devote myself so
+much to my studies that I think of nothing else.  My friends have given
+me up, and--and I'm afraid they laugh at me.  I am writing, you see, a
+great work upon the old Roman occupation of--.  Dear me!  I'm wandering
+off again.  Mrs Dunn, can I not see my old friend's son?"
+
+"To be sure you can, sir.  Pray, come," cried the old lady; and, leading
+the way, she ushered the two visitors out into the hall, the professor
+following last, consequent upon having gone back to fetch the two big
+folio volumes; but recollecting himself, and colouring like an ingenuous
+girl, he took them back, and laid them upon the dining-room table.
+
+Mrs Dunn paused at the drawing-room door and held up a finger.
+
+"Please, be very quiet with him, gentlemen," she said.  "The poor boy is
+very weak, and you must not stay long."
+
+The lawyer nodded shortly, the professor bent his head in acquiescence,
+and the old lady opened the drawing-room door.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER THREE.
+
+A PLAN IS MADE.
+
+As they entered, a pale attenuated lad of about seventeen, who was lying
+back in an easy-chair, with his head supported by a pillow, and a book
+in his hand, turned to them slightly, and his unnaturally large eyes had
+in them rather a wondering look, which was succeeded by a smile as the
+professor strode to his side, and took his long, thin, girlish hand.
+
+"Why, Lawrence, my boy, I did not know you were so ill."
+
+"Ill?  Nonsense, man!" said the lawyer shortly.  "He's not ill.  Are
+you, my lad?"
+
+He shook hands rather roughly as he spoke from the other side of the
+invalid lad's chair, while Mrs Dunn gave her hands an impatient jerk,
+and went behind to brush the long dark hair from the boy's forehead.
+
+He turned up his eyes to her to smile his thanks, and then laid his
+cheek against the hand that had been smoothing his hair.
+
+"No, Mr Burne, I don't think I'm ill," he said in a low voice.  "I only
+feel as if I were so terribly weak and tired.  I get too tired to read
+sometimes, and I never do anything at all to make me so."
+
+"Hah!" ejaculated the lawyer.
+
+"I thought it was the doctor come back," continued the lad.  "I say, Mr
+Preston--you are my guardian, you know--is there any need for him to
+come?  I am so tired of cod-liver oil."
+
+"Yah!" ejaculated the lawyer; "it would tire anybody but a lamp."
+
+He snorted this out, and then blew another blast upon his nose, which
+made some ornament upon the chimney-piece rattle.
+
+"Doctor?" said the professor rather dreamily, as he sat down beside the
+patient.  "I suppose he knows best.  I did not know you were so ill, my
+boy."
+
+"I'm not ill, sir."
+
+"But they say you are, my lad.  I was going abroad; but I heard that you
+were not so well, and--and I came up."
+
+"I am very glad," said the lad, "for it is very dull lying here.  Old
+Dunny is very good to me, only she will bother me so to take more
+medicine, and things that she says will do me good, and I do get so
+tired of everything.  How is the book getting on, sir?"
+
+"Oh, very slowly, my lad," said the professor, with more animation.  "I
+was going abroad to travel and study the places about which I am
+writing, but--"
+
+"When do you go?" cried the lad eagerly.
+
+"I was going within a few days, but--"
+
+"Whereto?"
+
+"Smyrna first, and then to the south coast of Asia Minor, and from
+thence up into the mountains."
+
+"Is it a beautiful country, Mr Preston?"
+
+"Yes; a very wild and lovely country, I believe."
+
+"With mountains and valleys and flowers?"
+
+"Oh, yes, a glorious place."
+
+"And when are you going?"
+
+"I was going within a few days, my boy," said the professor kindly;
+"but--"
+
+"Is it warm and sunshiny there, sir?"
+
+"Very."
+
+"In winter?"
+
+"Oh, yes, in the valleys; in the mountains there is eternal snow."
+
+"But it is warm in the winter?"
+
+"Oh, yes; the climate is glorious, my lad."
+
+"And here, before long, the leaves will fall from that plane-tree in the
+corner of the square, that one whose top you can just see; and it will
+get colder, and the nights long, and the gas always burning in the
+lamps, and shining dimly through the blinds; and then the fog will fill
+the streets, and creep in through the cracks of the window; and the
+blacks will fall and come in upon my book, and it will be so bitterly
+cold, and that dreadful cough will begin again.  Oh, dear!"
+
+There was silence in the room as the lad finished with a weary sigh; and
+though it was a bright morning in September, each of the elder
+personages seemed to conjure up the scenes the invalid portrayed, and
+thought of him lying back there in the desolate London winter, miserable
+in spirit, and ill at ease from his complaint.
+
+Then three of the four present started, for the lawyer blew a challenge
+on his trumpet.
+
+"There is no better climate anywhere, sir," he said, addressing the
+professor, "and no more healthy spot than London."
+
+"Bless the man!" ejaculated Mrs Dunn.
+
+"I beg to differ from you, sir," said the professor in a loud voice, as
+if he were addressing a class.  "By the reports of the meteorological
+society--"
+
+"Hang the meteorological society, sir!" cried the lawyer, "I go by my
+own knowledge."
+
+"Pray, gentlemen!" cried Mrs Dunn, "you forget how weak the patient
+is."
+
+"Hush, Mrs Dunn," said the lad eagerly; "let them talk.  I like to
+hear."
+
+"I beg pardon," said the professor; "and we are forgetting the object of
+our visit.  Lawrence, my boy, would you like to go to Brighton or
+Hastings, or the Isle of Wight?"
+
+"No," said the lad sadly, "it is too much bother."
+
+"To Devonshire, then--to Torquay?"
+
+"No, sir.  I went there last winter, and I believe it made me worse.  I
+don't want to be always seeing sick people in invalid chairs, and be
+always hearing them talk about their doctors.  How long shall you be
+gone, sir?"
+
+"How long?  I don't know, my lad.  Why?"
+
+The boy was silent, and lay back gazing out of the window in a dreamy
+way for some moments before he spoke again, and then his hearers were
+startled by his words.
+
+"I feel," he said, speaking as if to himself, "as if I should soon get
+better if I could go to a land where the sun shone, and the sea was
+blue, and the sweet soft cool breezes blew down from the mountains that
+tower up into the clear sky--where there were fresh things to see, and
+there would be none of this dreadful winter fog."
+
+The professor and the lawyer exchanged glances, and the latter took a
+great pinch of snuff out of his box, and held it half-way up towards his
+nose.
+
+Then he started, and let it fall upon the carpet--so much brown dust,
+for the boy suddenly changed his tone, and in a quick excited manner
+exclaimed, as he started forward:
+
+"Oh!  Mr Preston, pray--pray--take me with you when you go."
+
+"But, my dear boy," faltered the professor, "I am not going now.  I have
+altered my plans."
+
+"Then I must stop here," cried the boy in a passionate wailing
+tone--"stop here and die."
+
+There was a dead silence once more as the lad covered his face with his
+thin hands, only broken by Mrs Dunn's sobs as she laid her head upon
+the back of the chair and wept aloud, while directly after Mr Burne
+took out his yellow handkerchief, prepared for a blow, and finally
+delivered himself of a mild and gentle sniff.
+
+"Lawrence!"
+
+It was the deep low utterance of a strong man who was deeply moved, and
+as the boy let fall his thin white fingers from before his eyes he saw
+that the professor was kneeling by his chair ready to take one of his
+hands and hold it between his broad palms.
+
+"Lawrence, my boy," he said; "your poor father and I were great friends,
+and he was to me as a brother; your mother as a sister.  He left me as
+it were the care and charge of you, and it seems to me that in my
+selfish studies I have neglected my trust; but, Heaven helping me, my
+boy, I will try and make up for the past.  You shall so with me, my dear
+lad, and we will search till we find a place that shall restore you to
+health and strength."
+
+"You will take me with you?" cried the boy with a joyous light in his
+eyes.
+
+"That I will," cried the professor.
+
+"And when?"
+
+"As soon as you can be moved."
+
+"But," sighed the lad wearily, "it will cost so much."
+
+"Well?" said the professor, "What of that?  I am not a poor man.  I
+never spend my money."
+
+"Oh! if it came to that," said the lawyer, taking some more snuff and
+snapping his fingers, "young Lawrence here has a pretty good balance
+lying idle."
+
+"Mr Burne, for shame!" cried Mrs Dunn; "here have I been waiting to
+hear you speak, and you encourage the wild idea, instead of stamping
+upon it like a black beadle."
+
+"Wild idea, ma'am?" cried the lawyer, blowing a defiant blast.
+
+"Yes, sir; to talk about taking that poor weak sickly boy off into
+foreign lands among savages, and cannibals, and wild beasts, and noxious
+reptiles."
+
+"Stuff, ma'am, stuff!"
+
+"But it isn't stuff, sir.  The doctor said--"
+
+"Hang the doctor, ma'am!" cried the lawyer.  "The doctor can't cure him,
+poor lad, so let's see if we can't do a little better."
+
+"Why, I believe you approve of it, sir!" cried Mrs Dunn with a
+horror-stricken look.
+
+"Approve of it, ma'am?  To be sure, I do.  The very thing.  Asia Minor,
+didn't you say, Mr Preston?"
+
+The professor bowed.
+
+"Yes; I've heard that you get summer weather there in winter.  I think
+you have hit the right nail on the head."
+
+"And you approve of it, sir?" cried the boy excitedly.
+
+"To be sure, I do, my lad."
+
+"It will kill him," said Mrs Dunn emphatically.
+
+"Tchah! stuff and nonsense, ma'am!" cried the lawyer.  "The boy's too
+young and tough to kill.  We'll take him out there and make a man of
+him."
+
+"We, sir?" exclaimed the professor.
+
+"Yes, sir, we," said the lawyer, taking some more snuff, and dusting his
+black waistcoat.  "Hang it all!  Do you think you are the only man in
+England who wants a holiday?"
+
+"I beg your pardon," said the professor mildly; "of course not."
+
+"I haven't had one worth speaking of," continued Mr Burne, "for
+nearly--no, quite thirty years, and all that time I've been in dingy
+stuffy Sergeant's Inn, sir.  Yes; we'll go travelling, professor, and
+bring him back a man."
+
+"It will kill him," cried Mrs Dunn fiercely, and ruffling up and coming
+forward like an angry hen in defence of her solitary chick, the last the
+rats had left.
+
+The lawyer sounded his trumpet, as if summoning his forces to a charge.
+
+"I say he shall not go."
+
+"Mrs Dunn," began the professor blandly.
+
+"Stop!" cried the lawyer; "send for Doctor Shorter."
+
+"But he has been, sir," remonstrated Mrs Dunn.
+
+"Then let him come again, ma'am.  He shall have his fee," cried the
+lawyer; "send at once."
+
+Mrs Dunn's lips parted to utter a protest, but the lawyer literally
+drove her from the room, and then turned back, taking snuff
+outrageously, to where the professor was now seated beside the sick lad.
+
+"That's routing the enemy," cried the lawyer fiercely.  "Why, confound
+the woman!  She told me that the doctor said he ought to be taken to a
+milder clime."
+
+"But do you really mean, Mr Burne, that, supposing the doctor gives his
+consent, you would accompany us abroad?"
+
+"To be sure I do, sir, and I mean to make myself as unpleasant as I can.
+I've a right to do so, haven't I."
+
+"Of course," said the professor coldly.
+
+"And I've a right to make myself jolly if I like, haven't I, sir?"
+
+"Certainly," replied the professor, gazing intently at the fierce
+grizzled little man before him, and wondering how much he spent a-year
+in snuff.
+
+"It will not cost you anything, and I shall not charge my expenses to
+the estate, any more than I shall let you charge yours, sir."
+
+"Of course not, sir," said the professor more coldly still, and
+beginning to frown.
+
+"You shall pay your expenses, I'll pay mine, and young Lawrence here
+shall pay his; and I tell you what, sir, we three will have a thoroughly
+good outing.  We'll take it easy, and we'll travel just where you like,
+and while you make notes, Lawrence here and I will fish and run about
+and catch butterflies, eh?  Hang it, I haven't caught a butterfly these
+three or four and thirty years, and I think it's time I had a try.  Eh,
+what are you laughing at, sir?"
+
+Lawrence Grange's laugh was low and feeble, but it brightened up his sad
+face, and was contagious, for it made the professor smile as well.  The
+cold stern look passed away, and he held out his hand to the lawyer.
+
+"Agreed, sir," he said.  "If the doctor gives his consent, we will all
+three go, and, please Heaven, we will restore our young friend here his
+health and strength."
+
+"Agreed, sir; with the doctor's consent or without," cried the lawyer,
+grasping the extended hand.  "By George, we must begin to make our
+preparations at once! and as for the doctor--Oh, here he is!"
+
+For there was a double knock, and directly after Mrs Dunn, appearing
+very much agitated, ushered in the doctor, who did not look quite so
+cool as he did when he left.
+
+"Oh!" he ejaculated, "I was afraid from Mrs Dunn's manner that
+something was wrong."
+
+"No, doctor, nothing," said the lawyer.  "We only want to ask you what
+you think of our young friend here being taken to spend the winter in
+Turkey."
+
+"Admirable!" said the doctor, "if it could be managed."
+
+"Oh, Doctor Shorter!" wailed Mrs Dunn, "I thought you would stop this
+mad plan."
+
+"There, madam, there!" cried the lawyer; "what did I say?"
+
+"But he is not fit to move," cried Mrs Dunn, while the boy's cheeks
+were flushed, and his eyes wandered eagerly from speaker to speaker.
+
+"Only with care," said the doctor.  "I should not take a long sea trip,
+I think; but cross to Paris, and then go on gently, stopping where you
+pleased, to Brindisi, whence the voyage would be short."
+
+"The very thing!" cried the lawyer, giving one emphatic blow with his
+nose.  "What do you say, professor?"
+
+"It is the plan I had arranged if I had gone alone," was the reply; "and
+I think if Doctor Shorter will furnish us with the necessary
+medicines--"
+
+"He requires change more than medicines," said the doctor.  "Care
+against exertion, and--there, your own common sense will tell you what
+to do."
+
+"Doctor! doctor! doctor!" sobbed Mrs Dunn; "I didn't think it of you.
+What's to become of me?"
+
+"You, madam?" replied the doctor.  "You can read and write letters to
+our young friend here, and thank Heaven that he has friends who will
+take him in charge and relieve him from the risk of another winter in
+our terrible climate."
+
+"Hear, hear!" and "No, no!" cried the lawyer.  "Doctor Shorter, ours is
+not a bad climate, and I will not stand here and listen to a word
+against it.  Look at me, sir!  Thirty years in Sergeant's Inn--fog,
+rain, snow, and no sunshine; and look at me, sir--look at me!"
+
+"My dear sir," said the doctor smiling, "you know the old saying about
+one man's meat being another man's poison?  Suppose I modify my remark,
+and say terrible climate for our young friend.  You are decided, then,
+to take him?"
+
+"Certainly," said the professor.
+
+"To Turkey?"
+
+"Turkey in Asia, sir, where I propose to examine the wonderful ruins of
+the ancient Greek and Roman cities."
+
+"And hunt up treasures of all kinds, eh?" said the doctor smiling.
+
+"I hope we may be fortunate enough to discover something worthy of the
+search."
+
+"But, let me see--the climate; great heat in the plains; intense cold in
+the mountains; fever and other dangers.  You must be careful, gentlemen.
+Brigands--real brigands of the fiercest kind--men who mean heavy
+ransoms, or chopped-off heads.  Then you will have obstinate Turks,
+insidious and tricking Greeks, difficulties of travel.  No child's play,
+gentlemen."
+
+"The more interest, sir," replied the professor, "the greater change."
+
+"Well," said the doctor, "I shall drop in every day till you start, and
+be able to report upon our friend's health.  Now, good day."
+
+The doctor left the room with Mrs Dunn, and as he went out Mr Burne
+blew a flourish, loud enough to astonish the professor, who wondered how
+it was that so much noise could be made by such a little man, till he
+remembered the penetrating nature of the sounds produced by such tiny
+creatures as crickets, and then he ceased to be surprised.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER FOUR.
+
+A VERBAL SKIRMISH.
+
+It seemed wonderful: one day in London, then the luggage all ticketed,
+the young invalid carefully carried by a couple of porters to a
+first-class carriage, and seated in a snug corner, when one of them
+touched his cap and exclaimed:
+
+"Glad to see you come back, sir, strong enough to carry me.  Pore young
+chap!" he said to his mate; "it do seem hard at his time o' life."
+
+"Hang the fellow!" cried the lawyer; "so it does at any time of life.  I
+don't want to be carried by a couple of porters."
+
+Then there was a quick run down to Folkestone, with the patient tenderly
+watched by his two companions, the professor looking less eccentric in
+costume, for he had trusted to his tailor to make him some suitable
+clothing; but the lawyer looking more so, for he had insisted upon
+retaining his everyday-life black frock-coat and check trousers, the
+only change he had made being the adoption of a large leghorn straw hat
+with a black ribbon; on the whole as unsuitable a costume as he could
+have adopted for so long a journey.
+
+"But I've got a couple of Holland blouses in one of my portmanteaus," he
+said to Lawrence, "and these I shall wear when we get into a hotter
+country."
+
+At Folkestone, Lawrence showed no fatigue; on the contrary, when the
+professor suggested staying there for the night he looked disappointed,
+and begged that they might cross to Boulogne, as he was so anxious to
+see France.
+
+Judging that it was as well not to disappoint him, and certainly
+advisable to take advantage of a lovely day with a pleasant breeze for
+the crossing, the professor decided to proceed--after a short
+conversation between the two elders, when a little distant feeling was
+removed, for the professor had felt that the lawyer was not going to
+turn out a very pleasant travelling companion.
+
+"What do you think, sir?" he had said to the fierce-looking little man,
+who kept on attracting attention by violently blowing his nose.
+
+"I'll tell you what I think, professor," was the reply.  "It seems to me
+that the boy is a little sore and upset with his parting from his old
+nurse.  Milk-soppish, but natural to one in his state.  He wants to get
+right away, so as to forget the trouble in new impressions.  Then, as
+you see, the journey so far has not hurt him, and he feels well enough
+to go on.  Sign, sir, that nature says he is strong enough, so don't
+thwart him.  Seems to me, sir--_snuff, snuff, snuff_--that the way to do
+him good is to let him have his own way, so long as he doesn't want to
+do anything silly.  Forward!"
+
+So they went forward, a couple of the steamer's men lifting Lawrence
+carefully along the gangway and settling him in a comfortable part of
+the deck, which he preferred to going below; and ten minutes later the
+machinery made the boat quiver, the pier seemed to be running away, and
+the professor said quietly: "Good-bye to England."
+
+The sea proved to be more rough than it had seemed from the pier, and,
+out of about seventy passengers, it was not long before quite sixty had
+gone below, leaving the deck very clear; and the professor, who kept
+walking up and down, while the lawyer occupied a seat near Lawrence,
+kept watching the invalid narrowly.
+
+But there was no sign of illness.  The lad looked terribly weak and
+delicate, but his eyes were bright, and the red spots on his cheeks were
+unchanged.
+
+"I say, Preston," said the lawyer, when they had been to sea about a
+quarter of an hour, "you look very pale: if you'd like to go below I'll
+stay with him."
+
+"Thanks, no," was the reply; "I prefer the deck.  How beautiful the
+chalky coast looks, Lawrence!"
+
+"Yes, lovely," was the reply; "but I was trying to look forward to see
+France.  I want to see health.  Looking back seems like being ill."
+
+The professor nodded, and said that the French coast would soon be very
+plain, and he stalked up and down, a magnificent specimen of humanity,
+with his great beard blown about by the wind, which sought in vain to
+play with his closely-cut hair.
+
+"I'm sure you had better go below, professor.  You look quite white,"
+said the lawyer again; but Mr Preston laughed.
+
+"I am quite well," he said; and he took another turn up and down to look
+at the silvery foam churned up by the beating paddles.
+
+"Look here!" cried the lawyer again, as the professor came and stood
+talking to Lawrence; "had you not better go down?"
+
+"No.  Why go down to a cabin full of sick people, when I am enjoying the
+fresh air, and am quite well?"
+
+"But are you really quite well?"
+
+"Never better in my life."
+
+"Then it's too bad, sir," cried the lawyer.  "I've been waiting to see
+you give up, and if you will not, I must, for there's something wrong
+with this boat."
+
+"Nonsense!  One of the best boats on the line."
+
+"Then, there's something wrong with me.  I can't enjoy my snuff, and
+it's all nonsense for this boy to be called an invalid.  I'm the
+invalid, sir, and I am horribly ill.  Help me below, there's a good
+fellow."
+
+Mr Burne looked so deplorably miserable, and at the same time so comic,
+that it was impossible to avoid smiling, and as he saw this he stamped
+his foot.
+
+"Laughing at me, eh?  Both of you.  Now, look here.  I know you both
+feel so poorly that you don't know what to do, and I'll stop up on deck
+and watch you out of spite."
+
+"Nonsense!  I could not help smiling," said the professor
+good-humouredly.  "Let me help you down."
+
+"Thank you, no," said the lawyer taking off his hat to wipe his moist
+brow, and then putting it on again, wrong way first.  "I'm going to stop
+on deck, sir--to stop on deck."
+
+He seemed to be making a tremendous effort to master the qualmish
+feeling that had attacked him, and in this case determination won.
+
+A night at Boulogne, and at breakfast-time next morning Lawrence seemed
+no worse for the journey, so they went on at once to Paris, where a
+day's rest was considered advisable, and then, the preliminaries having
+been arranged, the train was entered once more, and after two or three
+stoppages to avoid over-wearying the patient, Trieste was reached, where
+a couple of days had to be passed before the arrival of the steamer
+which was to take them to Smyrna, and perhaps farther, though the
+professor was of opinion that it might be wise to make that the
+starting-place for the interior.
+
+But when the steamer arrived a delay of five days more ensued before a
+start was made; and all this time the invalid's companions watched him
+anxiously.
+
+It was in these early days a difficult thing to decide, and several
+times over the professor and Mr Burne nearly came to an open rupture--
+one sufficiently serious to spoil the prospects of future friendly
+feeling.
+
+But these little tiffs always took place unknown to Lawrence, who
+remained in happy ignorance of what was going on.
+
+The disagreements generally happened something after this fashion.
+
+Lawrence would be seated in one of the verandahs of the hotel enjoying
+the soft warm sea-breeze, and gazing out at the scene glowing in all the
+brightness of a southern sun, when the old lawyer would approach the
+table where, out of the lad's sight and hearing, the professor was
+seated writing.
+
+The first notice the latter had of his fellow-traveller's approach would
+be the loud snapping of the snuff-box, which was invariably followed by
+a loud snuffling noise, and perhaps by a stentorian blast.  Then the
+lawyer would lean his hand upon the table where the professor was
+writing with:
+
+"Really, my dear sir, you might put away your pens and ink for a bit.
+I've left mine behind.  Here, I want to talk to you."
+
+The professor politely put down his pen, leaned back in his chair and
+folded his arms.
+
+"Hah! that's better," said Mr Burne.  "Now we can talk.  I wanted to
+speak to you about that boy."
+
+"I am all attention," said the professor.
+
+"Well, sir, there's a good German physician here as well as the English
+one.  Don't you think we ought to call both in, and let them have a
+consultation?"
+
+"What about?" said the professor calmly.
+
+"About, sir?  Why, _re_ Lawrence."
+
+"But he seems certainly better, and we have Doctor Snorter's remedies if
+anything is necessary."
+
+"Better, sir? decidedly worse.  I have been watching him this morning,
+and he is distinctly more feeble."
+
+"Why, my dear Mr Burne, he took my arm half an hour ago, and walked up
+and down that verandah without seeming in the least distressed."
+
+"Absurd, sir!"
+
+"But I assure you--"
+
+"Tut, tut, sir! don't tell me.  I watch that boy as I would an important
+case in a court of law.  Nothing escapes me, and I say he is much
+worse."
+
+"Really, I should be sorry to contradict you, Mr Burne," replied the
+professor calmly; "but to me it seems as if this air agreed with him,
+and I should have said that, short as the time has been since he left
+home, he is better."
+
+"Worse, sir, worse decidedly."
+
+"Really, Mr Burne, I am sorry to differ from you," replied the
+professor stiffly; "but I must say that Lawrence is, to my way of
+thinking, decidedly improved."
+
+"Pah!  Tchah!  Absurd!" cried the lawyer; and he went off blowing his
+nose.
+
+Another day he met the professor, who had just left Lawrence's side
+after sitting and talking with him for some time, and there was an
+anxious, care-worn look in his eyes that impressed the sharp lawyer at
+once.
+
+"Hallo!" he exclaimed; "what's the matter?"
+
+The professor shook his head.
+
+"Lawrence," he said sadly.
+
+"Eh?  Bless me!  You don't say so," cried Mr Burne; and he hurried out
+into the verandah, which was the lad's favourite place.
+
+There Mr Burne stayed for about a quarter of an hour, and then went
+straight to where the professor was writing a low-spirited letter to
+Mrs Dunn, in which he had said that he regretted bringing Lawrence
+right away into those distant regions, for though Trieste was a large
+port, and there was plenty of medical attendance to be obtained, it was
+not like being at home.
+
+"I say!  Look here!" cried Mr Burne, "you ought to know better, you
+know."
+
+"I do not understand you," replied the professor quietly.
+
+"Crying wolf, you know.  It's too bad."
+
+"Really," said the professor, who was in one of his dreamy, abstracted
+moods, "you are mistaken, Mr Burne.  I did not say a word about a
+wolf."
+
+"Well, whoever said you did, man?" cried the lawyer impatiently as he
+took out his snuff-box and whisked forth a pinch, flourishing some of
+the fine dry dust about where he stood.  "Can't you, a university man,
+understand metaphors--shepherd boy calling wolf when there was nothing
+the matter?  The patient's decidedly better, sir."
+
+"Really, Mr Burne--_er_--_tchishew_--_er_--_tchishew_!"
+
+Old Mr Burne stood looking on, smiling grimly, as the professor had a
+violent fit of sneezing, and in mocking tones held out his snuff-box and
+said:
+
+"Have a good pinch?  Stop the sneezing.  Ah! that's better," he added,
+as the professor finished off with a tremendous burst.  "Your head will
+be clear now, and you can understand what I say.  That boy's getting
+well."
+
+"I wish I could think so," said the professor, sniffing so very quietly
+that, as if to give him a lesson, his companion blew off one of his
+blasts, with the result that a waiter hurried into the room to see what
+was wrong.
+
+"Think? there is no occasion to think so.  He is mending fast, sir; and
+if you have any doubt about it, and cannot trust in the opinion of a man
+of the world, go and watch him, and see how interested he seems in all
+that is going on.  Why, a fortnight ago he lay back in his chair
+dreaming and thinking of nothing but himself.  Now he is beginning to
+forget that there is such a person.  He's better, sir, better."
+
+The fact was that the lawyer was right, and so was the professor, for at
+that time Lawrence was as changeable of aspect as an April day, and his
+friends could only judge him by that which he wore when they went to his
+side.
+
+At last the morning came when the steamer started for Smyrna, and the
+pair were for once in a way agreed.  They had been breakfasting with
+Lawrence, noting his looks, his appetite, listening to every word, and
+at last, when he rose feebly, and went out into the verandah to gaze
+down at the busy crowd of mingled European and Eastern people, whose
+dress and habits seemed never tiring to the lad, the lawyer turned to
+the professor and exclaimed:
+
+"You did not say a word to him about sailing to-day."
+
+"No.  Neither did you."
+
+"Well, why didn't you?"
+
+"Because I thought that it seemed useless, and that we had better stay."
+
+"Well, I don't often agree with you, professor, but I must say that I do
+to-day.  The boy is not equal to it.  But he is better."
+
+"Ye-es," said the professor.  "I think he is better."
+
+Just then Lawrence returned from the verandah, looking flushed and
+excited.
+
+"Why, the Smyrna boat sails to-day, Mr Preston," he exclaimed.  "One of
+the waiters has just told me.  Hadn't we better get ready at once?"
+
+"Get ready?" said the professor kindly.  "We thought that perhaps we had
+better wait for the next boat."
+
+"Oh!" exclaimed Lawrence, with his countenance changing.  "I shall be so
+disappointed.  I felt so much better too, and I've been longing to see
+some of the Grecian isles."
+
+"Do you really feel yourself equal to the journey, my dear boy?" said
+the professor.
+
+"Oh yes.  I don't know when I have felt so well," said Lawrence eagerly.
+
+"Bless my soul!" cried the old lawyer, opening and shutting his
+snuff-box as if for the purpose of hearing it snap, and sending the fine
+dust flying, "what a young impostor you are!  Here, let's get our bill
+paid, and our traps on board.  There's no time to spare."
+
+Lawrence's face brightened again, and he left the room.
+
+"Tell you what, professor," said Mr Burne, "you and I have been ready
+to quarrel several times over about what we do not understand.  Now,
+look here.  I want to enjoy this trip.  What do you say to burying the
+hatchet?"
+
+"Burying the hatchet?  Oh!  I see.  Let there be peace."
+
+"To be sure," cried the lawyer, shaking hands warmly, "and we'll keep
+the fighting for all the Greeks, Turks, brigands, and the like who
+interfere with us."
+
+"With all my heart," said the professor smiling; but Mr Burne still
+lingered as if he had something to say.
+
+"Fact is," he exclaimed at last, "I'm a curious crotchety sort of
+fellow.  Had too much law, and got coated over with it; but I'm not bad
+inside when you come to know me."
+
+"I'm sure you are not, Burne," said the professor warmly; "and if you
+come to that, I have spent so many years dealing with dead authors, and
+digging up musty legends, that I am abstracted and dreamy.  I do not
+understand my fellow-men as I should, but really I esteem you very
+highly for the deep interest you take in Lawrence."
+
+"That's why I esteem you, sir," said the lawyer; "and--no, I won't take
+any more snuff now; it makes you sneeze.  There, be off, and get ready
+while I pay the bills."
+
+That evening, in the golden glow of the setting sun, they set sail for
+Smyrna.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER FIVE.
+
+SOME FELLOW-TRAVELLERS.
+
+It was one bright morning, after a delightful passage, that the steamer
+made its way into the port of Smyrna, where everything around seemed to
+be full of novelty--strange craft manned by strange-looking crews, Turks
+with white turbans, Turks with scarlet fezzes and baggy breeches, and
+Turks with green turbans to show their reputation among their
+compatriots.  Greeks, too--small, lithe, dark men, with keen faces and
+dark eyes, differing wonderfully from the calm, dignified, handsome
+Turks, but handsome in their way if it had not been for a peculiarly
+sharp, shifty expression that suggested craftiness and a desire to
+overreach, if not cheat.
+
+There was a constant succession of fresh sights, from the Turkish
+man-of-war that was of British build, to the low fishing-boat with its
+long graceful lateen sail, spread out upon its curved and tapering spar.
+
+Ashore it was the same.  The landing-place swarmed with fresh faces,
+fresh scenes.  Everything looked bright, and as if the atmosphere was
+peculiarly clear, while the shadows were darker and sharper as they were
+cast by the glowing sun.
+
+For the sun did glow.  The time was short since they had left England,
+with symptoms coming on of falling leaves, lengthening nights, and
+chills in the air, while here all was hot summer time, and one of the
+first things Mr Burne said was:
+
+"There's no mistake about it, I must have out a blouse."
+
+They were soon comfortably settled in the best hotel, from whence the
+professor decided to sally forth at once to call upon and deliver his
+letters of recommendation to the British consul; but he was not fated to
+go alone.
+
+"I want to see everything and everybody," said Mr Burne, "and I'll go
+with you.  Look here, Lawrence, my boy, I would not get in the sun.  I'd
+go and lie down for an hour or two till we get back."
+
+"The sun seems to give me strength," said Lawrence eagerly.  "I have
+seen so little of it in London.  I want to go with you, please."
+
+The professor darted a look at Mr Burne which seemed to say, "Let him
+have his own way;" and the landlord having been consulted, a Greek guide
+or dragoman was soon in readiness, and they started.
+
+"Look here," said Mr Burne, taking hold of the professor's sleeve.  "I
+don't like the look of that chap."
+
+"What, the guide?"
+
+"Yes!  I thought Greeks were nice straightforward chaps, with long noses
+drawn down in a line from their foreheads, like you see in the British
+Museum.  That fellow looks as if he wouldn't be long in England before
+he'd be looking at a judge and jury, and then be sent off to penal
+servitude.  Greek statues are humbug.  They don't do the Greeks
+justice."
+
+"It does not matter as long as he does his duty by us for the short time
+we are here.  Be careful.  He understands English."
+
+"Well, I am careful," said Mr Burne; "and I'm looking after my
+pocket-book, watch, and purse; and if I were you I should do the same.
+He's a rogue, I'm sure."
+
+"Nonsense!"
+
+"'Tisnt nonsense, sir; you're too ready to trust everybody.  Did you
+hear his name?"
+
+"I did," said Lawrence smiling.  "Xenos Stephanos."
+
+"Yes," grumbled Mr Burne.  "There's a name.  I don't believe any man
+could be honest with a name like that."
+
+The professor showed his white teeth as he laughed heartily, and Mr
+Burne took snuff, pulled out a glaring yellow silk handkerchief, and
+blew a blast that was like the snort of a wild horse.
+
+It was done so suddenly that a grave-looking Turkish gentlemen in front
+started and turned round.
+
+"Well, what is it?" said Mr Burne fiercely.  "Did you never see an
+Englishman take snuff before?"
+
+The Turk bowed, smiled, and continued his way.
+
+"Such rudeness.  Savages!" snorted out Mr Burne.  "Don't believe they
+know what a pocket-handkerchief is."
+
+"I beg your pardon," said the Turk, turning round and smiling as he
+spoke in excellent English, "I think you will find we do, but we have
+not the use for them here that you have in England."
+
+"I--er--er--er.  Bless my soul, sir!  I beg your pardon," cried the old
+lawyer.  "I did not know you understood English, or--"
+
+"Pray, say no more, sir," said the Turkish gentleman gravely.  And he
+turned to cross the street.
+
+"Snubbed!  Deserved it!" cried Mr Burne, taking off his straw hat, and
+doubling his fist, as if he were going to knock the crown out.  "Let
+this be a lesson to you, Lawrence.  Bless me!  Thought I was among
+savages.  Time I travelled."
+
+"You forgot that you were still amongst steam, and post-offices, and
+telegraph wires, and--"
+
+"Bless me! yes," cried Mr Burne; "and, look there, an English name up,
+and Bass's pale ale.  Astonishing!"
+
+Just then the Greek guide stopped and pointed to a private house as
+being the English consul's, and upon entering they were at once shown
+into a charmingly furnished room, in which were a handsome bronzed
+middle-aged gentleman, in earnest conversation with a tall
+masculine-looking lady with some pretensions to beauty, and a little
+easy-looking man in white flannel, a glass in one eye, and a very high
+shirt collar covered with red spots, as if a number of cochineal insects
+had been placed all over it at stated intervals and then killed.
+
+He was smooth-faced all but a small moustache; apparently about thirty;
+plump and not ill-favoured, though his hair was cut horribly close; but
+a spectator seemed to have his attention taken up at once by the spotted
+collar and the eye-glass.
+
+"Glad to see you, Mr Preston," said the bronzed middle-aged man.  "You
+too, Mr Burne.  And how are you, Mr Grange?  I hope you have borne the
+voyage well.  Let me introduce you," he continued, after shaking hands,
+"to our compatriots Mr and Mrs Charles Chumley.  We can't afford, out
+here, not to know each other."
+
+Mutual bowing took place, and the consul continued:
+
+"Mr and Mrs Chumley are bound on the same errand as you are--a trip
+through the country here."
+
+"Yes," said the gentleman; "we thought--"
+
+"Hush, Charley! don't," interrupted the lady; "let me speak.  Are you
+Professor Preston?"
+
+"My name is Preston," said the professor, bowing.
+
+"Glad to meet you.  Mr Chumley and I are going to do Turkey this year.
+Mr Thompson here said that you and your party were going to travel.  He
+had had letters of advice.  We are going to start directly and go
+through the mountains; I suppose you will do the same."
+
+"No," said the professor calmly; "we are going to take steamer round to
+one of the southern ports and start from there."
+
+"Oh, I say, what a pity!" said the little gentleman, rolling his head
+about in his stiff collar, where it looked something like a ball in a
+cup.  "We might have helped one another and been company."
+
+"I wish you would not interfere so, Charley," cried the lady.  "You know
+what I said."
+
+"All right, Agnes," said the little gentleman dolefully.  "Are you
+people staying at Morris's?"
+
+"Yes," said the professor.
+
+"So are we.  See you at dinner, perhaps."
+
+"Charley!" exclaimed the lady in tones that were quite Amazonic, they
+were so deep and stern.
+
+Then a short conversation took place with the consul, and the strange
+couple left, leaving their host free to talk to the other visitors.
+
+"I had very kind letters from Mr Linton at the Foreign Office
+respecting you, gentlemen," said the consul.
+
+"I know Linton well," said the professor.
+
+"He is an old friend of mine too," said the consul.  "Well, I have done
+all I could for you."
+
+"About passports or what is necessary?" said the professor.
+
+"I have a properly-signed firman for you," said the consul smiling; "and
+the showing of that will be sufficient to ensure you good treatment,
+help, and protection from the officials in every town.  They will
+provide you with zaptiehs or cavasses--a guard when necessary, and
+generally see that you are not molested or carried off by brigands, or
+such kind of folk."
+
+"But is it a fact, sir," said Mr Burne, "that you have real brigands in
+the country?"
+
+"Certainly," said the consul smiling.
+
+"What! in connection with postal arrangements, and steam, and
+telegraphs?"
+
+"My dear sir, we have all these things here; but a score or so of miles
+out in the country, and you will find the people, save that firearms are
+common, just about as they were a thousand years ago."
+
+"Bless my heart!" exclaimed Mr Burne.
+
+"It is a fact, sir; and I should advise great care, not only as to whom
+you trust among the people, but as to your health.  The country is in a
+horrible state of neglect; the government does nothing."
+
+"But I do not see how that is to affect us," said the professor,
+"especially as we have that firman."
+
+"It will not affect you in the more settled districts, but you may run
+risks in those which are more remote.  I have been warning Mr and Mrs
+Chumley about the risks, but the lady laughed and said that she always
+carried a revolver."
+
+"Bless me!" exclaimed Mr Burne, "a lady with a revolver!  She would not
+dare to fire it."
+
+"I don't know about that," said the professor.
+
+"Of course," continued the consul, "I am at your service, Mr Preston.
+If you are in need of aid, and are anywhere within reach of the
+telegraph wires, pray send to me and I will do my best.  Can I do
+anything more for you?"
+
+This was a plain hint to go, for it was evident that others were waiting
+for an interview with the representative of England; so a friendly
+farewell was taken and the little party returned to the hotel.
+
+"I'm glad you decided to go a different way to those people, Preston,"
+said Mr Burne.
+
+"The decision was made on the instant, my dear sir; for I did mean to
+start from here."
+
+"Ah, you thought those people would be a nuisance?"
+
+"Indeed I did."
+
+The professor had hardly spoken when Lawrence touched his arm; for the
+parties alluded to approached, and the lady checked her lord, who was
+going to speak, by saying:
+
+"I thought I would give you a hint about going pretty well-armed.  You
+will not have to use your weapons if you let the people see that you
+have them."
+
+"Arms, ma'am!  Stuff! rubbish!" cried Mr Burne.  "The proper arms of an
+Englishman are the statutes at large, bound in law calf, with red labels
+on their back."
+
+"Statutes at large!" said the lady wonderingly.
+
+"Yes, ma'am--the laws of his country, or the laws of the country where
+he is; and the proper arms of a lady, madam, are her eyes."
+
+"And her tongue," said the professor to himself, but not in so low a
+voice that it was not heard by Lawrence, who gave him a sharp look full
+of amusement.
+
+Mrs Chumley smiled and bowed.
+
+"Very pretty, sir!" she said; "but you forget that we are going to
+travel through a country where the laws are often a mere name, and
+people must take care of themselves."
+
+"Take care of themselves--certainly, ma'am, but not by breaking the
+laws.  If a pack of vagabonds were to attack me I should hand them over
+to the police, or apply at the nearest police-court for a summons.  That
+would be a just and equitable way of treating the matter."
+
+"Where would you get your police, Burne? and whom would you get to serve
+your summons if you could procure one?"
+
+"Nearest town, sir--anywhere."
+
+The lady laughed heartily, and her little husband rubbed his hands and
+then patted her on the back.
+
+"This lady is quite right, my dear Burne," said the professor.  "I see
+that we shall be obliged to go armed."
+
+"Armed, sir!--armed?"
+
+"Yes.  We shall for the greater part of our time be in places where the
+laws are of no avail, unless a body of troops are sent to enforce them."
+
+"But then your firman will have furnished us with a Turkish soldier for
+our protection."
+
+"But suppose the Turkish soldier prefers running away to fighting?"
+exclaimed the lady, "what then?"
+
+"What then, ma'am?--what then?" cried the lawyer.  "I flatter myself
+that I should be able to quell the people by letting them know that I
+was an English gentleman.  Do you think that at my time of life I am
+going to turn butcher and carve folks with a sword, or drill holes
+through them with bullets?"
+
+"Yes, sir, if it comes to a case of who is to be carved or drilled.
+There!--think it over.  Come, Charley! let's have our walk."
+
+Saying which the lady nodded and smiled to the two elders, and was going
+off in an assumed masculine way, when she caught sight of Lawrence lying
+back in an easy-chair, and her whole manner changed as she crossed to
+him and held out her hand with a sweet, tender, womanly look in her
+eyes.
+
+"Good-bye for the present!" she said.  "You must make haste and grow
+strong, so as to help me up the mountains if we meet somewhere farther
+in."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER SIX.
+
+MR. BURNE TRIES A GUN.
+
+"Now that's just what I hate in women," said the old lawyer, viciously
+scattering snuff all over the place.  "They put you in an ill temper,
+and rouse you up to think all sorts of bitter things, and then just as
+you feel ready to say them, they behave like that and disarm you.  After
+the way in which she spoke to Lawrence there I can't abuse her."
+
+"No, don't, please, Mr Burne," said Lawrence warmly, and with his
+cheeks flushing, "I am sure she is very nice when you come to know her."
+
+"Can't be," cried the lawyer.  "A woman who advocates fire and sword.
+Bah!"
+
+"But as a protection against fire and sword," said the professor
+laughing.
+
+"Tchah, sir! stuff!" cried the other.  "Look here; I can be pretty
+fierce when I like, and with you so big and strong, and with such a way
+with you as you have--Bah! nonsense, sir, we shall want no arms."
+
+"Well, I propose that we now consult the landlord."
+
+"Oh, just as you like, sir; but if he advocates such a proceeding, I'm
+not going to stalk through Turkey carrying fire-irons in my belt and
+over my shoulder, like a sham footpad in a country show."
+
+The landlord was summoned--a frank-looking Englishman, who listened to
+all the professor said in silence and then replied:
+
+"Mr Thompson the consul is quite right, sir.  We are not in England
+here, and though this is the nineteenth century the state of the country
+is terribly lawless.  You know the old saying about when at Rome."
+
+"Do as the Romans do, eh?"
+
+"Exactly, sir.  Every second man you meet here even in the town goes
+armed, even if his weapons are not seen, while in the country--quite in
+the interior, it is the custom to wear weapons."
+
+"Then I shall not go," said Mr Burne decisively.  "If you ask my
+advice, gentlemen, I should say, carry each of you a good revolver, a
+knife or dagger, a sword, and a double-barrelled gun."
+
+"Sword, dagger, and gun!" cried the professor.  "Surely a revolver would
+be sufficient."
+
+"Why not push a nice large brass cannon before us in a wheel-barrow?"
+said Mr Burne sarcastically, and then leaning back in his chair to
+chuckle, as if he had said something very comical, and which he
+emphasised by winking and nodding at Lawrence, who was too much
+interested in the discussion upon weapons to heed him.
+
+"A revolver is not sufficient, for more than one reason, gentlemen,"
+said the landlord.  "It is a deadly weapon in skilful hands; but you
+will meet scores of people who do not understand its qualities, but who
+would comprehend a sword or a gun.  You do not want to have to use these
+weapons."
+
+"Use them, sir?  Of course not," roared the lawyer.  "Of course not,
+sir," said the landlord.  "If you go armed merely with revolvers you may
+have to use them; but if you wear, in addition, a showy-looking sword
+and knife, and carry each of you a gun, you will be so formidable in
+appearance that the people in the different mountain villages will treat
+you with the greatest of respect, and you may make your journey in
+safety."
+
+"This is very reasonable," said the professor.
+
+"I assure you, sir, that in a country such as this is now such
+precautions are as necessary as taking a bottle of quinine.  And beside,
+you may require your guns for game."
+
+"The country is very fine, of course?"
+
+"Magnificent, sir," replied the landlord; "but it is in ruins.  The
+neglect and apathy of the government are such that the people are like
+the land--full of weeds.  Why, you will hardly find a road fit to
+traverse, and through the neglect of the authorities, what used to be
+smiling plains are turned to fever-haunted marshes spreading pestilence
+around."
+
+"You will have to give way, Mr Burne," said the professor smiling, "and
+dress like a bandit chief."
+
+"Never, sir," cried the lawyer.  "You two may, but I am going through
+Asia Minor with a snuff-box and a walking-stick.  Those will be enough
+for me."
+
+"Where can we get arms?" said the professor smiling.
+
+"At Politanie's, sir, about fifty yards from here.  You will find him a
+very straightforward tradesman.  Of course his prices are higher than
+you would pay in London; but he will not supply you with anything that
+is untrustworthy.  Perhaps you may as well say that you are friends of
+our consul, and that I advised you."
+
+"It is absurd!" exclaimed Mr Burne, as soon as they were alone.  "What
+do you say, Lawrence, my boy?  You don't believe in weapons of war, I'm
+sure."
+
+"No," replied Lawrence quietly.
+
+"There, professor."
+
+"But," continued Lawrence, "I believe in being safe.  I feel sure that
+the people will respect us all the more for being armed."
+
+"And would you use a sword, sir?" cried the lawyer fiercely.
+
+Lawrence drew his sleeve back from his thin arm, gazed at it mournfully,
+and then looked up in a wistful half-laughing way at his two friends.
+
+"I don't think I could even pull it out of the sheath," he said sadly.
+
+"Come, Burne, you will have to yield to circumstances."
+
+"Not I, sir, not I," said Mr Burne emphatically.  "I have been too much
+mixed up with the law all my life, and know its beauties too well, ever
+to break it."
+
+"But you will come with us to the gunsmith's?"
+
+"Oh, yes, I'll come and see you fool away your money, only I'm not going
+to have you carry loaded guns near me.  If they are to be for show let
+them be for show.  There, I'm ready."
+
+"You will lie down for an hour, Lawrence, eh?" said the professor; "it
+is very hot."  But the lad looked so dismayed that his friend smiled and
+said, "Come along, then."
+
+A few minutes later they were in a store, whose owner seemed to sell
+everything, from tinned meat to telescopes; and, upon hearing their
+wants, the shrewd, clever-looking Greek soon placed a case of revolvers
+before them of English and American make, exhibiting the differences of
+construction with clever fingers, with the result that the professor
+selected a Colt, and Lawrence a Tranter of a lighter make.
+
+"He's a keen one," said Mr Burne.  "What a price he is asking for these
+goods!"
+
+"But they seem genuine," said the professor; for the Greek had gone to
+the back of his store to make some inquiry about ammunition.
+
+"Genuine fleecing," grumbled Mr Burne; and just then the dealer
+returned.
+
+"You select those two, then, gentlemen," he said in excellent English.
+"But if you will allow me, sir," he continued to Lawrence, "this is a
+more expensive and more highly finished pistol than the other, and it is
+lighter in the hand; but if I were you, as my arm would grow stronger, I
+should have one exactly like my friend's."
+
+"Why?" said Lawrence; "I like this one."
+
+"It is a good choice, sir, but it requires different cartridges to your
+friend's, and as you are going right away, would it not be better to
+have to depend on one size only?  I have both, but I offer the
+suggestion."
+
+"Yes, that's quite right," said the old lawyer sharply; "quite right.  I
+should have both the same; and, do you know, I think perhaps I might as
+well have one, in case either of you should lose yours."
+
+Mr Preston felt ready to smile, but the speaker was looking full at
+him, as if in expectation thereof, and he remained perfectly serious.
+
+The pistols having been purchased, with a good supply of ammunition,
+guns were brought out, and the professor invested in a couple of good
+useful double-barrelled fowling-pieces for himself and Lawrence; Mr
+Burne watching intently the whole transaction, and ending by asking the
+dealer to show him one.
+
+"You see," he explained, "I should look odd to the people if I were not
+carrying the same weapons as you two, and besides I have often thought
+that I should like to go shooting.  I don't see why I shouldn't; do you,
+Lawrence?"
+
+"No, sir, certainly not," was the reply: and Mr Burne went on examining
+the gun before him, pulling the lever, throwing open the breech, and
+peeping through the barrels as if they formed a double telescope.
+
+"Oh! that's the way, is it?" he said.  "But suppose, when the thing goes
+off, the shots should come out at this end instead of the other?"
+
+"But you don't fire it off when it's open like that, Mr Burne," cried
+Lawrence.
+
+"My dear boy, of course not.  Do you suppose I don't understand?  You
+put in the cartridges like this.  No, they won't go in that way.  You
+put them in like that, and then you pull the trigger."
+
+"No, no, no," cried Lawrence excitedly.  "You shut the breech first."
+
+"My dear boy--oh!  I see.  Yes, of course.  Oh! that's what you meant.
+Of course, of course.  I should have seen that directly.  Now, then,
+it's all right.  Loaded?"
+
+"Sir! sir! sir!" cried the dealer, but he was too late, for the old
+lawyer had put the gun to his shoulder, pointing the barrel towards the
+door, and pulled both triggers.
+
+The result was a deafening explosion, two puffs of smoke half filling
+the place, and the old gentleman was seated upon the floor.
+
+"Good gracious, Burne!" cried the professor, rushing to him, "are you
+much hurt?"
+
+Lawrence caught at the chair beside him, turning ashy pale, and gazing
+down at the prostrate man, while quite a little crowd of people filled
+the shop.
+
+"Hurt?" cried Mr Burne fiercely--"hurt?  Hang it, sir, do you think a
+man at my time of life can be bumped down upon the floor like that
+without being hurt?"
+
+"But are you wounded--injured?"
+
+"Don't I tell you, yes," cried Mr Burne, getting up with great
+difficulty.  "I'm jarred all up the spinal column."
+
+"But not wounded?"
+
+"Yes, I am, sir--in my self-respect.  Here, help me up.  Oh, dear!  Oh,
+lor'!  Gently!  Oh, my back!  Oh, dear!  No; I can't sit down.  That's
+better.  Ah!"
+
+"Would you like a doctor fetched?"
+
+"Doctor?  Hang your doctor, sir.  Do you think I've came out here to be
+poisoned by a foreign doctor.  Oh, bless my soul!  Oh, dear me!
+Confound the gun!  It's a miserable cheap piece of rubbish.  Went off in
+my hands.  Anyone shot?"
+
+"No, sir," said the dealer quietly; "fortunately you held the muzzle
+well up, and the charges went out of the upper part of the door."
+
+"Oh! you're there, are you?" cried Mr Burne furiously, as he lay back
+in a cane chair, whose cushion seemed to be comfortable.  "How dared you
+put such a miserable wretched piece of rubbish as that in my hands!"
+
+The dealer made a deprecatory gesture.
+
+"Here, clear away all these people.  Be off with you.  What are you
+staring at?  Did you never see an English gentleman meet with an
+accident before?  Oh, dear me!  Oh, my conscience!  Bless my heart, I
+shall never get over this."
+
+The dealer went about from one to the other of the passers-by who had
+crowded in, and the grave gentlemanly Turks bowed and left in the most
+courteous manner, while the others, a very motley assembly, showed some
+disposition to stay, but were eventually persuaded to go outside, and
+the door was closed.
+
+"To think of me, a grave quiet solicitor, being reduced to such a
+position as this.  I'm crippled for life.  I know I am.  Serves me right
+for coming.  Here, give me a little brandy or a glass of wine."
+
+The latter was brought directly, and the old lawyer drank it, with the
+result that it seemed to make him more angry.
+
+"Here, you, sir!" he cried to the dealer, who was most attentive; "what
+have you to say for yourself?  It's a wonder that I did not shoot one of
+my friends here.  That gun ought to be destroyed."
+
+"My dear Burne," said the professor, who had taken the fowling-piece and
+tried the locks, cocking and recocking them over and over again; "the
+piece seems to me to be in very perfect order."
+
+"Bah! stuff!  What do you know about guns?"
+
+"Certainly I have not used one much lately, and many improvements have
+been made since I used to go shooting; but still I do know how to handle
+a gun."
+
+"Then, sir," cried the little lawyer in a towering fury, "perhaps you
+will be good enough to tell me how it was that this confounded piece of
+mechanism went off in my hands?"
+
+"Simply," said the professor smiling, "because you drew both the
+triggers at once."
+
+"It is false, sir.  I just rested my fingers upon them as you are doing
+now."
+
+"And the piece went off!" said the professor drily, but smiling the
+while.  "It is a way that all guns and pistols have."
+
+The dealer smiled his thanks, and Mr Burne started up in the chair, but
+threw himself back again.
+
+"Oh, dear! oh, my gracious me!" he groaned; "and you two grinning at me
+and rejoicing over my sufferings."
+
+"My dear sir, indeed I am very sorry," said the dealer.
+
+"Yes, I know you are," said Mr Burne furiously, "because you think, and
+rightly, that I will not buy your precious gun.  Bless my heart, how it
+does hurt!  I feel as if I should never be able to sit up again.  I know
+my vertebrae are all loose like a string of beads."
+
+"Will you allow us to assist you into my private room, sir?" said the
+dealer.
+
+"No, I won't," snapped the sufferer.
+
+"But there is a couch there, and I will send for the resident English
+doctor."
+
+"If you dare do anything of the kind, confound you, sir, I'll throw
+something at you.  Can't you see that there is nothing the matter with
+me, only I'm in pain."
+
+"But he might relieve you, Burne," said the professor kindly.
+
+"I tell you I don't want to be relieved, sir," cried the little lawyer.
+"And don't stand staring at me like that, boy; I'm not killed."
+
+"I am afraid that you are a great deal hurt," said Lawrence, going to
+his side and taking his hand.
+
+"Oh, dear! oh, dear!" groaned the sufferer.  "Well, I'm not, boy, not a
+bit.  There."
+
+"Let me send for a doctor, sir," said the dealer.
+
+"I tell you I will not, man.  Do you take me for a Greek or a Turk, or a
+heretic?  Can't you see that I am an Englishman, sir, one who is never
+beaten, and never gives up?  There, go on selling your guns."
+
+"Oh, nonsense!" said the professor; "we cannot think of such things with
+you in that state."
+
+"State?  What state, sir?  Here you, Mr What's-your-name, I beg your
+pardon.  I ought to have known better.  Not used to guns.  Pens are more
+in my way.  Confoundedly stupid thing to do.  But I've learned more
+about a gun now than I should have learned in six months.  I beg your
+pardon, sir."
+
+"Pray, say no more, sir," replied the dealer; "it is not needed."
+
+"Yes, it is, sir," cried the lawyer fiercely.  "Didn't I tell you I was
+an English gentleman.  An English gentleman always apologises when he is
+in the wrong.  I apologise.  I am very sorry for what I said."
+
+The dealer smiled and bowed, and looked pleased as he handed the
+sufferer another glass of wine, which was taken and sipped at intervals
+between a few mild _ohs_! and _ssfths_!
+
+"Not a bad wine this.  What is it?"
+
+"One of the Greek wines, sir."
+
+"Humph! not bad; but not like our port.  Now, you people, go on with
+your business, and don't stare at me as if I were a sick man.  Here, Mr
+What's-your-name, put that gun in a case, and send it round to the
+hotel.  I've taken a fancy to it."
+
+"Send--this gun, sir?"
+
+"Yes.  Didn't I speak plainly?  Didn't the professor, my friend here,
+say it was a good gun?"
+
+"Yes, sir, yes: it is an excellent piece of the best English make."
+
+"Well, I want a gun, and I suppose any piece would go off as that did if
+somebody handled it as stupidly as I did."
+
+"Yes, sir, of course."
+
+"Then send it on, and the pistol too.  Ah, that's better--I'm easier;
+but I say, Preston, I shall have to be carried back."
+
+"I'm very glad you are easier, but really if I were you I would see a
+doctor."
+
+"I've no objection to seeing a doctor, my dear sir, but I'm not going to
+have him do anything to me."
+
+"Then you really wish us to go on with our purchases?"
+
+"Why, of course, man, of course.  What did we come for?  Go on, man, go
+on.  Here, mister, show me one or two of these long carving knives."
+
+"Carving knives?" said the dealer.  "I do not keep them."
+
+"Yes, you do: these," said Mr Burne, pointing to a case in which were
+several Eastern sabres.
+
+"Oh, the swords!" said the dealer smiling.  "Of course."
+
+"You are not going to buy one of these, are you, Mr Burne?" said
+Lawrence eagerly.
+
+"To be sure I am," was the reply.  "Why shouldn't I play at soldiers if
+I like.  There, what do you say to that?" he continued, drawing a light,
+keen-looking blade from its curved sheath.  "Try it.  Mind it don't go
+off--I mean, don't go slashing it round and cutting off the professor's
+legs or my head.  Can you lift it?"
+
+"Oh, yes," cried Lawrence, poising the keen weapon in his hand before
+examining its handsome silver inlaid hilt.
+
+"Think that would do for me?  Oh, dear me, what a twinge!"
+
+"Yes, sir, admirably," replied Lawrence.
+
+"Then I don't," was the gruff retort.  "Seems to me that it would just
+suit you.  There, buckle on the belt."
+
+Lawrence did as he was told, but the belt was too large and had to be
+reduced.
+
+"Hah! that's better," said Mr Burne.  "There, that's a very handsome
+sword, Lawrence, and it will do to make you look fierce when we are in
+the country, and to hang up in your room at home to keep in memory of
+our journey.  Will you accept it, my boy, as a present?"
+
+"Oh, thank you," cried the lad excitedly.
+
+"Took a fancy to it as soon as you saw it, you young dog.  I saw you!"
+cried the old lawyer chuckling.  "There, now for a dagger or knife to go
+with it."
+
+The dealer produced one in an ornamental sheath directly, and explained
+that it was for use as a weapon, for hunting, or to divide food when on
+a journey.
+
+"That will do, then, nicely.  There, my boy, these are my presents.
+Now, Preston, I suppose we must each have one of these long choppers?"
+
+"Yes, I think so," replied the professor.  "They will make us look more
+formidable."
+
+"Very well, then: choose one for me too, but I warn you, I shall fasten
+mine down in the sheath with gum.  I'm not going to take mine out, for
+fear of cutting off somebody's legs or wings, or perhaps my own."
+
+"You feel better now?" said the professor.
+
+"Hold your tongue, sir--do!  No: I don't feel better.  I had forgotten
+my pain, but now you've made me think about it again.  There!--choose
+two swords and knives and let's get back."
+
+Two plain useful sabres were selected, and the dealer received his
+orders to send the weapons to the hotel, after which the injured man was
+helped into a standing position, but not without the utterance of
+several groans.  Then he was walked up and down the shop several times,
+ending by declaring himself much better.
+
+"There, Lawrence!" he cried, "that's the advantage of being an
+Englishman.  Now, if I had been a Dutchman or a Frenchman I should have
+had myself carried back, sent for a couple of doctors, and been very bad
+for a month or two; but you see I'm better already, and I'm not going to
+give up to please the Grand Panjandrum himself.  Dear me! bless my
+heart! panjandrum!  Pan--pan--pan--jan--jan--jan--drum!  Where did I
+hear that word?"
+
+"In a sort of nursery ditty, sir," said Lawrence laughing.
+
+"To be sure I did," cried the old man, "and I had forgotten it; but I
+say, don't laugh like that, boy."
+
+"Why not, sir?"
+
+"Because it will make us believe that you have been shamming all this
+time, and that you're really quite well, thank you, sir!--eh?"
+
+"I--I think I am better," said Lawrence quickly.  "I don't know why, but
+I have not been thinking about being ill these last few days, everything
+is so bright and sunshiny here, you see."
+
+"Yes, I see," said the old lawyer, giving the professor a peculiar look;
+and they went back to the hotel.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER SEVEN.
+
+THE GREEK SKIPPER.
+
+"No, I can't do it," said Mr Burne after several brave efforts; "I
+really am a good deal jarred, and it is quite impossible.  I am quite
+right as long as I keep still, but in such pain if I move that I can
+hardly bear it."
+
+"Then we will put off the journey for a week," said the professor
+decisively.
+
+"And disappoint the lad?" said Mr Burne.  "No; you two must go."
+
+"How can you talk like that?" exclaimed Lawrence sharply, "when you have
+come on purpose to help me get strong again?  Mr Preston, we shall stay
+here--shall we not?"
+
+"Of course," replied the professor.  "The enjoyment of our trip depends
+upon our being staunch to one another."
+
+Mr Burne declared that it was absurd, and ridiculous, and nonsensical,
+and raked out a few other adjectives to give force to his sentiments,
+speaking in the most sour way possible; but it was very evident that he
+was highly pleased, and the steamer sailed without them.
+
+The next day Mr Burne was so stiff that he could not walk about; but he
+refused to see a doctor, and a week passed before he could move without
+pain.  Then one morning he declared that he was mending fast, and
+insisted upon inquiries being made respecting the sailing of the next
+steamer that would stop at one or other of the little towns on the south
+coast; but there was nothing bound in that direction, nor likely to be
+for another fortnight.
+
+"And all my fault!" cried Mr Burne angrily.  "Tut-tut-tut!  Here, ring
+for the landlord."
+
+The landlord came and was questioned.
+
+No, there was no possibility of a passage being made for quite a
+fortnight, unless the visitors would go in a small sailing boat
+belonging to one or the other of the trading crews.
+
+The professor glanced at Lawrence, thought of the probable discomfort,
+and shook his head.
+
+"The very thing!" exclaimed Mr Burne sharply.
+
+"We can make trips in steamers at anytime; but a trip in a Greek
+felucca, with real Greek sailors, is what I have longed for all my life.
+Eh, Lawrence, what do you say?"
+
+"I think with you, sir, that it would be delightful--that is, if you are
+well enough to go."
+
+"Well enough to go! of course I am.  I'm longing to be off.  Only a bit
+stiff.  Look here, landlord, see what you can do for us.  One moment,
+though; these Greeks--they will not rob us and throw us overboard--eh?"
+
+"No fear, sir.  I'll see that you go by a boat manned by honest fellows
+who come regularly to the port.  Leave it to me."
+
+The landlord departed and the question was discussed.  The professor was
+ready enough to go in the manner proposed so long as Lawrence felt equal
+to the task, and this he declared he was; and certainly, imperceptibly
+as it had come about, there was an improvement in his appearance that
+was most hopeful.
+
+The principal part of their luggage had gone on by steamer, and would be
+lying waiting for them at Ansina, a little port on the south coast which
+had been considered a suitable starting-point; and they had been
+suffering some inconvenience, buying just such few things as would do to
+make shift with till they overtook their portmanteaux.
+
+Oddly enough, Mr Burne expressed the most concern about their new
+purchases, the weapons and ammunition, which had been sent on to the
+steamer by the landlord as soon as they arrived from the store.
+
+"Such things must be so tempting to the people who see them," said the
+old lawyer.
+
+"But they were all carefully packed in cases," said the professor.
+"They would not know what was inside."
+
+"Nonsense, my dear sir.  We English folk would not have known, but a
+Greek or a Turk would.  These people smell powder just like crows in a
+corn-field.  I'm afraid that if we don't make haste we shall find our
+things gone, and I wouldn't lose that gun for any money."
+
+The landlord came back in about a couple of hours to say that he had had
+no success, but that it would become known that he had been inquiring,
+and an application might be made.
+
+This turned out correct, for as the travellers were seated that evening
+over their dessert, enjoying by an open window the deliciously soft
+breeze, as Lawrence partook of the abundant grapes, and the professor
+puffed at a water-pipe--an example followed by Mr Burne, who diligently
+tried to like it, but always gave up in favour of a cigar at the end of
+a quarter of an hour--the waiter brought their coffee and announced that
+the master of a small vessel desired to see their excellencies.
+
+The man was shown in, and proved to be a picturesque-looking fellow in a
+scarlet cap, which he snatched from his curly black hair and advanced
+into the room, saying some words in modern Greek whose import the
+professor made out; but his attempts to reply were too much for the
+skipper, who grew excited, shook his head, and finally rushed out of the
+room, to the great amusement of Mr Burne, who knocked the ash off the
+cigar he had recently lit.
+
+"That's what I always say," he cried.  "Book language is as different as
+can be from spoken language.  I learned French for long enough when I
+was a boy, but I never could make a Frenchman understand what I meant."
+
+"Let's ring and inquire," said the professor, to hide a smile.  "I hope
+we have not driven the fellow away."
+
+"Hope you have, you mean," said Mr Burne.
+
+The professor rose to reach the bell, but just then the landlord entered
+with the Greek sailor, who smiled and showed his white teeth.
+
+With the landlord as interpreter the matter became easy.  The man was
+going to sail in three days, that was as soon as the little vessel, in
+which he had brought a cargo of oranges and other fruit from Beyrout,
+had discharged her load and was ready to return.  He was going to
+Larnaca on his return voyage, but for a consideration he was ready to
+take the English excellencies to any port they liked on the south
+coast--Ansina if they wished--and he would make them as comfortable as
+the boat would allow; but they must bring their own food and wine.
+
+The bargain was soon struck, the Greek asking a sum which the landlord
+named to the professor--so many Turkish pounds.
+
+"But is not that a heavy price for the accommodation we shall receive?"
+
+"Yes," said the landlord smiling.  "I was going to suggest that you
+should offer him one-third of the amount."
+
+"Then we shall offend him and drive him away," said Mr Burne.
+
+"Oh, dear me! no, gentlemen.  He does not expect to get what he asks,
+and the sum I name would be very fair payment.  You leave the settlement
+in my hands."
+
+The professor acquiesced, and the landlord turned to the Greek sailor to
+offer him just one-third of the sum he had asked.
+
+"I thought as much," said the old lawyer.  "The landlord thinks we're in
+England, and that it was a bill of costs that he had to tax.  Look at
+the Greek, Lawrence!"
+
+The latter needed no telling, for he was already watching the sailor,
+who was protesting furiously.  One moment his hands were raised, the
+next they were clenched downwards as if about to strike the floor.
+Again they were lifted menacingly, and there seemed danger, for one
+rested upon a knife in his belt, but only for it to be beaten furiously
+in the other.  Quick angry words, delivered with the greatest
+volubility, followed; and then, turning and looking round in the most
+scornful manner, the man seemed to fire a volley of words at the whole
+party and rushed from the room.
+
+"I'm sorry for this," said the professor, "for we would have paid
+heavily sooner than wait longer."
+
+"Humph!  Yes," exclaimed Mr Burne.  "Why not call the man back and
+offer him two-thirds of his price?"
+
+"Because, sir," replied the landlord, "it would have been giving him
+twice as much as would pay him well.  Don't you see, sir, that he is
+going back empty, and every piastre you pay him is great profit.
+Besides, I presume that you will take far more provisions than will
+suffice for your own use."
+
+"Naturally," replied the professor.
+
+"And this man and his little crew will reap the benefit?"
+
+"But you have driven him away."
+
+"Oh dear, no, sir!" replied the landlord smiling.  "He will be back
+to-night, or at the latest to-morrow morning, to seal the bargain."
+
+"Do you think so?" cried Lawrence, who looked terribly disappointed at
+this new delay.
+
+"I am sure," said the landlord laughing.  "Here he is."
+
+For there was a quick step on the stair, the door was opened, and the
+swarthy face of the Greek was thrust in, the red cap snatched off, and,
+showing his white teeth in a broad smile, he came forward, nodding
+pleasantly to all in turn.
+
+A few words passed, the bargain was made, and the tall lithe fellow
+strode out in high glee, it being understood that he was to well clean
+out the little cabin, and remove baskets and lumber forward so as to
+make the boat as comfortable as he could for his passengers; that he was
+to put in at any port they liked, or stop at any island they wished to
+see; and, moreover, he swore to defend them with his men against enemies
+of every kind, and to land them safely at Ansina, or suffer death in
+default.
+
+This last was his own volunteered penalty, after which he darted back to
+say that their excellencies might bring a little tobacco for him and his
+men, if they liked, and that, in return, they might be sure of finding a
+plentiful supply of oranges, grapes, and melons for their use.
+
+"Come, landlord," said Mr Burne, "I think you have done wonders for
+us."
+
+"I have only kept you from being cheated, gentlemen," was the reply.
+"These men generally ask three or four times as much as they mean to
+take."
+
+"And do the landlords?" said the professor drily.
+
+"I hope not, sir," was the reply.  "But now, gentlemen, if you will
+allow me, I should like to offer you a bit of advice."
+
+"Pray, give it," said the professor gravely.
+
+"I will, sir.  It is this.  You are going into a very wild country,
+where in places you will not be able to help yourselves in spite of your
+firman.  That will be sufficient to get you everything where the law is
+held in anything like respect, but you will find yourselves in places
+where the rude, ignorant peasants will look upon you as Christian dogs,
+and will see you starve or die of exposure before they will give or even
+sell you food for yourselves or horses."
+
+"Mighty pleasant set of barbarians to go amongst, I must say!" cried Mr
+Burne.
+
+"I am telling you the simple truth, gentlemen.  You will find no hotels
+or inns, only the resting-places--the khans--and often enough you will
+be away from them."
+
+"He is quite right," said the professor calmly.  "I was aware that we
+should sometimes have to encounter these troubles."
+
+"Humph!  'Pon my word!" grumbled Mr Burne.  "Look here, Lawrence, let's
+go back."
+
+"What for?" cried the lad flushing.  "Oh, no! we must go on."
+
+The professor glanced at him quickly, and smiled in his calm grave way
+before turning to the landlord.
+
+"You have not given us your advice," he said.
+
+"It is very simple, gentlemen, and it is this: Take with you a man who
+knows the country well, who can act as guide, and from his frequent
+travels there can speak two or three languages--a faithful trusty fellow
+who will watch over you, guard you from extortion, and be ready to
+fight, if needs be, or force the people he comes among to give you or
+sell you what you need."
+
+"Oh! but are they such savages as this--so near to the more civilised
+places of the East?"
+
+"Quite, sir," replied the landlord.
+
+"And where is this pearl among men to be found?" said the professor with
+a slight sneer.  "Do you know such a one?"
+
+"Yes, sir; he only returned from a journey yesterday.  I happened to see
+him this morning, and thought directly of you."
+
+"Would he go with us?" said the old lawyer quickly.
+
+"I cannot say for certain," was the reply; "but if you will give me
+leave I will see him and sound him upon the subject."
+
+"Humph!" from the old lawyer.
+
+"He has just been paid, and would no doubt like to stay and rest here a
+little while, but I daresay I could prevail upon him to go with you if
+he saw you first."
+
+"Then he is to be the master, not we?"
+
+"Well, gentlemen, I don't say that," said the landlord smiling; "but
+people out here are very different to what they are at home.  I have
+learned by bitter experience how independent they can be, and how strong
+their natural dislike is to Christians."
+
+"This man is not a Christian, then?"
+
+"Oh, no, sir! a Muslim, a thorough-going Turk."
+
+"He will not carry his religious feelings to the pitch of pushing us
+over some precipice in the mountains, eh? and then come home thinking he
+has done a good work, eh, Mr Landlord?" said the old lawyer.
+
+"Oh, no!  I'll answer for his integrity, sir.  If he engages to go with
+you, have no hesitation in trusting him with your baggage, your arms,
+your purses if you like.  If he undertakes to be your guide, he will
+lose his life sooner than see you robbed of a single piastre."
+
+"And what will he require?" said Mr Burne shortly; "what pay?"
+
+"Very moderate, gentlemen, and I promise you this, that if I can
+persuade him to go with you, the cost of paying him will be saved out of
+your expenses.  I mean that you will spend less with him than you would
+without."
+
+"And he knows something of the country?"
+
+"A great deal, gentlemen.  Shall I see if I can get him to go?"
+
+"By all means," cried the two elders in a breath.
+
+"If he consents I will bring him to you.  I beg pardon, I am wrong.  I
+must bring him to see you first before he will consent."
+
+"Then, as I said before, he is to be the master, not we," said the
+professor.
+
+"No, no, sir, you must not take it like that.  The man is independent,
+and need not undertake this journey without he likes.  Is it surprising,
+then, that if he should come and see you, and not liking your
+appearance, or the prospect of being comfortable in your service, he
+should decline to go?"
+
+"You are quite right," said Mr Burne.  "I would not."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER EIGHT.
+
+YUSSUF THE GUIDE.
+
+At breakfast-time the next morning the landlord came and announced that
+Yussuf was in waiting.  A few minutes later he ushered in a rather
+plain-looking, deeply-bronzed, middle-aged man, who, at the first
+glance, seemed to have nothing whatever to recommend him.  As a nation
+his people are good-looking and dignified.  Yussuf was rather
+ill-looking and decidedly undignified.  He did not seem muscular, or
+active, or clever, or agreeable, or to have good eyes.  He was not even
+well dressed.  But upon further examination there was a hardened wiry
+look about the man, and a stern determined appearance in the lines of
+his countenance, while the eyes that did not seem to be good, so sunken
+were they beneath his brow, and so deeply shaded, were evidently keen
+and piercing.  They seemed to flash as they met those of the old lawyer,
+to look defiant as they encountered the professor's searching gaze, and
+then to soften as they were turned upon Lawrence, as he lay back in his
+chair rather exhausted by the heat.
+
+A few questions were asked on either side, the newcomer speaking very
+good English, and also grasping the professor's Arabic at once.  In
+fact, it appeared evident that he was about to decline to accompany the
+party; but the words spoken sonorously by the professor seemed to make
+him hesitate, as if the fact of one of the party speaking the familiar
+tongue gratified him, but still he hesitated.
+
+Just then, he hardly knew why, but attracted by the eyes of the Turk,
+which were fixed upon him gravely, and in a half-pitying manner,
+Lawrence rose and approached.
+
+"I hope you will go with us," he said quickly.
+
+Yussuf took his hand and held it, gazing in the lad's face earnestly, as
+a pleasant smile illumined his own.
+
+"You are weak and ill," he said softly.  "The wind that blows in the
+mountains will make you strong."
+
+Then turning slowly to the others he saluted them gravely.
+
+"Effendis," he said, "I am thy servant.  Allah be with us in all our
+journeyings to and fro.  I will go."
+
+"I am glad!" cried Lawrence.
+
+"And so am I," said the professor, hesitating for a moment, and then
+holding out his hand, which Yussuf took respectfully, held for a moment,
+and then turned to Mr Burne.
+
+"Oh, all right, shake hands," said the latter, "if it's the custom of
+the country; and now about terms."
+
+"Leave me to settle that with Yussuf," said the landlord hastily, and he
+and the Muslim left the room.
+
+"Seems queer to begin by being inspected, and then shaking hands with
+the servant we engage, eh, professor?" said Mr Burne.
+
+"The man is to be more than servant," replied Mr Preston; "he is to be
+our guide and companion for months.  He repelled me at first, but
+directly he spoke in that soft deep voice there seemed to me to be truth
+in every accent.  He is a gentleman at heart, and I believe we have
+found a pearl.  What do you say, Lawrence?"
+
+"He made me like him directly he looked in my eyes, and I am very glad
+he is going."
+
+"I repeat my words," said the professor.
+
+"Well, I mustn't quarrel, I suppose.  My back's too bad; so I throw in
+my lot with you, and say I am glad, and good luck to us."
+
+"Amen," said the professor gravely; "but I like our guide's way of
+wishing success the better of the two."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER NINE.
+
+YUSSUF IS SUSPICIOUS.
+
+Lawrence watched anxiously for the arrival of the new guide Yussuf on
+the day appointed for sailing.  There had been one more disappointment,
+the Greek having declared that he must have another day before he would
+be ready, but there was no further delay.
+
+Yussuf came to say that he had examined the boat, that it was good,
+seaworthy, and well manned by a stout little crew of sailors, but that
+he was very much dissatisfied with the accommodation prepared for the
+gentlemen.
+
+He had not been told to report upon this matter, and his evident quiet
+eagerness to serve his employers well was satisfactory.
+
+"We expect to rough it," said the professor.  "It will not be for long."
+
+Yussuf shrugged his shoulders, and said as he looked hard at Lawrence:
+
+"It may be long, effendi.  The winds perhaps light, and there are
+storms."
+
+"I am afraid we must risk these troubles; and besides, it is a coasting
+trip, and we should be able to run into some port."
+
+Yussuf bowed.
+
+"I thought it my duty to tell his excellency of the state of the boat,"
+he said; and then, in an earnest busy way, he asked about the baggage to
+go on board, and provisions, promising to bring up a couple of the Greek
+sailors to carry down what was necessary.
+
+In the course of the afternoon this was done, the consul visited and
+parted from in the most friendly manner, Lawrence's eyes brightening as
+the official rested his hand upon his shoulder, and declared in all
+sincerity that he could see an improvement in him already.
+
+The landlord endorsed this remark too on parting, and he as well as the
+consul assured the little party that, if anything could be done to help
+them, a message would receive the most earnest attention.
+
+"You think we shall get into trouble, then?"  Lawrence ventured to say,
+but shrank back directly he had spoken, with his cheeks flushed and
+heart beating, for his long illness had made him effeminate.
+
+"I think it possible," said the landlord smiling; "but I sincerely hope
+you will not.  In fact, with a man like Yussuf your risks are greatly
+reduced.  Good-bye, gentlemen, and I shall look forward to seeing you
+again on your way back."
+
+"Bravo, Lawrence!" cried the professor, clapping him on the shoulder.
+"I had been thinking the same thing; now I am sure of it."
+
+"I don't understand you," said the lad wiping his face, for the
+perspiration was standing in a fine dew all over his brow.
+
+"Why, both Mr Thompson and the landlord here said that you were better,
+and you have just shown me that you are."
+
+"How, Mr Preston?" said the lad bashfully.
+
+"By the way in which you just now spoke out, my boy," said Mr Burne,
+joining in.  "Why, you couldn't have spoken like that before we started.
+You are not much better now; but when we settled to come on this trip
+you were as weak and bashful as a delicate girl.  Preston, we shall make
+a man of him after all."
+
+They were walking towards the landing-place nearest to where the Greek's
+boat lay, and further conversation was stayed by Yussuf coming to them.
+
+"The boatman will not believe, excellencies," he said, "that there is no
+more luggage.  Have I got all?"
+
+"Yes; all our luggage went on by the steamer to Ansina."
+
+Yussuf bowed and went back to the landing-place, where a small boat
+manned by the Greek and one of his men was in waiting, and in the
+travellers' presence Yussuf explained about their belongings.
+
+The Greek listened with rather a moody expression, but said no more; and
+in a very short time the little party were pulled to the side of a long
+light craft, about the burden of a large west country fishing lugger,
+but longer, more graceful in shape, and with the fore-part pretty well
+cumbered with baskets, which exhaled the familiar ether-like odour of
+oranges.
+
+The accommodation was very spare, but, as the weather was deliciously
+fine, there was little hardship in roughing it in the open--provision
+being made for the invalid to stay in shelter as much as he liked.
+
+They began to find the value of their guide at once, for he eagerly set
+to work to find them seats by improvising places in the stern; showing
+how he had arranged the provisions and fresh water, and offering
+Lawrence some ripe grapes as he made him comfortable where he would be
+out of the way of the men hoisting sail, and getting clear of the many
+boats lying at hand.  First one and then the other long tapering sail
+was hoisted, each looking like the wing of a swallow continued to a
+point, as it stretched out to the tip of the curved and tapering spar;
+and as these filled the light vessel careened over, and began to glide
+swiftly through the bright blue sea.
+
+After lending some help the Greek skipper went behind his passengers to
+the helm, his crew of three swarthy-looking fellows, each with his knife
+in his belt, threw themselves down amongst the baskets forward, and as
+the passengers stood or sat watching the glorious panorama of town,
+coast, and shipping they were passing, Yussuf calmly shook his loose
+garment about him, squatted down beside the low bulwark, and lighting a
+water-pipe began to smoke with his eyes half closed, and as if there was
+nothing more to trouble about in life.
+
+"'Pon my word!" said the old lawyer.  "What a place this boat seems to
+be for practising the art of doing nothing comfortably!"
+
+"Yes," said the professor, taking in the scene on board at a glance.
+"It is typical of the East.  You must get westward to see men toiling
+constantly like ants.  The word business does not belong to these
+lands."
+
+"You are right," said Mr Burne.
+
+"Well, it is the custom of the country," continued the professor, "and
+while we have no hard travel to do, let us follow these people's
+example, and watch and think."
+
+"There is no room to do anything else," said Mr Burne grumpily.
+
+"How delicious!" said Lawrence as if to himself.
+
+"What, those grapes!" said the professor smiling.
+
+"I beg your pardon!" exclaimed Lawrence, starting and flushing again
+like a girl.  "No: I meant sitting back here, and feeling this beautiful
+soft breeze as we glide through the blue sea."
+
+"You like it then?" said Mr Burne smiling.
+
+"Oh, yes!  I don't know when I felt so well and happy.  It is
+delightful."
+
+"That's right," cried Mr Burne.  "Come, now; we must throw the invalid
+overboard."
+
+Lawrence laughed.
+
+"I mean the disease," said Mr Burne.  "No more talking about being
+ill."
+
+"No," said Lawrence quietly, and speaking as if he felt every word he
+uttered to be true; "I feel now as if I were growing better every hour."
+
+"And so you are," cried the professor.  "Come, don't think about
+yourself, but set to work and take photographs."
+
+"Nonsense!" cried Mr Burne; "let the boy be, now he is comfortable.
+Photographs indeed!  Where's your tackle?"
+
+"I mean mental photographs," said the professor laughing.
+
+"Then, why didn't you say so, man?  Good gracious me, if we lawyers were
+to write down one thing when we mean another, a pretty state of affairs
+we should have.  The world would be all lawsuits.  Humph; who'd think
+that Smyrna was such a dirty, shabby place, to look at it from here?"
+
+"A lovely scene certainly!" said the professor.  "Look, Lawrence, how
+well the mountain stands out above the town."
+
+"Humph, yes; it's very pretty," said the lawyer; "but give me Gray's Inn
+with its plane-trees, or snug little Thavies' Inn.  This place is a
+sham."
+
+"But it is very beautiful seen from here, Mr Burne," said Lawrence, who
+was feasting on the glorious sunlit prospect.
+
+"Paint and varnish, sir, over rotten wood," snorted Mr Burne.  "Look at
+the drainage; look at the plagues and fevers and choleras they get
+here."
+
+"Yes," said the professor, "at times."
+
+"Bah! very pretty, of course, but nothing like London."
+
+"With its smoke," said the professor.
+
+"Fine healthy thing, sir," cried the old gentleman.  "Magnificent city,
+London!"
+
+"And its darkness and fogs," said Lawrence.
+
+"Well, who minds a bit of fog, so long as he is well?" cried Mr Burne.
+"Look here, young man; don't you find fault with your own land.  Stick
+up for it through thick and thin."
+
+"For all of it that is good, my lad," said the professor merrily, "but
+don't uphold the bad."
+
+"Bad, sir!  There's precious little that's bad in London.  If you want
+to go a few hundred miles there, you can go at any time and get good
+accommodation.  Not be forced to ride in a market-boat with hard seats.
+Bless me, they are making my back bad again."
+
+"Oh, but, Mr Burne, look, look, the place here is lovely!"
+
+"Oh, yes, lovely enough, but, as the fellow said, it isn't fit to live
+in long; it's dangerous to be safe."
+
+"What do you mean?"
+
+"Earthquakes, sir.  If you take a house in London, you know where you
+are.  If you take one here, as the fellow said, where are you?  To-day
+all right, to-morrow shaken down by an earthquake shock, or swallowed
+up."
+
+"There are risks everywhere," said the professor, who seemed to be
+gradually throwing off his dreamy manner, and growing brighter and more
+active, just as if he had been suffering from a disease of the mind as
+Lawrence had of the body.
+
+"Risks?  Humph! yes, some; but by the time we've finished our trip,
+you'll all be ready to say, There's no place like home."
+
+"Granted," said the professor.
+
+"Why, you're not tired of the journey already, Mr Burne?"
+
+"Tired?  No, my boy," cried the old man smiling.  "I'm in a bad temper
+to-day, that's all.  This seat is terribly hard and--oh, I know what's
+the matter.  I'm horribly hungry."
+
+He turned his head to see that Yussuf had finished and put away his
+pipe, and was busy over one of the baskets of provisions, from which he
+produced a cloth and knives and forks, with a bottle of wine and several
+other necessaries, which his forethought had suggested; and in a short
+time the travellers were enjoying a rough but most palatable _al fresco_
+meal in the delicious evening, with the distant land glowing with light
+of a glorious orange, and the deep blue sea dappled with orange and
+gold.
+
+"We have plenty of provisions, I suppose," said the professor.
+
+"Yes, effendi, plenty," said Yussuf, who had been taking his portion
+aside.
+
+"Then pass what is left here to the skipper and his men."
+
+Yussuf bowed gravely, and the men, who had been making an evening meal
+of blackish bread and melons, were soon chattering away forward, eating
+the remains of the meal and drinking a bottle of the Greek wine Lawrence
+took them.
+
+The tiller had been lashed so as to set the Greek skipper at liberty,
+and the travellers were alone, while, wearied by his extra exertion,
+Lawrence lay back, apparently fast asleep, when Yussuf approached the
+professor and his companion, with his water-pipe which he was filling
+with tobacco, and about which and with a light, he busied himself in the
+most matter-of-fact manner.
+
+But Yussuf was thinking of something else beside smoke, for he startled
+the professor and made Mr Burne jump and drop his cigar, as he said in
+a low voice:
+
+"Your excellencies are well-armed, of course?"
+
+"Armed?" exclaimed the professor.
+
+Yussuf did not speak, but stooped to pick up the fallen cigar, which he
+handed to its owner.
+
+"Be calm, excellency," he said smiling, "and tell me."
+
+The professor looked at him suspiciously; but there was that in the
+man's countenance that disarmed him, and he said quietly: "We certainly
+have plenty of arms."
+
+"That is good," said Yussuf, with a flash of the eye.
+
+"But our weapons are packed up with our luggage, and went on by the
+steamer."
+
+"That is bad," said Yussuf quietly.
+
+"We never thought they would be necessary till we got ashore."
+
+"Look here, my man," said Mr Burne; "speak out.  Are you suspicious of
+these people?"
+
+"My life has taught me to be suspicious, effendi," said Yussuf, lighting
+his pipe, "particularly of the low-class Greeks.  They are not honest."
+
+"But surely," began the professor.
+
+"Be perfectly calm, effendi," said Yussuf, pointing shoreward, and
+waving his hand as if telling the name of some place.  "I have nothing
+certain against this Greek and his men; but we are out at sea and at
+their mercy."
+
+"But something has happened to make you speak like this," said Mr Burne
+with a searching look.
+
+"A trifle, effendi," replied the Muslim; "but a little cloud like that
+yonder,"--pointing seaward now beyond the Greek sailors, so that the
+travellers could see that they were watched by the skipper--"is
+sometimes the sign of a coming storm."
+
+"Then what have you seen?" said Mr Burne suspiciously.
+
+"A trifle--almost nothing, effendi, only that the man there was out of
+temper when he found that all your baggage had gone."
+
+"Humph!" ejaculated Mr Burne.  "Then you think there is danger?" said
+the professor.
+
+"I do not say that," said Yussuf, pointing shoreward again, "but your
+excellencies may as well learn your lessons at once.  We are commencing
+our journey, and are now, as we generally shall be, at the mercy of men
+who obey the laws when they feel the rod over their backs, but who, when
+they cannot see the rod, laugh at them."
+
+"What do you ask us to do, then?" said the professor quickly.
+
+"Be always on guard, but never show it.  Be prepared for danger.  If
+there is none, so much the better.  Life here is a little matter
+compared to what I am told it is among you Franks, and it becomes every
+man's duty to guard his life."
+
+"But these Greek sailors?" said Mr Burne sharply.
+
+"I do not trust them," replied Yussuf calmly.  "If we are the stronger
+they will be our slaves.  If they feel that they are, our lives would
+not be safe if they had the chance to rob us.  They believe your
+excellencies to be rich and to have much gold."
+
+"Look here, Yussuf," said Mr Burne uneasily, "our friend ashore gave
+you a capital character."
+
+"I have eaten salt with your excellencies, and my life is yours,"
+replied Yussuf.
+
+"Then what would you do now?"
+
+"Be perfectly calm, effendi, and treat these men if you did not know
+fear."
+
+"And we have no arms," said Mr Burne uneasily.
+
+"Can your excellency fight?" said Yussuf quietly.
+
+"A law case--yes, with any man, but any other case of fighting--good
+gracious me, no.  I have not fought since I had a black eye at school."
+
+"But you can, effendi?" continued Yussuf, looking with admiration at the
+professor's broad chest and long muscular arms.
+
+"I daresay I can, if I am driven to it," replied the professor gravely;
+and he involuntarily clenched a large, hard, bony hand.
+
+"Yes," said Yussuf, with a grave smile of satisfaction.  "Your
+excellency can fight, I see."
+
+"But we are entirely without arms," repeated Mr Burne excitedly.
+
+"Not quite," replied Yussuf calmly.  "Your excellency has a big stick;
+the effendi here has hands and strength that would enable him to throw
+an enemy into the sea, and I never go a journey without my pistol and a
+knife."
+
+"You have a pistol?" said Mr Burne eagerly.
+
+"Be quite calm, excellency," said Yussuf, laughing as he smoked, and
+bowing down as if something droll had been said.  "Yes, I have a pistol
+of many barrels given to me by a Frankish effendi when we returned from
+a journey through the land of Abraham, and then down to the stony city
+in the desert--Petra, where the Arab sheiks are fierce and ready to rob
+all who are not armed and strong."
+
+"Where is it?" said the professor.
+
+"Safe in my bosom, effendi, where my hand can touch it ere you blink an
+eye.  So you see that we are not quite without arms.  But listen," he
+continued; "this may be all a fancy of mine."
+
+"Then you will do nothing?" exclaimed Mr Burne.
+
+"Oh no, I do not say that, effendi.  We must be watchful.  Two must
+sleep, and two must watch night or day.  The enemy must not come to the
+gate and find it open ready for him to enter in."
+
+"Those are the words of wisdom," said the professor gravely, and
+Yussuf's eyes brightened and he bowed.
+
+"This watchfulness," he said, "may keep the enemy away if there be one.
+If there be none: well, we have taught ourselves a lesson that will not
+be thrown away."
+
+"Why, Yussuf, I am beginning to think you are a treasure!" exclaimed Mr
+Burne.
+
+Yussuf bowed, but he did not look pleased, for he had not warmed towards
+the old lawyer in the slightest degree.  He had been met with distrust,
+and he was reserved towards him who showed his doubt so openly.
+
+"I thought it was but just, effendis, to warn you, and I thought it
+better to say so now, while the young effendi is asleep, for fear he
+might be alarmed."
+
+"I am not asleep," said Lawrence turning his head.  "I have not been to
+sleep."
+
+"Then you have heard all that was said," exclaimed the professor.
+
+"Every word, Mr Preston.  I could not help hearing," said Lawrence,
+sitting up with his face flushed and eyes brightened.  "I did not know
+till just now that I was not expected to hear."
+
+"Humph, and do you feel alarmed?" said the old lawyer.
+
+"I don't think I do, sir," replied the lad calmly.  "Perhaps I should
+if--if there should be a fight."
+
+"I do not think there will be," said the professor quietly.  "Yussuf
+here has warned us, and forewarned is forearmed."
+
+"Even if we have no pistols, eh?" said Mr Burne laughing, but rather
+acidly.  "Humph, here comes the skipper."
+
+The Greek came aft smiling and unlashed the tiller, altering their
+course a little, so that as the evening breeze freshened they seemed
+literally to skim along the surface of the sea.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TEN.
+
+A NIGHT OF HORRORS.
+
+The night came, with the stars seeming to blaze in the clear atmosphere.
+The skipper had given up the helm to one of his men, and joined the
+others forward to lie down among the baskets and sleep, as it seemed,
+while aft, at the professor's request, Mr Burne and Lawrence lay down
+to sleep, leaving the others to watch.
+
+The night grew darker, and the water beat and rippled beneath the bows,
+all else being wonderfully still as the boat glided on.
+
+Yussuf lit his water-pipe, and the professor a cigar, to begin
+conversing in a low tone, but always watchful of the slightest movement
+of the men.
+
+A couple of hours had glided away, and then, after being apparently fast
+asleep, the skipper rose and came aft to speak eagerly to Yussuf, who
+heard him out, and then turned to the professor.
+
+"The captain says that there is no danger of wreck or storm; that he and
+his men will watch over you as if you were given over to their safe
+keeping, and all will be well."
+
+"Tell the captain that I prefer to sit up and watch the sea and sky,"
+replied the professor.  "When I am tired I will lie down."
+
+The skipper nodded and smiled, and went forward again, while, after some
+minutes' silence, the professor said softly:
+
+"You are quite right to be doubtful, Yussuf, I mistrust that man."
+
+"Yes," replied Yussuf in the same tone, "the Greek dog will bite the
+hand which fed him if he has a chance, but that chance, effendi, he must
+not have."
+
+The hours glided on, and some time, perhaps soon after midnight, the
+skipper rose again from where he had lain apparently asleep, but really
+watching the speakers attentively, and coming aft this time with one of
+his men, the sailor at the helm was changed, and the other went forward
+to throw himself down as if to sleep.
+
+"Will not the effendi lie down and take his rest now?" said the skipper
+to Yussuf.  "The day will not be very long before it comes, and then it
+is no longer time to sleep."
+
+Yussuf quietly repeated the man's words to the professor, who replied
+coldly:
+
+"Tell the Greek captain that he is paid to convey us to our journey's
+end, and that it is not for him to presume to interfere as to the way in
+which we pass our time.  Tell him we know the night from the day."
+
+Yussuf interpreted the words, and the Greek smiled and replied in the
+most humble manner that perhaps the English excellency did not know how
+bad it was for strangers to expose themselves to the night air.  That he
+was anxious about them, and wished them to go into the little cabin to
+be safe.
+
+"Tell him to mind his own business," said the professor shortly, and
+this being interpreted the man slunk forward, and the professor said
+softly:
+
+"There is no doubt about it, Yussuf; the man is a scoundrel and has bad
+intentions."
+
+"He is a pig," said the Muslim in a low voice full of contempt; "but he
+and his men will be afraid to show their teeth to your excellencies if
+we are watchful and take care."
+
+Towards morning the man came aft again, but he did not speak, and just
+at sunrise Lawrence awoke to come hurriedly out of the cabin where Mr
+Burne was still sleeping.
+
+"I thought you would have called us," he said; "I thought we were to
+watch."
+
+"So you are," said the professor smiling.  "How have you slept?"
+
+"Oh, deliciously--all the night.  I never do at home, but lie awake for
+hours."
+
+"Even in a comfortable bed!"
+
+"Even in a comfortable bed," replied Lawrence.  "But you must be very
+tired.  I'll call Mr Burne now."
+
+"No, let him lie.  He is a bit of an invalid too.  Suppose you go and
+have a sleep now, Yussuf; my friend here and I will watch."
+
+The Turk smiled.
+
+"Your servant once went without sleep for six nights in a time of
+danger.  He slept a little upon his horse sometimes.  One night without
+sleep!  What is it?  A nothing.  No, your excellency must not ask me to
+sleep now.  A short time and we shall be ashore, and away from these
+Greek dogs, who think we are without arms; then thy servant will lie
+down and sleep for hours.  Last night, to-night I shall not sleep."
+
+The bright morning, the glancing sea, and the soft breeze seemed to take
+away all the fancies and suspicions of the night.  The shore was in
+sight--the mainland or one of the beautiful Grecian isles, and to make
+matters more pleasant still Mr Burne was in the most amiable of
+tempers.
+
+"I must have been out of order when we were crossing the Channel," he
+said smiling.  "I thought it was sea-sickness, but it could not have
+been, for I am as well as can be out here in this little boat."
+
+The professor was almost annoyed with himself for his suspicions about
+the Greek and his men, for an easier, happier-looking set it would have
+been impossible to find.  They smiled and showed their teeth, as they
+lounged in the front of the boat or took their turn at the helm, and
+then picked out some sunny spot where the tall sails cast no shade and
+slept hour after hour.  When they were not smiling or sleeping, they
+were eating melon, bread, grapes or olives, or watching like dogs to see
+if any food was going to be given them by the travellers.
+
+The sail was glorious, and at first great way was made, but in the
+course of the afternoon the wind dropped, and the little vessel hardly
+moved through the water.
+
+"This is vexatious," the professor said.  "I am anxious to get to our
+journey's end."
+
+"Don't say that," said Lawrence, almost reproachfully; "one seems to be
+so happy, and everything is so delightful out here in the sunshine.  I
+should like to go sailing on like this for ever."
+
+"If we had some cushions," put in Mr Burne, who had overheard his
+remark.  "Well, it doesn't matter to a few days, one way or the other,
+Preston," he continued; "we are very comfortable considering, my back's
+better, and this is easy travelling, so never mind about Yussuf's
+suspicions.  All nonsense."
+
+That day glided away, the brilliant night came, and with it the nervous
+feeling of all being not as it should be.
+
+Nothing more had been said to Mr Burne till quite evening, but then the
+professor felt it to be his duty to speak of the suspicion, and did so;
+but the old lawyer laughed.
+
+"What nonsense, Preston!" he said; "why, the man and his crew are like
+so many good-tempered gypsy boys.  No, sir, I am not going to be scared
+because the night is coming on.  Poor fellows, they are honest enough.
+That sour Turk--I don't like the fellow--has been filling our heads with
+nonsense to make himself seem more important.  It's all right."
+
+"I hope it is," said the professor to himself, and in due course he lay
+down, but not to sleep.
+
+During the day, by a quiet understanding, he and Yussuf had taken it in
+turns to snatch an hour's repose, with the result that they were far
+better prepared to encounter the night than might have been supposed.
+
+"We will lie down, excellency," Yussuf took the opportunity of
+whispering; "but one of us must not sleep."
+
+After a time the old lawyer, who had been leaning back watching the
+stars from far above till they seemed to dip down in the transparent
+sea, yawned aloud, and then began to talk in an unknown tongue, using a
+strange guttural language which for the most part consisted of a
+repetition, at regular intervals, of the word "_Snorruk_," and this had
+a wonderful effect upon his companions, who had felt listless and drowsy
+after the hot day; but the coolness of the night and the interesting
+nature of Mr Burne's discourse effectually banished sleep, and hence it
+was that, when the skipper and a couple of his men came stealing aft to
+apparently change the steersman, the professor sat up, and Lawrence saw
+that Yussuf was wide awake and on the _qui vive_.
+
+This occurred three times, and then the rosy morning lit up the tops of
+the distant mountains, and made the sea flash as if it were all so much
+molten topaz.
+
+A pleasant listless day followed, and another and another, during which
+the travellers slept in turn, and watched the various islands seem to
+rise out of the sea, grow larger, and then, after they were passed, sink
+down again into the soft blue water.
+
+It was a delicious dreamy time, the only drawbacks being the suspicions
+of the boatmen, and the cramped nature of the space at disposal.
+
+They sailed on and on now, with the water surging beneath their bows and
+the little vessel careening over in the brilliant sunshine; but they
+were still far from their destination, and now the question had arisen
+whether it would not be wise to put in at the principal port of Cyprus,
+which they were now nearing, to obtain more provisions, as the wind was
+so light that the prospect of their reaching Ansina that night was very
+doubtful.
+
+The evening had come on, with the sun going down in the midst of a
+peculiar bank of clouds that would have looked threatening to
+experienced eyes; but to the travellers it was one scene of glory, the
+edges of the vapours being of a glowing orange, while the sky and sea
+were gorgeous with tints that were almost painful in their dazzling
+sheen.  There was not a breath of wind, not a sound upon the smooth sea.
+The sails hung motionless, and the heat was as oppressive as if those
+on board were facing some mighty furnace.
+
+"Very, very grand!" said Mr Burne at last, after he had sat with the
+others for some time silently watching the glorious sight; "but to my
+mind there's too much of it.  I should like to have it spread over
+months, a little bit every night, not like this, all at once."
+
+"Oh, Mr Burne!" cried Lawrence reproachfully.
+
+"I once saw a pantomime many years ago, when I took some of my sister's
+children to a box I was foolish enough to pay for.  This reminds me of
+one of the scenes, only there are no sham fairies and stupid people
+bobbing about and standing on one leg.  Just when everything was at the
+brightest a great dark curtain came down, and it was all over, and it
+seems to be coming here, only it's coming up instead of coming down.
+Heigho--ha--hum! how sleepy I am!"
+
+He lay down as he spoke close under the low bulwark, and as he did so
+Lawrence glanced forward and saw that the gorgeous sunset had no charms
+for the sailors, for they were lying among the baskets fast asleep,
+their faces upon their arms, while, upon looking aft, the man at the
+helm was crouched up all of a heap sleeping heavily.
+
+"It is very beautiful," said the professor; "but I daresay some of our
+English sunsets are nearly as bright, only we do not notice them, being
+either shut up or too busy to look."
+
+"Doesn't this curious stuffy feeling of heat make you feel drowsy, Mr
+Preston?" said Lawrence, after a few minutes' silence, "or do I feel it
+because I am weak with being ill so long?"
+
+"My dear boy," replied the professor laughing, "at the present moment I
+feel as if all my bones had been dissolved into so much gristle.  It is
+the heat, my lad, the heat."
+
+Lawrence lay back upon the deck with his head resting upon a pillow
+formed out of a doubled-up coat.  He had tried going below, but the
+little cabin was suffocating.  It was as if the bulkheads and deck had
+imbibed the sun's heat all day and were now slowly giving it out.  To
+sleep there would have been impossible, and he had returned on deck
+bathed in perspiration to try and get a breath of air.
+
+As he lay there he could see the old lawyer sleeping heavily, the
+professor with his head resting upon his hand, and his face glorified by
+the reflection from sea and sky, and their guide Yussuf seated
+cross-legged smoking placidly at his water-pipe, his dark eyes seeming
+to glow like hot coals.
+
+Beyond him lay the Greek and his men upon their faces, motionless as the
+man at the helm, and then all at once the muttering bubbling noise made
+by Yussuf's pipe seemed to be coming from the old lawyer's parted lips,
+and the pipe, instead of justifying its name of "hubble-bubble," kept on
+saying _snorruk_--_snorruk_, after the fashion of Mr Burne.  Finally,
+there was nothing--nothing at all but sleep, deep, heavy, satisfying
+sleep that might have lasted one hour, two hours, any length of time.
+It seemed as if there was no dreaming, till all at once Lawrence
+imagined that the professor was bitterly angry with him for getting
+better that he jumped up and kicked him violently, and that then, as he
+tried to rise, he stamped upon him, and the stamp made a loud report.
+He was awake.
+
+Awake, but in a dazed, puzzled state, for all was pitchy dark, and as he
+jumped up he was knocked down again, and would have gone over the side
+had he not struck against and clung to one of the ropes which supported
+the mast.
+
+About him a terrible struggle was going on; there was heavy, hoarse
+breathing; men were trampling here and there with falls and struggles
+upon the scrap of a deck.
+
+Then Lawrence turned cold, for there was a yell and a splash, followed
+directly after by a blinding flash of light and a loud report.
+
+The struggle went on for a few moments longer, seemed to cease, and a
+voice that he recognised said some words hastily in Greek, which were
+replied to in hoarse panting tones.
+
+Then the professor's welcome voice arose out of the pitchy darkness.
+
+"Lawrence!  Lawrence! where are you?"
+
+Before an answer could be given there was the dull thud of a heavy blow,
+and the professor roared more than spoke the one word:
+
+"Coward!"
+
+The struggle was resumed for a moment or two, while the Greek skipper
+yelled out some order; but before it could be executed there came from
+out of the darkness a sharp hiss and a loud roar.  Lawrence felt himself
+drenched by what seemed to be a cutting tempest of rain, and then it was
+as if some huge elastic mass had struck the boat, capsizing it in an
+instant.  The lad felt that he was beneath the surface of the water, the
+sudden plunge clearing his faculties and making him strike for the
+surface.
+
+As he rose he had touched a rope, which he caught at with the
+instinctive clutch of a drowning man, and found that it was attached to
+something which enabled him to keep his head above the water, but how it
+was or what it all meant he could not comprehend in the midst of the
+deafening rushing noise of the wind and the beating stinging blows of
+the surf that was flying over him.
+
+All at once from out of the darkness a hand seemed to be stretched forth
+and to grasp him by the collar of the light Norfolk jacket he wore.
+
+In spite of himself he uttered a cry of horror, but the grasp was not
+inimical, for he felt that he was drawn up on to what seemed to be a
+heaving piece of woodwork, and then a strong arm was passed round him, a
+man's breast pressed him down, and the rush and roar and confusion
+increased.
+
+There were times when he could scarcely breathe, the wind and spray
+stifling him till he could turn by an effort a little aside.  Then for
+long periods together, as they seemed, they were under water, as some
+wave leaped over them.  In fact, after a few such experiences he was
+half insensible, and every struggle towards recovery was met by a new
+attack.
+
+How long it lasted the lad never knew; all he could comprehend was that
+he was floating upon something in the midst of a wildly tempestuous sea,
+and that the wind and spray seemed to have combined to tear him from
+where his feeble efforts were aided by a strong man's arm.
+
+Once or twice he fancied he heard a shout, but he could not be sure, and
+he could make no effort to understand his position, for the storm that
+had stricken the boat so suddenly robbed him more and more of the power
+to move.
+
+It was like another waking from sleep, to feel that his head was being
+raised a little more from where it drooped, and someone pressed a pair
+of lips to his ear and spoke.
+
+He could not answer, he could not even move, for though the voice was
+familiar, its import did not reach his brain, and he lay perfectly inert
+till it seemed as if the sea and wind were not beating so hard upon his
+face, and that he could breathe more easily.
+
+Then it was not so dark, for the stars were coming out, and he found
+himself gazing at a great black veil that was being drawn over the
+heavens.
+
+The next thing he heard was a voice, a familiar voice, speaking, and
+another which he recognised, and which came from close by, answered, but
+what was said he could not tell.
+
+There was another confused half-dreamy time, and then it was
+comparatively light.  The spray had ceased to beat, and the mass of wood
+upon which he had been dragged was rising and falling in a regular
+drowsy rocking fashion, while now he felt bitterly cold.
+
+"I cannot get to you, Yussuf," said the familiar voice again.  "If I
+attempt to move he will slip off into the water.  Safe?"
+
+"He is alive!" came in a low deep voice from close by Lawrence's ear,
+and then there was a fierce puff of wind again, and with it the dreamy
+sensation once more.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER ELEVEN.
+
+CAST ASHORE.
+
+When Lawrence came to himself again there was more vigour in his brain,
+and he was conscious that he was on the side of the boat held fast by
+Yussuf.  The wind was blowing fiercely, and had seized hold of a portion
+of a half-submerged sail which had filled out into a half sphere, and
+they were going swiftly through the water.
+
+The stars were shining brightly; there was no more spray, and as he
+recovered himself he could see, right at the far end of the boat, the
+dimly defined head and shoulders of the professor, whom he knew by his
+great beard, and he seemed to be supporting Mr Burne.
+
+Between them, seated high and clear of the water, were the Greek skipper
+and a couple of his men, holding on tightly in a bent position.
+
+There was deep silence now, save the ripple made by the boat in going
+through the water, which it did at a fairly rapid rate, seeing how it
+was submerged; but the wind having filled the portion of the sail,
+seemed to be raising it more and more from where it lay in the water,
+and as a natural consequence the more surface was raised and filled, the
+more rapidly the other loose portion was dragged up, distended, and drew
+the boat along.
+
+For a full hour no one spoke.  The travellers were divided by the Greek
+and his men, who held the post of vantage, and there was a growing
+feeling in every breast that if any attempt were made to get into a
+better position, the enemy would be roused to action, and perhaps thrust
+them from their precarious hold into the sea.
+
+By degrees Lawrence began to get a clear understanding of what had
+happened, and as far as he could make out the suspicions of Yussuf had
+been quite correct.  The Greek and his men, for purposes of robbery, had
+made an attack during the night when all were asleep, and in the midst
+of the struggle one of the terrible squalls, whose threatenings they had
+not read on the previous evening, had suddenly struck and capsized the
+boat, to which they were now desperately clinging for life.
+
+Lawrence felt too much numbed to speak to Yussuf, or even to shout to
+the other end of the boat, where the professor was clinging, and his
+companion was too intent upon holding him in his position to care to
+make any remarks.
+
+The breeze blew very coldly, and the lad knew that if it increased to
+any great extent, and the waves rose, they must all be swept off; but
+the wind showed more disposition to lull than increase, the sail napping
+and sinking once, but only to fill again and bear them steadily on.  For
+the squall had exhausted its violence; the intense heat had passed, and
+the sea rapidly grew more placid as they were borne along.
+
+There was something strange and terrible, and sufficient to appal a
+heart stronger than that of a boy who had suffered from a long and
+severe illness.  The darkness seemed to float as it were in a thick
+transparent body upon the surface of the sea, while far above the stars
+shone out clearly and spangled the sky with points of gold.
+
+Where were they being borne?  What was to be the end of it all?  Were
+they to cling there for an hour--two hours, and then slip off into the
+sea?
+
+It was very terrible, and as he grew cold, a strange sensation of
+reckless despair began to oppress Lawrence, mingled with a feeling that
+perhaps after all it would be better to let go and slide off the boat so
+as to arrive at the end.
+
+These despondent thoughts were ended upon the instant by a movement made
+by one of the Greeks who were crouching in the middle of the boat.
+
+He seemed to be quitting his position slowly and to be creeping towards
+where Yussuf was clinging.
+
+At that moment the Turk heaved himself up; there was a quick movement of
+his arm; and Lawrence clung spasmodically to the boat, for he felt
+himself slipping.
+
+In his agony he did not hear the click made by the pistol the guide had
+snatched out and held before him; neither could he understand the Turk's
+words, but they were full of menace and evidently embodied a threat.
+
+The Greek uttered an angry snarl and snatched a knife from his waist, as
+he crept on and said something, to which Yussuf replied by drawing
+trigger.
+
+The result was a click, and the Greek laughed and came on; but just as
+he was nearly within striking distance Yussuf drew trigger again, and
+this time there was the sharp flash and report of the pistol, while for
+a moment the smoke hid the man from view, but a cry of agony and fear
+was heard.
+
+The breeze cleared the smoke away directly, and revealed in the dim
+starlight the form of the Greek lying back and one of his companions
+crawling to his side.
+
+The Turk uttered a few words full of warning, and the second Greek
+paused to speak in a low pleading tone, to which Yussuf responded by
+lowering his arm and watching his enemies while one helped the other
+back to his place where he had clung.
+
+"Is he much hurt?" came from the other end of the boat.
+
+"I cannot say, excellency," was Yussuf's reply in English.  But directly
+after he roared out a few words in Greek, with the pistol pointed; for
+as soon as the wounded man was crouching in the central part of the boat
+he said something fiercely, and his two followers began to creep towards
+where the professor and the old lawyer clung.
+
+It was plain enough to all what Yussuf had shouted, with pistol aimed,
+for the two Greek sailors cowered down as if seeking to shelter
+themselves behind their wounded skipper, and for a space no one moved or
+spoke.
+
+Yussuf was the next to break the silence with a few words of warning
+which made the Greeks creep back to their old position, and then what
+seemed to be a terrible space of time ensued in the darkness that grew
+colder and colder, and where it seemed to be vain to look around for
+help.  No one moved or spoke, but all were animated by the same intense
+longing, and that was for the light of day.
+
+Morning seemed as if it would never come.  Right in front there was a
+great black cloud touching the sea and rising high; but though the wind
+set towards the cloud, which grew higher and broader, they knew that at
+any time the breeze might change to a furious squall, coming from where
+that cloud was gathering; and when it came it would be to find them
+numbed and cold, and unable to resist its violence and the beating
+waves.
+
+The helpless drowsy sensation was attacking Lawrence again, and he would
+have slipped back into the sea but for the strong arm about him.  The
+dimly-seen figures grew unreal and as if part of a dream, and he was
+falling more and more into a state of unconsciousness, when, as if by
+magic, there was a patch of light in the sky before them, to right of
+the great cloud; there was a dull murmur ahead; then more light, and, as
+if by some rapid scenic effect, the stars paled, the sky grew grey, then
+pink, red, glowing orange, and it was morning.
+
+Yussuf uttered a low cry of joy, for the dark cloud ahead of them was a
+high mountainous land, whose topmost points were beginning to blush with
+the first touches of the sun that was rising directly behind.
+
+"We are safe, excellencies!" cried the guide.  "In an hour this wind
+will carry us to the shore."
+
+"The boy!" cried the professor in a low voice that told of exhaustion.
+
+"He is here and safe," was the reply.  "It is day once more, and we can
+perhaps better our position."
+
+The words were hopeful and had a stimulating effect, but nothing could
+be done.  The Greeks could not be trusted, even under the influence of
+threats, to go to the help of the professor; and Yussuf dared not quit
+his own charge, for Lawrence was too much exhausted to be left alone; so
+there was but the one hope--to wait and remain clinging to the side of
+the boat until the breeze carried them ashore.
+
+As the sun rose warm and bright it brought with it hope and sent a glow
+through the chilled forms of all, but the morning light made nothing
+else clear.  They were just as they had made themselves out to be in the
+darkness.
+
+The sail had been filled now till it was of a goodly size, and they were
+borne more swiftly still towards what seemed to be a barren rocky coast;
+but the same dread was in the heart of each of the travellers, and that
+was lest when the sun rose higher the power of the wind should fail,
+and, slight as the currents were in that part of the world, they might
+be swept past the land unseen.
+
+The dread was needless, for at the end of about a couple of hours of the
+most intense anxiety the boat was blown close in to the beach, and
+struck with a bump that changed her position, shaking Yussuf and his
+companion from their hold.
+
+But it was into the shallow transparent water, and, gaining his feet,
+Yussuf tried to raise Lawrence on to his shoulders; but he was so stiff
+and cramped that he could only hold the lad beneath his arm and wade
+with him ashore.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWELVE.
+
+A WARM LAND WELCOME.
+
+The distance was only some forty yards, and Yussuf was quite half-way
+there when he was met by the professor, who came staggering down to his
+aid, and between them they carried Lawrence the rest of the way, to lay
+him beside Mr Burne in the full sunlight and upon the soft warm sand.
+
+The three Greeks were already ashore selecting a spot a good hundred
+yards away, and they could be seen to be stripping the clothes from
+their wounded captain, and then one of them appeared to be binding a
+cloth round his leg, showing where Yussuf's bullet had taken effect.
+
+By way of precaution Yussuf's first act was to take out his pistol, and
+swing it about to get rid of all the water possible before uncharging
+it, and laying it with its cartridges in the sun to dry, in the hope
+that some of them might prove to be uninjured, the water not having been
+able to penetrate to the powder, though it was extremely doubtful.
+
+His next act was to take out his pipe from a pocket in his loose robe,
+and place that with his bag of tobacco and little tinder-box and matches
+also in the sun, which was rapidly gaining power, all of which being
+done he proceeded coolly enough to slip off his garments, to wring them
+and spread them upon the glowing sand.
+
+Meanwhile the professor was dividing himself between Lawrence and the
+lawyer, then lying in the warm sunshine, whose influence rapidly made
+itself felt, and seemed to carry strength as well as a pleasant glow.
+
+"Well, Lawrence," said the professor anxiously, "how do you feel?"
+
+"Not quite so cold," was the reply, "but very stiff and hungry."
+
+"Hah!" ejaculated the professor, "then you are not very bad.  Can you
+follow Yussuf's example?"
+
+Lawrence hesitated.
+
+"Take my advice, my lad.  Take off and wring your clothes as well as you
+can, and then, in spite of being soaked with the sea-water, go down and
+have a quick plunge, and then walk or run about till you are dry."
+
+The advice seemed so droll, that now the danger was past the lad
+laughed, but he saw that Yussuf was doing precisely what the professor
+advised, and, weakly and shivering a good deal, he did the same.
+
+Freed by the evident lack of anything to apprehend about the lad for the
+present, the professor turned to Mr Burne, whom he had been helping for
+some hours to cling to the boat, and had sustained with a few whispered
+words of encouragement in his feeblest moments.
+
+The old man was lying in the sunshine just as he had sunk down upon his
+back, apparently too much exhausted to move, but as the professor went
+down on one knee by his side he opened his eyes.
+
+"Not dead yet, Preston," he said smiling.  "I say, don't laugh at me."
+
+"Laugh at you, my dear sir?"
+
+"For being such an old goose as to come upon such a journey.  Oh, my
+back!"
+
+"Come, come, it was an accident."
+
+"Accident, eh?  I say, we'll prosecute those murdering thieves of Greeks
+for this."
+
+"One of them has met his punishment already," said the professor, "and
+Yussuf has severely wounded another."
+
+"Yes.  I was pretty well done then, but I saw him shoot that scoundrel.
+I believe the heathen dog was going to shove us off."
+
+"There is no doubt about that," said the professor.
+
+"But Yussuf? don't you think he was in league with the murderous
+rascals?"
+
+"Yussuf?  My dear sir!"
+
+"Humph!  No!  He couldn't have been, could he, or he wouldn't have
+fought for us as he did at first, and then shot that scoundrel yonder?
+I hope his bandage will come off, and he'll bleed to death."
+
+"No, you do not," said the professor.
+
+"Oh, yes, I do--a dog!"
+
+"No, you do not; and as to Yussuf--well, I need not defend him."
+
+"Well, I suppose not.  Boy seems to be all right, don't he?"
+
+"Yes, I think so.  This warm sunshine is a blessing."
+
+"Hah, yes, but I'm so stiff and sore I cannot move.  Preston, my dear
+boy, would you mind putting your hand into my pocket and taking out my
+snuff-box.  I suppose it's all paste, but a bit of that would be, like
+your sunshine, a blessing.  It's all very well, but I'd rather have a
+fire, a towel, a warm bath, and some dry clothes.  Hah, yes!  Thank you.
+Now for some paste."
+
+He thrust the little box in and out among the dry sand till the moisture
+was all gone, and doing this dried and warmed his hands as well before
+he proceeded to open the lid, when he uttered a cry of satisfaction.
+
+"Bravo, Preston!  Dry as dust.  Have a pinch, my dear sir?"
+
+"Thanks.  No.  I am drying a cigar here for my refreshment, in the hot
+sand.  I daresay my matches are all right in their metal box."
+
+"Just as you like.  Smoking is all very well, but nothing like a pinch."
+
+"I am most anxious about the boy," said the professor.
+
+"Must teach him to take snuff.  Well, where are we?  Is this a desolate
+island, and are we going to be so many Robinson Crusoes for the rest of
+our days?"
+
+"Desolate enough just here," replied the professor; "but it must be
+inhabited.  It strikes me that we have reached Cyprus."
+
+"Then, my dear fellow, just look about, or shout, or do something to
+make the inhabitants bring me a bottle of Cyprus wine.  Hah! a pinch of
+snuff is a blessing, and, bless me, how wet my handkerchief is!" he
+cried, as he struggled to his feet and took out and wrung the article in
+question before making the rocks echo with a tremendous blow.
+
+"How do you feel?" said the professor.
+
+"Bad, sir; but I'm not going to grumble till we get all right again.  I
+must try and walk about to get some warmth into me.  How beautiful and
+warm this sand is!  Hah!"
+
+He seemed to revel in the beautiful dry sand of the shore, which, with
+the sunshine, sent a glow into the perishing limbs of all, and to such
+an extent that in about an hour the sufferers were not so very much the
+worse for their adventure.  The professor and Mr Burne had lit cigars;
+Yussuf was enjoying his pipe; and Lawrence alone was without anything to
+soothe his hunger.
+
+The wounded Greek lay at a distance where his companions had left him.
+The professor had been to him with Lawrence, and seen to his injury, the
+others paying no heed, and the injured man himself only looking sulky,
+and as if he would like to use his knife, even though he was being
+tended by a man who knew something of what was necessary to be done.
+
+He was left then, and the professor and Lawrence joined Mr Burne, who
+was very cheerful though evidently in pain.
+
+"I say," he said, "those fellows had planned that attack."
+
+"Decidedly," said the professor.  "I feared it, though I did not say
+anything more to you."
+
+"Then it was very ungentlemanly of you, sir," cried the old lawyer
+testily.  "Lucky for you I was awake, sir, or we should all have been
+killed in our sleep."
+
+"I thought you were fast asleep, as, I am ashamed to say, I was."
+
+"Oh, you own you were, professor."
+
+"Fast."
+
+"Then I'll own I was too.  It seems, then, that Yussuf was on the watch
+and met them."
+
+"Exactly so, and saved our lives."
+
+"Well, I don't know about that, but he certainly kept the boy from
+drowning during the night, for I couldn't stir to help him.  I don't
+dislike that fellow half so much as I did; but I wish to goodness he
+could do as those Turks and Persians did in the _Arabian Nights_."
+
+"What's that?" said the professor.
+
+"Conjure a breakfast up for that poor boy."
+
+"It strikes me," said the professor, who was watching where Yussuf had
+posted himself on the edge of the sea, "that that is the very thing he
+is about to do."
+
+"Eh? what do you mean?"
+
+"Oh, I say, Mr Preston, don't talk about food if there is none," cried
+Lawrence, "for I am so hungry."
+
+"I mean this," said the professor, "that the two Greeks down there are
+evidently trying to get something out of the boat, and if they find
+anything to eat, Yussuf is there with his loaded pistol, and he will
+certainly have a share."
+
+In effect the two sailors had stripped, and were busy in the shallow
+water doing something, and in a short time they had contrived to thrust
+the boat out, and, by using the masts as levers, completely turned her
+round, so that her deck was parallel with the shore.
+
+The men were evidently working hard, and in a short time they had got
+the vessel so closely in that they were able to lower the sails, or
+rather run them down to the foot of each mast, with the result that, by
+the help of hard work with a spar they partly raised the side of the
+boat that was submerged, its natural inclination to resume its normal
+position aiding them; and at last, after several attempts, they
+succeeded in getting at one of the baskets of provisions that had
+fortunately not been washed away.
+
+As they dragged this out and waded ashore, they were for making off in
+the direction of the spot where their wounded skipper lay, but a few
+sharp orders from Yussuf stopped them.
+
+They were not disposed to yield up their prize peaceably, for each man's
+hand went to his knife, and the professor ran down to Yussufs help.
+
+But there was no need.  The Turk went close up to them, pistol in hand,
+and the men stooped and lifted the basket, carrying it between them
+sulkily to where Mr Burne and Lawrence were breathlessly watching the
+proceedings.
+
+The water streamed and dripped from the basket as they bore it over the
+sands, and plumped it down, scowling fiercely, where they were told to
+stop.  Then turning, they were going off, but the professor bade them
+stay.
+
+They did not understand his words, but their tone was sufficient
+command; besides there was Yussufs pistol, which acted like a magician's
+wand in ensuring obedience.
+
+"Tell the scoundrels that we will behave better to them than they have
+to us, Yussuf," said the professor; and he took out from the dripping
+basket a great sausage, a bottle of wine, and one of the tins of biscuit
+that were within.
+
+"Am I to give them this food, effendi?" said Yussuf calmly.  "You will
+get no gratitude, and the dogs will murder us if they get a chance."
+
+"Yes; give it to them," replied the professor.  "Coals of fire upon
+their head, O follower of Mahomet.  There, bid them eat.  We may want to
+make them work for us."
+
+Yussuf bowed, and handed the food and wine to the two Greeks, who took
+what was given them without a word, and went to join their companion.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER THIRTEEN.
+
+HOW TO BALE A BOAT.
+
+"Hah!" ejaculated Mr Burne, after they had made a hearty meal, seated
+upon the warm sands.  "I don't know that I like my biscuit sopped, and
+there was more salt than I cared for, but really I don't feel as if I
+had done so very badly.  Another taste of that wine, Preston.  Hah!
+well, we might have been worse off."
+
+This was the general opinion, for matters looked better now, and a
+discussion arose as to what they were to do next; whether they were to
+travel along the coast till they came to some village, or, as Yussuf
+suggested, try to get the boat baled out and righted, and once more make
+for Ansina.
+
+Yussuf declared that they were undoubtedly on the western coast of
+Cyprus, but he could not tell them how far they might have to journey,
+and it would be terrible work for Lawrence, who was too weak to walk
+far, so the Muslim's suggestion was received; and its wisdom was
+endorsed by the action of the Greeks, who had carried their skipper down
+to the boat and seated him upon the sands.
+
+"We are three strong men against two now," Yussuf had said, "for we will
+not count the wounded master, or the young effendi here.  The men shall
+empty the boat of water, and they shall take us across to the coast."
+
+"But suppose another storm should come?" said Mr Burne.
+
+"If another storm should come we should meet it like men, effendi," said
+the Turk gravely.  "That white squall last night saved our lives, for I
+was mastered."
+
+"And so was I," said the professor.  "You are right, Yussuf; but we must
+not let ourselves be surprised again.  I had no business to sleep."
+
+"We should not have been surprised if yon Greek dog had not struck me
+down when he was pretending to be asleep by the helm.  But see, effendi,
+he is ordering them to try and empty the boat.  Let us go down and
+help."
+
+The remains of the food were placed in the basket, which was carried
+down and left in the sun to dry, not far from where the Greek skipper
+was seated, holding his wounded leg.
+
+The tide there was very slight, but still it was falling, and this
+helped them in their plans.
+
+The two Greeks were hard at work with the spar, using it as a lever; and
+twice over they obtained so good a purchase that they raised the
+submerged side just above the water, but it slipped back directly.
+
+The professor did not hesitate, but said a few words to Yussuf, who
+handed his loaded pistol to Lawrence, tucked up his garment, and waded
+into the water at once along with Mr Preston.
+
+"Humph! just as they were getting so nice and dry," said Mr Burne.
+"Well, when one is in Cyprus, one must act like a Cypriote, eh,
+Lawrence, my lad?  I say, fancy one of my clients seeing me doing this."
+
+He took off his coat, and rolled up his shirt-sleeves, nodding
+laughingly at Lawrence.
+
+"Look here, my boy," he said, "if that Greek rascal there moves, just
+you go up and shoot him somewhere.  Don't kill him, but we cannot stand
+any of his nonsense now."
+
+The two Greek sailors stared as the three travellers came wading to
+them, and seemed disposed to leave off their task; but Yussuf gave them
+their orders direct from Mr Preston, who made them get out some pieces
+of board and cut loose a couple of spars.
+
+The result of this was that one of the long spars was securely lashed by
+their aid to the top of the principal mast which acted as a lever, when
+all took hold of the spar and pushed upwards.  By this means the side of
+the boat was raised a foot or so, and could not sink back, for the free
+end of the spar rested on the sand.  Then another foot was gained, the
+end of the spar being dragged along, and so on and on, till from being
+where it was lashed to the top of the mast, quite an obtuse angle of the
+widest, it was by degrees worked into a right angle, and by that time
+the submerged bulwark was quite out of the water, and the keel touched
+the bottom and kept them from moving the boat any farther.
+
+The next thing to be done was to bale out the enormous quantity of water
+within, and there was no bucket or anything of the kind; but the
+professor was equal to the occasion.  There was a small box in the big
+provision basket and the biscuit tin.  These were emptied at once, and
+the two sailors set to work baling, while, as soon as it was possible,
+an attempt was made to get something serviceable out of the little
+cabin.
+
+The search was vain, but just then one of the sailors took out his
+knife, left the biscuit tin with which he was baling, and going forward
+thrust down his knife-armed hand, and cut free a good-sized cask which
+was lashed there for the purpose of holding water.
+
+This floated up directly, and when the man had got so far, he stood
+holding on and looking at it.
+
+Yussuf had seized the biscuit tin, and was baling so as to lose no time,
+but the professor waded to the sailor, tossed the cask over, and
+following it, dragged it out on to the sandy shore, where the sea-water
+with which it was now filled ran gurgling out of the big bung-hole.
+
+While it was emptying the professor walked some little distance to where
+a few pieces of rock were lying, and securing one weighing about half a
+hundredweight, he brought it back, set the cask up, and dashed in its
+head.
+
+This made a baling implement of wonderful power, as soon as it was
+floated back and lifted into the boat.  Certainly it took two men to use
+it, but the professor called to Yussuf to give the baling tin back to
+the Greek, and come to his side, and then Christian and Muslim set to
+work, stripping to it and displaying energy that made the Greeks work
+the harder in spite of the burning sun.  For seizing the cask, as he
+stood waist-deep, the professor depressed and sank it, and as soon as it
+was full, he and Yussuf raised it between them till the edge was against
+the low side of the boat, and then they tilted it, sending its contents
+into the sea.
+
+It was slow and terribly laborious work, but at the end of an hour the
+amount they had discharged was something tremendous, and after a rest
+for refreshment, the baling went on till, towards evening, the felucca
+was afloat once more, and riding to a little anchor cast out upon the
+shore.
+
+There was still a great deal more water in her, but everyone was wearied
+out, and the professor gave the word for a cessation of labour, when
+some more provision was secured, with wine, and fairly distributed, when
+the Greeks encamped by their skipper, and the travellers went up close
+to the rocks, where a little thread of delicious fresh water trickled
+down and lost itself in the sand.
+
+This was a treasure to the travellers, and at the professor's desire
+Yussuf filled the biscuit tin, and took it to the Greeks, who, however,
+only laughed and said they preferred the wine.
+
+The deliriously warm evening was spent in drying the wet garments in the
+heated sand, and in resting.  The professor, who seemed a good deal
+fagged by his exertions, would hardly hear of sleeping, but was
+exceedingly anxious about Lawrence, who, however, seemed to be none the
+worse for the past night's exposure, the warmth of the day and the rest
+he had had having recouped him to a wonderful extent.  Mr Burne, too,
+though he had worked very hard, declared that he never felt better, and
+after smoking a cigar, which he took as a sandwich between two layers of
+snuff, preparations were made for the night, it being decided to lie
+down early and rise at daybreak, when a couple more hours' work would,
+it was considered, make the felucca in a condition to sail at any time.
+
+The professor insisted upon Yussuf lying down at once to get the first
+rest, so as to be roused up towards midnight to take the watch.
+
+He consented rather unwillingly, and then the point had to be settled
+who should have the pistol and take the first watch.
+
+The professor wished to commence, but Mr Burne was so indignant and
+insisted so sternly that the pistol was handed to him, after Yussuf had
+been asleep for about a couple of hours, and then Mr Preston and
+Lawrence sought their sandy couches, and lay for a little while
+listening to the soft murmur of the sea, and watching the brilliant
+stars in the dark sky and in the purply black water, while with regular
+and slow beat, like a sentry, Mr Burne walked up and down, pistol in
+hand.
+
+Lawrence lay awake long enough to hear the professor's deep breathing,
+and his muttering of something once or twice.  Then he lay gazing at the
+old lawyer, thinking how comical it was, and what a change from Guilford
+Street in busy London, till it all seemed to be dim and strange and
+dreamlike.
+
+Then it really was dreamlike, for, though the old lawyer was still
+marching up and down before Lawrence's mental vision, it seemed to him
+that he had swollen out to ten times his natural size, and that he was
+not walking to and fro between him and the sea, but in front of the
+railings in Bloomsbury, and that, to prevent his making a noise and
+disturbing the sleepers, he had wound list all about his boots, which
+now made not a sound upon the pavement.
+
+To and fro, to and fro he seemed to go, till his head swelled and
+swelled and no longer appeared to be a head, but a great rough
+grenadier's cap, and it was no longer Mr Burne, but one of the sentries
+in front of the British Museum, who marched, and marched, and marched,
+till he marched right out of sight, and all was blank as a deep, deep
+sleep is sometimes, from which the lad started into wakefulness just
+before dawn, upon hearing the professor say loudly:
+
+"Eh?  What?  Is it time?"
+
+
+
+CHAPTER FOURTEEN.
+
+HOW MR. BURNE KEPT WATCH.
+
+"Yes, effendi, quite time," said a stern voice which Lawrence, as he sat
+up, recognised as Yussuf's; and there was the grave-looking Turk, misty
+and strange of aspect, bending down.
+
+"Quite time, eh?" said Mr Preston yawning.
+
+"Quite time, effendi.  Look there!"
+
+Mr Preston rose and gazed in the direction of the Turk's pointing
+finger, which was directed towards something indistinctly seen a few
+yards away.
+
+"Mr Burne!  Asleep!" said the professor quickly.
+
+"Yes, effendi; I lay down to rest as you bade me, and I slept, expecting
+to be called later on to watch; but I was not awakened, and slept
+heavily.  I was weary."
+
+"But Mr Burne was to watch for only three hours as near as he could
+guess, and then call me.  It is too bad.  Those scoundrels might have
+stolen upon us in our sleep."
+
+Lawrence had risen and joined them.
+
+"Poor fellow!" he said softly; "he must have been tired out.  Let me
+watch now, Mr Preston."
+
+"No," said the professor sternly.  "Lie down and sleep, my lad.  Sleep
+brings strength.  You shall have your turn as soon as you are well
+enough."
+
+"Thy servant will watch now," said Yussuf.  "It is nearly day."
+
+"It is too bad," said the professor again; and with the Turk he walked
+to where Mr Burne lay fast asleep--so soundly, indeed, that he did not
+stir when Yussuf bent down and took the pistol from his hand.
+
+"Let him sleep, then," said Mr Preston rather bitterly.  "I will
+watch;" and as he spoke he looked in the direction of the Greeks' camp.
+
+"Let thy servant," said Yussuf quietly; "I am well rested now."
+
+The result was that Lawrence, after a glance round to see that
+everywhere it was dark and still, once more lay down to sleep, leaving
+Mr Preston and the Turk talking in a low voice about their proceedings
+the next day.
+
+Then once more all was blank, but to the lad he did not seem to have
+been asleep a minute when he heard voices and started up, to see that it
+was broad daylight, and that Mr Preston and Yussuf were in earnest
+conversation with Mr Burne, who was sitting up rubbing his eyes.
+
+"Been asleep!" he cried; "nonsense!  I don't believe I have closed my
+eyes."
+
+"No," said Mr Preston as Lawrence hurried up.  "I do not suppose you
+did.  It was nature, and she laid you down comfortably on this soft
+sandy bed."
+
+"But you astound me," cried the old lawyer.  "I can't believe it."
+
+"Quite true all the same," said the professor; "but never mind now."
+
+"It is of no use to mind, my dear sir.  We must make the best of it."
+
+"Of course, but you should have awakened me when you felt weary."
+
+"Yes, exactly; I meant to--I--dear me!  I remember now.  I thought I
+would lie down for a few moments to take off a drowsy feeling.  I meant
+to get up again directly, strong and refreshed.  Dear, dear, dear!  I am
+very sorry!  So unbusiness-like of me!  What time is it?"
+
+The professor smiled.
+
+"About four, I think."
+
+"Ah, yes; it must be about four," said the old lawyer looking about him
+and encountering the stern eyes of Yussuf, which were full of reproach.
+"Good job the Greeks did not come and disturb us."
+
+"They did not disturb you, then?" said the professor gravely.
+
+"No; not they--the scoundrels!  They had too serious a lesson in the
+boat, and--"
+
+He stopped short and looked in the direction of the spot where the three
+Greek sailors had lain down to sleep the night before, and then he
+turned his gaze out to sea.
+
+"Why, where are they?" he exclaimed at last.
+
+"Where, indeed!" replied the professor.
+
+"You don't mean to say--you don't want to make me believe that they are
+gone!" cried Burne excitedly.
+
+"They are not anywhere near here on shore," replied the professor; "and
+the boat has sailed away.  There is only one in sight, miles away
+yonder.  That may be it, but I am not sure."
+
+"Do you mean to say that those scoundrels have taken advantage of our
+being asleep to get on board the boat and escape?" said the lawyer
+angrily.
+
+"That is the only point at which I can arrive," said the professor.
+"Look around and judge for yourself."
+
+The old lawyer looked sharply about him and then walked slowly away.
+
+"A mistake--a mistake," he muttered; "I ought never to have come upon
+such a trip.  Not fit for it--not fit for it.  Disgraceful--disgraceful!
+I never--never could have believed it of myself."
+
+He stopped and turned back.
+
+"Send away this man," he said quickly.
+
+Yussuf turned and walked away without another word.
+
+"Preston," exclaimed the old lawyer, "I don't know what to say in my
+defence.  I have nothing to say, only that I never felt anything so
+bitterly before."
+
+"Then say nothing," replied Mr Preston coldly.  "You were overcome by
+sleep, and no wonder.  But it was a terrible risk to run.  Fortunately
+these men were cowed by what had previously taken place, and they could
+not know but what we were keeping a good watch."
+
+"It is inexcusable," cried Mr Burne.  "I feel as if I could hardly look
+you in the face again.  Left helpless here!  For goodness' sake,
+Preston, tell me what we are to do."
+
+"Quietly consult together what is to be done," was the reply.  "There,
+man! pray, don't look at me in that imploring way."
+
+"But it is so inexcusable," cried Mr Burne.
+
+"Wait a bit," said the professor smiling; "my turn may come soon, and I
+shall have to ask your pardon for doing wrong.  There! perhaps it is for
+the best.  If we had retained the scoundrels they might have been too
+much for us and played us some far worse trick."
+
+Mr Burne was about to speak again, but the professor arrested him and
+suggested a walk along the shore to the north-east; but it was finally
+decided to partake first of an early breakfast, then to pack together
+what was left of the food and start at once upon a journey that they
+hoped would soon lead them to a village or town.
+
+After a visit to the shore, where the deep blue water came softly
+rippling upon the sand, they sat down to their frugal breakfast by the
+spring, carefully husbanding the supplies, and then with enough
+provision to keep them for about a couple of days, they started off,
+this provision being the only luggage they had to carry, what few things
+they possessed having been annexed by the Greeks, who seized upon them
+by way of payment for the trip, as of course they would not have dared
+to make any claim after what had occurred; and besides, it was not
+likely that the skipper would care to show himself at any port
+frequented by Englishmen for some time to come.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER FIFTEEN.
+
+THE LAWYER'S APOLOGY.
+
+For some distance the way was along good firm sand, and they got over
+several miles before the heat became too much for Lawrence, who was glad
+to sit down under the shade of a low cliff facing the sea and nibble one
+of the biscuits that had been pretty well soaked with sea-water, and
+drink from a rivulet whose presence suggested the halt.
+
+When the heat of the day had somewhat abated the journey was continued;
+and, at last, when the night was beginning to fall and arrangements had
+to be made for sleep, the outlook was very black, for they were in a
+very desert place, and, though Yussuf and the professor both climbed
+eminences from time to time, there was not a trace of human habitation,
+while their supply of food was growing very short.
+
+"Never mind," said the professor cheerily.  "Let's have a good night's
+rest.  I don't think we need set a watch here, eh, Yussuf?"
+
+"It is always better to do so, effendi," said the Muslim, in his quiet
+thoughtful manner; "there is a great ridge of rocks yonder in front, and
+who knows what may be on the other side."
+
+"But no one has seen us come here; and if they had, we have not much to
+lose."
+
+"Except the Turkish gold the two excellencies have in the belts round
+their waists," said Yussuf quietly.
+
+Mr Preston started at this, but said nothing then.  Later on he found
+that his thoughts had been shared upon the subject, for, as they sat
+close up to a projecting cliff, Mr Burne leaned towards him and
+whispered:
+
+"Did you tell the guide that you had a lot of money in your cash-belt?"
+
+"No.  Did you?"
+
+"No."
+
+"It is very strange," said the professor.
+
+"It is worse," was the reply; "but, look here, for goodness' sake don't
+go making me uncomfortable by hinting that Yussuf has designs against
+us."
+
+"I am not going to," said the professor shortly.  "I agree that it is
+strange that he should know it, but I am going to place absolute faith
+in Yussuf.  If I am deceived in the man so much the worse for me."
+
+"But he is an unspeakable Turk, Preston, and you are always reading what
+the Turks are."
+
+"I am always reading what their wretched government is.  As a race I
+believe the Turks are a particularly grave, gentlemanly race of men."
+
+"I am sure," said Lawrence, "that Yussuf is doing all he can in our
+interest."
+
+"Tchah! stuff, boy! what do you know about human nature?" cried Mr
+Burne angrily.  "We are out here in the desert at this man's mercy."
+
+"But he fought for us and saved me from drowning."
+
+"Of course he did, boy; he is paid to do it."
+
+"Then why don't you trust him, sir?" said Lawrence, speaking out boldly.
+
+"Because very likely he is doing all this to save us for himself.
+Suppose he robs us and then runs away to Tadmor in the wilderness, or
+some other outlandish place, what can we do?  There are no policemen
+here."
+
+"Hush," said Mr Preston; "here he is."
+
+Yussuf came gravely stalking down from above where he had been taking a
+fresh observation inland.
+
+"I can see nothing, effendi," he said softly.  "We must sleep and see
+what another day brings forth."
+
+"Yes," said Mr Preston; "and we are all weary.  But, Yussuf."
+
+"Effendi?"
+
+"How did you know that my friend, here, and I carried belts containing
+gold?"
+
+The Muslim looked from one to the other sharply, and it was plain that
+he read the suspicion in their eyes, for his own flashed, and a stern
+aspect came over his countenance.
+
+It passed away directly and his face lit up with a smile.
+
+"Simply enough, excellencies," he said.  "Mr Burne, here, is always
+feeling his waist to find out whether it is quite safe, or lifting it up
+a little because it is heavy."
+
+"I?  What?  No such thing, sir--no such thing," cried the old lawyer
+angrily.
+
+"Well, I have seen you do so a great many times," said Mr Preston
+laughing.
+
+"And so have I, Mr Burne," cried Lawrence, "often."
+
+"I deny it, gentlemen, I deny it," he cried; and sitting up he
+involuntarily placed his hands just above his hips, and gave himself a
+hitch after the fashion of a sailor.
+
+The professor burst into a hearty laugh; Lawrence roared; and Yussuf's
+face was so comically grave that Mr Burne could not resist the
+infection, and laughed in turn.
+
+"There," he exclaimed; "I suppose, I do without knowing it, and I am so
+cautious, too."
+
+"But come," said Mr Preston, turning to Yussuf, "you have not seen me
+do this, I think."
+
+"No, effendi, never; but when we were busy baling the water out of the
+boat for these dogs of Greeks to escape, your garments were wet and
+clung to you tightly, and the shape of the belt could be plainly seen."
+
+"Of course it could," said the professor bluffly.  "Why, Yussuf, I
+believe now in the story about the dervish who was asked if he met the
+camel, and told the owners all about it: the lame leg, the missing
+tooth, the load of rice on one side, the honey on the other, and all
+without seeing it."
+
+"Nonsense!" said Mr Burne testily, "how could he?"
+
+"Why, my dear sir, you must have forgotten that old tale.  By the light
+impression of one foot in the sand, by the herbage not being evenly
+cropped, and by the ants being busy with the fallen grain on one side,
+the flies, attracted by the honey, upon the other."
+
+"Bah!" exclaimed the old lawyer.  "Eastern tales are all gammon.  I
+don't believe in the East at all."
+
+"Nor in people being cast ashore in desert places and having encounters
+with Greek sailors.  Nor in their having a faithful experienced
+Mussulman guide, who fought for them and strove his very best to get
+them out of their troubles, eh, Burne?  Well, I do, and I'm very tired.
+Good-night, Yussuf.  You are going to sleep, I suppose?"
+
+"No, effendi," said the Turk.  "I shall watch till the stars say it is
+two hours past midnight, and then I shall awaken you."
+
+"Humph!  Wrong again," cried Mr Burne testily.  "I always am wrong.
+What are you laughing at, sir?"
+
+"At you, Mr Burne.  I beg your pardon, I couldn't help it," said
+Lawrence.
+
+"Oh, I'll forgive you, boy.  I'm glad to see you can laugh like that,
+instead of being regularly knocked up with our troubles.  I begin to
+believe that you never have been ill, and were shamming so as to get a
+holiday."
+
+"Do you, sir?" said Lawrence sadly.
+
+"No, my boy.  Good-night.  Good-night, Yussuf," he added, and then he
+raised an echo by blowing his nose.
+
+"Good-night, excellency," said the Turk, rather haughtily; and soon
+there was nothing to be heard but the sighing of the night wind and the
+low murmur of the rippling sea.
+
+There was little to see, too, in the darkness, but the figures of the
+reclining sleepers, and that of the grave sentinel, who sat upon a big
+mass of stone, crouched in a heap and looking as if he were part of the
+rock, save when he changed his position a little to refill his pipe.
+
+The night passed without any alarm.  The professor was awakened about
+two and took Yussuf's place, and soon after daybreak the others were
+roused, and the residue of the provisions was opened out.
+
+"Be easier to carry when eaten," said Mr Preston laughing.
+
+He looked serious directly, for there was a peculiarly sombre frown upon
+Yussuf's brow, which suggested that he was thinking over Mr Burne's
+suspicions of the previous evening, and his rather unpleasant way.
+
+"Look here, Burne," the professor whispered, as they sat together on the
+sand eating their spare meal, "I think, if I were you, I would make a
+bit of an apology to Yussuf.  He is really a gentleman at heart, and has
+been accustomed to mix a great deal with Englishmen.  He is a good deal
+hurt by our suspicions, and it is a pity for there to be any disunion in
+our little camp."
+
+"Camp, indeed!" cried the old man testily; "pretty sort of a camp,
+without a tent in it.  I shall be racked with rheumatism in all my old
+bones.  I know I shall, after this wild-goose chase."
+
+"Let's hope not," said the professor; "but you will make some advances
+to him, will you not?"
+
+"You mind your own affairs, sir.  Don't you teach me.  My back's
+horrible this morning.  Can't you wait a bit.  I was going to make
+amends if you had left me alone."
+
+"That's right," said the professor cheerily.  "I want him to have a good
+opinion of Englishmen."
+
+Lawrence watched eagerly for Mr Burne's apology, but he did not speak
+till just as they were going to start, when he stepped aside behind a
+rock for a few minutes, and then came out again and walked up to Yussuf
+with something coiled up in his hand.
+
+"Look here, Yussuf," he said.  "You're a stronger man than I am, and
+used to the country.  I wish you would buckle this round your waist--out
+of sight, of course."
+
+As he spoke he held out his heavy cash-belt, which was thoroughly well
+padded with gold coin, and then threw it over the Turk's arm.
+
+Yussuf looked at him intently, and a complete change came over the man's
+face as he shook his head and held the belt out for Mr Burne to take
+again.
+
+"No, excellency," he said, "I understand you.  It is to show me that you
+trust me, but you doubt me still."
+
+"No, I do not," cried Mr Burne.  "Nothing of the sort.  You think I do,
+because I said ugly things yesterday.  But that was my back."
+
+"Your excellency's back?"
+
+"Yes, my man; my back.  It ached horribly.  There, I do trust you.  I
+should be a brute if I did not."
+
+"I'll take your excellency's word, then," said Yussuf gravely.  "I will
+not carry the belt."
+
+"Nonsense, man, do.  There, it was to make you believe in me; but all
+the same it does tire me terribly, and it frets me, just where I feel
+most tender from my fall.  It would relieve me a great deal, and it
+would be safer with you than with me.  Come, there's a good fellow;
+carry it for me.  I beg you will."
+
+The Turk shook his head, and stood holding out the belt, turning his
+eyes directly after to Mr Preston and then upon Lawrence.
+
+"Come," continued Mr Burne, "you surely do not bear malice because a
+tired man who was in great pain said a few hasty words.  The belt has
+really fretted and chafed me.  I am ready to trust in your sincerity;
+will you not trust in mine?"
+
+Yussuf's countenance lit up, and he caught Mr Burne's hand in his, and
+raised it to his lips hastily, after which he opened his loose robe and
+carefully buckled the money-belt within his inner garment.
+
+"That's the way," cried Mr Burne cheerily; and he looked happier and
+more relieved himself; "and look here, Yussuf, I'm a curious suspicious
+sort of fellow, who has had dealings with strange people all his life.
+I believe in you, I do indeed, and whenever you find me saying
+unpleasant things, you'll know my back's bad, and that I don't mean it.
+And now, for goodness' sake, let's get to some civilised place where we
+can have a cup of coffee and a glass of wine.  Preston, old fellow, I'd
+give a sovereign now for a good well-cooked mutton-chop--I mean four
+sovereigns for four--one a-piece.  I'm not a greedy man."
+
+Lawrence went forward to Yussuf's side, and these two led the way, along
+by the purple sea, which was now flashing in the morning sun, and the
+delicious air made the travellers feel inspirited, and ready to forget
+all discomforts as they tramped on in search of a village, while, before
+they had gone far, Mr Burne turned his dry face to the professor and
+said:
+
+"Well, did that do?"
+
+"My dear Burne," cried the professor, "I am just beginning to know you.
+It was admirable."
+
+"Humph!" ejaculated the old lawyer, who then blew a sounding blast upon
+his nose.  "I am beginning to think that a neater form of apology to a
+man--a foreign heretic sort of a man--was never offered."
+
+"It could not have been better.  What do you think, Lawrence?" he added
+as the latter halted to let his elders catch up, Yussuf going on alone.
+
+"I don't know what you were talking about," he replied.
+
+"Mr Burne's apology.  I say it was magnificent."
+
+"So do I," exclaimed Lawrence.  "Capital."
+
+"Humph!  Think so?  Well, I suppose it was all right," said Mr Burne.
+"But I say," he whispered, gazing after Yussuf who was striding away
+fifty yards ahead and leaving them behind, "do you really think that
+money will be all right?"
+
+"I say, Mr Burne," cried Lawrence laughing; "is your back beginning to
+ache already?"
+
+The old lawyer stopped short, and turned upon the lad with a comical
+look, half mirth, half anger in his countenance.
+
+"You impudent young dog," he cried.  "I knew you were shamming, and not
+ill at all.  My back, indeed!  Well, yes.  Come along.  I suppose it was
+beginning to ache."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER SIXTEEN.
+
+THE STARTING-POINT.
+
+Mr Burne showed no more distrust, though Yussuf was striding away
+faster and faster, at a rate that Lawrence's strength forbade him to
+attempt to emulate; but the reason soon became evident.  He was making
+for an elevation about a mile away, and upon reaching it he toiled up to
+the top, and as soon as he had done so he turned and took off his fez
+and began to wave it in the air.
+
+"He has found out something," said the professor.
+
+"If it is a hotel where we can get a good breakfast he shall have my
+advice for nothing any time he likes to come and ask it," said Mr
+Burne, rubbing his hands.
+
+"In London?" said the professor.
+
+"Anywhere, sir.  There, that will do.  Don't swing your arms about like
+that," he continued, addressing the guide, who was of course far out of
+hearing.  "Anyone would think that because he was right on the top of a
+hill he had caught the wind-mill complaint."
+
+The three travellers were almost as much excited as Yussuf, and hurried
+on, Lawrence forgetting his weakness in the interest of the moment, so
+that it was not long before they reached the top--hot, breathless, and
+panting with exertion.
+
+Their guide pointed to what appeared to be a group of huts a long way
+off.
+
+"Is that all?" grumbled the old lawyer.  "I thought you had found a
+place where we could have a comfortable meal."
+
+"There will be bread, and fruit, and a boat, excellency," said Yussuf
+quietly; "and these are what you want, are they not?"
+
+"I suppose so," replied Mr Burne, gazing forward at what now appeared
+to be a cluster of small houses by the sea-shore, backed by a dense
+grove of trees, while in front, and about a quarter of a mile from the
+sands, lay three small boats.  "It is not a desert place then," he
+grumbled, as they all went on together.  "How far is it to that cluster
+of hovels?"
+
+"About two miles, excellency."
+
+"About two miles, and before breakfast," muttered the old fellow sourly;
+but he drew a long breath as if he were trying to master his
+disinclination, and then turning to Lawrence with a grim smile he cried,
+"Now, look here, cripple against invalid, I'll race you; fair walking,
+and Mr Preston to be umpire.  One--two--three--off."
+
+It was a fair walk of about an hour before they entered the cluster of
+huts, each surrounded by a good-sized fruit garden, the people standing
+outside and staring hard at the strange visitors who came along the
+shore, one of whom plumped himself upon the edge of a boat that was
+drawn up on the sands, another throwing himself down, hot and panting
+with exertion, while the two who were left a little way behind strode up
+more leisurely, one of them to ask for refreshment and a resting-place
+out of the sun.
+
+"There is no mistake about it, Lawrence," cried the professor eagerly,
+"you couldn't have done that in England."
+
+Lawrence laughed.
+
+"But I am completely tired out," he exclaimed, wiping his face.  "I
+could not have gone any further."
+
+"Neither could I," groaned Mr Burne.  "Oh, my back, my back!  Who won,
+Preston?"
+
+"A dead heat, decidedly," said the professor laughing; but he was
+watching Lawrence the while very attentively, and asking himself whether
+he was letting the lad over-exert himself.
+
+One thing, however, was plain enough, and that was that the sick lad had
+been allowed to droop and mope in his ailment.  The serious disease was
+there, of course, but he had been nursed up and coddled to a terrible
+extent, and this had made him far worse than he would have been had he
+led an active country life, or been induced to exert himself a little
+instead of lying in bed or upon a couch day after day.
+
+The people seemed disposed to resent the coming of the strangers at
+first, and declined to supply them with either food or a resting-place,
+till Yussuf drew out some money, and assured them that they would be
+paid for everything that was eaten.  Then they grew more civil, and
+Yussuf explained to his employers that the reason for the people's
+churlishness was, that they were often obliged to supply food or work by
+some tyrannical government officer or another, and the only payment they
+had was in the form of blows if they complained.
+
+The payment after they had supplied a meal of curd and milk with bread
+and fruit completely altered their demeanour, and upon its being
+intimated that a boat was required to take their visitors over to
+Ansina, quite a dispute arose between the owners of two as to which
+should have the honour and profit; but all was at length settled
+amicably by Yussuf, and that evening, fairly provisioned by the combined
+aid of the tiny village, the best of the boats hoisted its sails, and
+the shores of Cyprus began to look dim as the night fell, and the
+travellers were once more on their way.
+
+The winds were so light and contrary that it was not until the evening
+of the third day that they were well in sight of the country that was to
+be the scene of their journeyings for many months to come; and then, as
+they neared Ansina, it was to see a scattered town that seemed as if of
+marble beyond the purple sea, while beyond the town lay to right and
+left a fairy-like realm of green and gold, beyond which again lay range
+upon range of amethystine mountains, above which in turn were peaks of
+dazzling white, save where the evening sun was gilding salient points of
+a pure pale gold.
+
+The run had been very pleasant in spite of the cramped accommodation,
+for the little crew were a kindly simple people, whose countenances
+invited trust, and though the fare on board had been scant, yet it was
+wholesome and good, as the rest the travellers had found was grateful.
+
+So satisfactory was this part of the trip that Mr Burne forgot about
+his back, and as he stood gazing at the glorious panorama, indulging in
+an occasional pinch of snuff, he suddenly whisked out his handkerchief
+and blew a clarion blast which made the boatmen start.
+
+"Hah!" he exclaimed suddenly; "this will do.  I tell you what it is,
+Preston; when I get back I shall start a company for the reclamation of
+this country.  It must be taken from the Turks, and we must have a new
+English colony here."
+
+"The first Roman who saw the place must have felt something like you do
+about his native land," said the professor.
+
+"Oh, the Romans had a colony here, had they?"
+
+"Yes; and the Greeks before them."
+
+"Humph!" ejaculated the old lawyer, as he let his eyes wander from spot
+to spot glowing in the sinking sun, and growing more beautiful as they
+advanced.  "Well, I always had, as a boy, a most decided objection to
+the Greeks and Romans, and I used to wish that, when they died out,
+their tongues had been buried with them instead of being left behind to
+pester schoolboys; but now I am beginning to respect them, for they must
+have known what they were about to settle in such a land as this.
+Lovely, eh, Lawrence?"
+
+"Grand!" was the reply uttered in enraptured tones; "but don't talk to
+me, please, I feel as if I could do nothing else but look."
+
+The professor smiled and joined him in drinking in the beauty of the
+scene, till the little felucca sailed in under the shelter of a large
+stone wall that formed part of the ancient port.  Here they found
+themselves face to face with the handiwork of one of the great nations
+of antiquity, this having been a city of the Greeks, before the Romans
+planted their conquering feet here, to die away leaving their broken
+columns, ruined temples, and traces of their circus and aqueducts, among
+which the mingled race of Turks and present-day Greeks had raised the
+shabby village, more than town, that clustered about the port.
+
+"Safe ashore at last," said the professor as he stepped on to a large
+block of squared stone in which was secured with lead an ancient ring.
+"Now, Lawrence, our travels are to begin.  How do you feel? ready for
+plenty of adventure?"
+
+"Yes, quite," was the reply.
+
+"Then, first of all, for a comfortable resting-place.  To-morrow we will
+see the resident, and then make preparations for our start."
+
+"Humph!" ejaculated Mr Burne; and he blew his nose in a way never heard
+in Asia Minor before.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER SEVENTEEN.
+
+PREPARATIONS FOR A JOURNEY.
+
+Lawrence Grange left England as weak and helpless in mind as he was in
+body; but, in the brief period that had elapsed, his mind had rapidly
+recovered its balance, and, leaving his body behind, had strengthened so
+that, eager and bright, and urged on by the glorious novelty of the
+things he saw, his spirit was now always setting his body tasks that it
+could not perform.
+
+"I'm sure I am getting worse," he said one morning, after returning from
+having a delicious bathe down by the ruins of the old port.  "I never
+felt so weak as this in England."
+
+The professor burst into a hearty fit of laughter, in which the old
+lawyer joined, and then took snuff and snapped his fingers till both his
+companions sneezed.
+
+"I say," cried Lawrence, "isn't it cruel of you two, laughing at a poor
+fellow for what he cannot help."
+
+He looked so piteously at them that they both grew serious directly.
+
+"Why, my dear boy," cried Mr Preston, "can you not see that you keep on
+overtasking yourself?  Growing worse!  Now, be reasonable; you had to be
+carried down to the fly in London; the porters carried you to the
+first-class carriage in which you went down by rail, and you were
+carried to the steamer."
+
+"Yes," said Lawrence sadly; "that is true, but I did not feel so weak as
+this."
+
+"Get out, you young cock-goose!" cried Mr Burne.  "Why, you have been
+bathing, and you haven't had your breakfast yet."
+
+"And you are mistaking fatigue for weakness," said the professor.
+
+"Of course," cried Mr Burne.  "Why, look here.  You were out nearly all
+day yesterday with us or with Yussuf looking at ruins, going over the
+place, and seeing about the horses, and now, as soon as you woke this
+morning, you were off with Preston here to kick and splash about in the
+water.  Weak? what nonsense!  Oh, here's Yussuf.  Here, hi! you grand
+Turk, what do you say about this boy?  He thinks he is not so well."
+
+"The young effendi?" cried Yussuf.  "Oh!  I have been out this morning
+to see some other horses, excellencies, that are far better than any we
+have yet seen.  They are rough, sturdy little fellows from the
+mountains, and you ought to buy these."
+
+"Buy or hire?" said the professor.
+
+"Buy, excellency.  You will feed and treat them well, and at the end
+they will be worth as much if not more than you gave for them.  Besides,
+if you hire horses, they will be inferior, and you will be always
+changing and riding fresh beasts."
+
+"Yes, of course," said the old lawyer; "but there is no risk."
+
+"Your excellency will pardon me, there will be more risks.  We shall
+traverse many dangerous mountain paths, and a man should know his horse
+and his horse know him.  They should be good friends, and take care of
+each other.  A Turkish horse loves the hand that feeds him, the master
+that rides upon his back."
+
+"I am sure you are right, Yussuf," said the professor.  "We will go by
+your advice and buy the horses."
+
+"Here, hold hard!" cried Mr Burne.  "Look here.  Do you mean to tell me
+that I am expected to ride a horse along a dangerous mountain road?  I
+mean a shelf over a precipice."
+
+"Certainly, your excellency, the roads are very bad."
+
+"You do not feel nervous about that, do you, Burne?" said the professor.
+
+"Oh, dear me, no, not at all," cried the old lawyer sarcastically.  "Go
+on.  I've had a pretty good hardening already, what with knocking on the
+head, drowning, shipwrecking, starving, and walking off my legs."
+
+"But, if you really object to our programme, we will try some easier
+route," said the professor.
+
+"Oh, by no means, sir, by no means.  I have only one thing to say.  I
+see you have made up your mind to kill me, and I only make one proviso,
+and that is, that you shall take me back to England to bury me decently.
+I will not--I distinctly say it--I will not stay here."
+
+"Your excellency shall come to no harm," said Yussuf, "if I can prevent
+it.  With care and good horses there is very little risk."
+
+"How soon shall we go to see the horses?" cried Lawrence eagerly.
+
+"When you have been lying up for a month," replied Mr Burne gruffly.
+"You are too weak, and going back too much to venture out any more."
+
+"Till you have had a good breakfast," said the professor, laughing as he
+saw the lad's look of keen disappointment; and they sat down at once to
+a capital meal.
+
+For they had been a week in Ansina, and were comfortably lodged in the
+house of a Turk whom Yussuf had recommended, and who, in a grave way,
+attended carefully to their wants.  The luggage sent on by steamer had
+arrived safely, and, with the exception of the few things lost in the
+felucca, they were very little the worse for their mishap.
+
+So far they had been delayed by the difficulty of obtaining horses, but
+now the opportunity had come for obtaining what was necessary, walking
+being out of the question, and the only means of traversing the rugged
+country, that was to be the scene of their ramblings, was by the help of
+a sure-footed horse.
+
+Lawrence forgot all about his weakness as soon as breakfast was over,
+and started off with his companions to see the animals that were for
+sale.
+
+They were at an outlying place a couple of miles away from their
+lodgings, and the walk in the delicious autumn air was most enjoyable.
+In the distance was the mysterious soft blue range of mountains that
+they were to penetrate for some six weeks, before the season grew too
+advanced, and to Lawrence it was a perfect wonderland that was to prove
+full of sights that would astound, adventures that would thrill; and,
+could he have had his way, he would have set off at once, and without
+all the tedious preparations that Yussuf deemed necessary.
+
+The first mile of their way was uninteresting.  Then they entered a
+little valley with precipitous sides, their path running by the side of
+a beautiful little stream, which they had to cross again and again; but
+their progress was not rapid, for Mr Burne always stopped to examine
+the pools and talk about how fond he had been of fishing when he was a
+boy.
+
+Farther on they kept coming to little houses pleasantly situated in
+gardens, very much as might be seen in the suburbs of an English town,
+for these were the country houses of the wealthy Turks of the place, who
+came and dwelt here in the hot times of the summer.
+
+There was a great similarity about these places.  Houses and walls were
+built of fine, large, well-squared blocks of stone and marble, with
+every here and there a trace of carving visible--all showing that the
+Turk's quarry was the ruined Roman city, which offered an almost
+inexhaustible supply.
+
+These little estates were either just above the river, perched on one
+side, or so arranged that the stream ran right through the grounds,
+rippling amongst velvety grass lawns, overshadowed by great walnuts,
+with mulberry and plum trees in abundance.
+
+"Hi, stop a moment," cried Mr Burne, as they reached one beautiful
+clump of trees, quite a grove, whose leaves were waving in the soft
+mountain-breeze.
+
+"What have you found?" said the professor, as Lawrence hurried up.
+
+"That, sir, that," cried Mr Burne.  "See these trees."
+
+"Yes," said the professor, "a magnificent clump of planes--what a huge
+size!"
+
+"Exactly," said the old lawyer.  "Now, do you see what that proves?"
+
+"What--the presence of those trees?"
+
+"Yes, sir," said the old lawyer dogmatically.  "They show, sir, that the
+Turk is a much-abused man.  People say that he never advances, but you
+see he does."
+
+"How?" said the professor, "by being too lazy to quarry stone or marble
+in these mountains, where they abound, and building his house out of the
+edifices raised by better men?"
+
+"No, sir; by following our example, importing from us, and planting
+walnut-trees and these magnificent planes all about his place.  Look at
+these!  Why, I could almost fancy myself in Gray's Inn Gardens."
+
+"My dear Burne, are you serious?"
+
+"Serious, sir?  Never more so in my life.  They are beautiful."
+
+"Yes, they are very beautiful," said the professor drily.  "But I always
+thought that these trees were the natives of this country, and that
+instead of the Turks imitating us, we had seen the beauty of these
+trees, and transplanted some of them when young to our own land."
+
+"Absurd!" said the old lawyer dictatorially, and he was about to say
+more when Yussuf stopped at a rough kind of inclosure, where a Turk was
+seated upon the grass beneath a shady tree smoking thoughtfully, and
+apparently paying no heed to the new-comers.
+
+"The horses are here," he said; and upon being spoken to, the Turk rose,
+laid aside his pipe, and bowed.
+
+It was not a long business, for Yussuf and the owner of the horses were
+compatriots, but Lawrence stared at the animals in dismay when he
+followed his companions into the inclosure.  He had pictured to himself
+so many lovely flowing-maned creatures of Arab descent, large-eyed, wide
+of nostril, and with arched necks, and tails that swept the ground.  He
+expected to see them toss up their heads and snort, and dash off wildly,
+but on the contrary the dozen horses that were in the inclosure went
+quietly on with their grazing in the most business-like manner, and when
+a boy was sent to drive them up, they proved to be shaggy, heavy-headed,
+rather dejected-looking animals, with not an attractive point about
+them.
+
+"Surely you will not buy any of these, Preston," said Mr Burne.  "I do
+not understand horses, but those seem to be a very shabby lot."
+
+"They are young, effendi, healthy and strong," said Yussuf gravely.
+"They are accustomed to the mountains, and that is what we require.
+Large, handsome horses, such as you see in the desert or at Istamboul,
+would be useless here."
+
+"There, I am not going to doubt your knowing best," said Mr Burne
+quietly; and the bargain was made, four being selected for riding, and
+two that were heavier and stronger for baggage animals.
+
+Arrangements were made for the horses to be driven before them down to
+Ansina, and as soon as the six purchased were driven out of the
+inclosure their companions trotted up, thrust their heads over a bar,
+and whinnied a farewell, while the others seemed to be in high glee at
+the change.  They threw up their heads and snorted; and one that was of
+a cream colour, and the smallest of the lot, began to display a
+playfulness that upset all the rest.  The way he displayed his humour
+was by stretching out his neck, baring his teeth, and running at and
+biting his companions in turn--a trick which necessitated a good deal of
+agility, for the other horses resented the attacks by presenting their
+heels to their playful companion for inspection--a proceeding of which
+he did not at all approve.
+
+All went well, however, the animals were safely stowed away in the
+stable prepared for their use, and each was soon busy at work grinding
+up the barley served out for his particular benefit, oats being a luxury
+they were not called upon to enjoy.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER EIGHTEEN.
+
+MR. BURNE BLOWS HIS NOSE.
+
+"At last!" cried Lawrence, as they set off for their first incursion.
+Two more days had been occupied in purchasing stores, saddlery, and
+other necessaries for their trip, and, as the lad said, at last they
+were off.
+
+The start of the party excited no surprise in the little town.  It was
+nothing to the people there to see four well-armed travellers set off,
+followed by a sturdy peasant, who had charge of the two heavily-laden
+pack-horses, for, in addition to the personal luggage and provisions of
+the travellers, with their spare ammunition, it was absolutely necessary
+to take a supply of barley sufficient to give the horses a good feed, or
+two, in case of being stranded in any spot where grain was scarce.
+
+The heat was very great as they rode on over the plain, and Mr Burne's
+pocket-handkerchief was always busy either to help him sound an alarm,
+to wipe the perspiration from his brow, or to whisk away the flies from
+himself and horse.
+
+"It's enough to make a man wish he had a bushy tail," he said, after an
+exasperated dash at a little cloud of insects.  "Peugh! what a number of
+nuisances there are in the land!"
+
+But in a short time, enjoying the beautiful prospects spread around,
+they rode into a wooded valley, where the trees hung low, and, as they
+passed under the branches, the trouble from the virulent and hungry
+flies grew less.
+
+The ascent was gradual, and after a few miles the woodland part ceased,
+and they found themselves upon a plain once more, but from the state of
+the atmosphere it was evidently far more elevated than that where the
+town lay.  Here for miles and miles they rode through clover and wild
+flowers that lay as thick as the buttercups in an English meadow.  But
+in addition to patches of golden hue there were tracts of mauve and
+scarlet and crimson and blue, till the eyes seemed to ache with the
+profusion of colour.
+
+So far the ride had been most unadventurous.  Not a house had been seen
+after they had quitted the outskirts of the town, nothing but waste
+land, if that could be called waste where the richest of grasses and
+clovers with endless wild flowers abounded.
+
+At mid-day a halt was made beneath a tremendous walnut-tree growing near
+a spring which trickled from the side of a hill; and now the horses were
+allowed to graze in the abundant clover, while the little party made
+their meal and rested till the heat of the day was past.
+
+Here Yussuf pointed out their resting-place for the night--a spot that
+lay amid the mountains on their right, apparently not far off; but the
+Muslim explained that it would be a long journey, and that they must not
+expect to reach it before dark.
+
+After a couple of hours the horses were loaded again, and sent on first
+with their driver, while the travellers followed more leisurely along
+the faint track for it could hardly be called a road.  The second plain
+was soon left behind, and their way lay among the hills, valley after
+valley winding in and out; and as fast as one eminence was skirted
+others appearing, each more elevated than the last, while the scenery
+grew wilder and more grand.
+
+The little horses were behaving very well, trudging along sturdily with
+their riders, and every hour proving more and more the value of Yussuf's
+choice.  There was no restiveness or skittish behaviour, save that once
+or twice the little cream-coloured fellow which Lawrence had selected
+for himself and christened Ali Baba had shown a disposition to bite one
+of his companions.  He soon gave up, though, and walked or trotted
+steadily on in the file, Yussuf leading, the professor coming next, then
+Lawrence, and Mr Burne last.
+
+They stopped at various points of the rising road to study the grand
+patches of cedars, clumps of planes low down in the valleys, and the
+slopes of pines, while in the groves the thrushes sang, and the
+blackbirds piped as familiarly as if it was some spot in Devonshire
+instead of Asia Minor.  Then a diversion was made here and there to
+examine some spring or the edge of a ravine where a stream ran.  There
+was plenty of time for this, as the two baggage-horses had to be
+studied, and they were soon overtaken after one of these rides.
+
+But at last a visit to a few stones on a hillside, which had evidently
+been a watch-tower in some old period of this country's history, took up
+so much time that the man with the baggage was a good hour's journey
+ahead; and as they reached the track once more Yussuf turned to ask the
+professor whether he thought the invalid could bear the motion if he led
+the way at a trot.
+
+The professor turned to ask Lawrence, who replied that he believed he
+could, and then something happened.
+
+The professor had hardly spoken and obtained his reply before Mr Burne,
+who had been refreshing himself with a pinch of snuff, whisked out his
+handkerchief according to his custom.
+
+They were now going along a valley which ran between too highish walls
+of rock, dotted here and there with trees--just the sort of place, in
+fact, where anyone would be disposed to shout aloud to try if there was
+an echo; but the idea had not occurred to either of the travellers,
+whose thoughts were bent upon overtaking the baggage animals with their
+stores, when quite unexpectedly Mr Burne applied his handkerchief to
+his face and blew his nose.
+
+It was not one of his finest blasts, there was less thunder in it, and
+more high-pitched horn-like music, but the effect was electrical.
+
+There was an echo in that valley, and this echo took up the sound,
+repeated it, and seemed to send it on to a signalling station higher up,
+where it was caught and sent on again, and then again and again, each
+repetition growing weaker and softer than the last.
+
+But only one of these echoes was heard by the travellers, for, as afore
+said, the effect was electrical.
+
+The moment that blast was blown behind him, Ali Baba, Lawrence's
+cream-coloured horse, threw up his head, then lowered it, and lifted his
+heels, sending his rider nearly out of his saddle, uttered a peculiar
+squeal, and set off at a gallop.
+
+The squeal and the noise of the hoofs acted like magic upon the other
+three horses, and away they went, all four as hard as they could go at
+full gallop, utterly regardless of the pulling and tugging that went on
+at their bits.
+
+This wild stampede went on along the valley for quite a quarter of an
+hour before Yussuf was able to check his steed's headlong career; and it
+was none too soon, for the smooth track along the valley was rapidly
+giving way to a steep descent strewed with blocks of limestone, and to
+have attempted to gallop down there must have resulted in a serious
+fall.
+
+As it was, Yussuf was only a few yards from a great mass of rock when
+his hard-mouthed steed was checked; and as the squeal of one had been
+sufficient to start the others, who had all their early lives been
+accustomed to run together in a drove, so the stopping of one had the
+effect of checking the rest, and they stood together shaking their ears
+and pawing the ground.
+
+As soon as he could get his breath, Lawrence began to laugh, and Mr
+Preston followed his lead, while the grave Muslim could not forbear a
+smile at Mr Burne.  This worthy's straw hat had been flying behind,
+hanging from his neck by a lanyard, while he stood up in his stirrups,
+craned his neck forward, and held his pocket-handkerchief whip fashion,
+though it more resembled an orange streak of light as it streamed
+behind; while now, as soon as the horse had stopped, he climbed out of
+the saddle, walked two or three steps, and then sat down and stared as
+if he had been startled out of his senses.
+
+"Not hurt, I hope, Burne," said the professor kindly.
+
+"Hurt, sir--hurt?  Why, that brute must be mad.  He literally flew with
+me, and I might as well have pulled at Saint Paul's as try to stop him.
+Good gracious me!  I'm shaken into a jelly."
+
+"Mine was just as hard-mouthed," said the professor.
+
+"Hard-mouthed? say iron-mouthed while you are about it.  And look here,
+Lawrence, don't you make your pony play such tricks again."
+
+"I did nothing, sir," expostulated Lawrence.
+
+"Nonsense, sir! don't tell me.  I saw you tickle him with your hand
+behind the saddle."
+
+"But, Mr Burne--"
+
+"Don't interrupt and contradict, sir.  I distinctly saw you do it, and
+then the nasty brute kicked up his heels, and squealed, and frightened
+the others."
+
+"But, Mr Burne--"
+
+"Don't prevaricate, sir, I saw you, and when that brute squealed out you
+could hear the noise go echoing all down the valley."
+
+In the most innocent manner--having his handkerchief out of his pocket--
+the old lawyer applied it to his nose and gave another blast, the result
+being that the horses nearly went off again; but Yussuf caught Mr
+Burne's steed, and the professor and Lawrence managed to hold theirs in,
+but not without difficulty.
+
+"What! were you doing it again?" cried Mr Burne angrily.
+
+"My dear Burne--no, no; pray, don't do that," cried the professor.
+"Don't you see that it was you who startled the animals off?"
+
+"I startle them?  I?  What nonsense!"
+
+"But indeed you did, when you blew your nose so loudly."
+
+"Blew my nose so loudly!  Did I blow my nose so loudly?"
+
+"Did you? why it was you who raised that echo."
+
+"I?  Raised that echo?  My dear sir, are you dreaming?"
+
+"Dreaming?  No!  A ride like that upon a rough Turkish horse does not
+conduce to dreaming.  My dear Burne, did you not know that you made that
+noise?"
+
+"Noise?  What, when I blew my nose, or when I took snuff?"
+
+Lawrence could not contain himself, but burst into another tremendous
+fit of laughter, while, when the old lawyer looked up at him angrily,
+and then glanced at Yussuf, it was to see that the latter had turned his
+face away, and was apparently busily rearranging the bridle of his
+horse.
+
+"But I say, Preston," said the old lawyer then, "do you really mean to
+say that I made enough noise to frighten the horses?  I thought it was
+Lawrence there tickling that biting beast of his."
+
+"But I did not tickle him, Mr Burne," protested Lawrence.
+
+"Bless my heart, it's very strange!  What do you say, Preston?--you
+don't answer me.  It is very strange."
+
+"Strange indeed that you do not recognise the fact that the tremendous
+noise you made in your pocket-handkerchief started the horses."
+
+The old gentleman looked round; then at the horses; then in his
+handkerchief; and back at the horses again.
+
+"I--er--I--er--I really cannot believe it possible, Preston; I blow my
+nose so softly," he said quite seriously.  "Would you--there--don't
+think I slight your word--but--er--would you mind--I'm afraid, you see,
+that you are mistaken--would you mind my trying the horses?"
+
+"By no means," said the professor smiling.
+
+"I will then," said the old gentleman eagerly; and going up to the
+horses, yellow handkerchief in hand held loosely as if he were about to
+use it, he slowly advanced it to each animal's nose.
+
+They neither of them winced, Lawrence's cream colour going so far as to
+reach out and try to take hold of it with his lips, evidently under the
+impression that it was some delicate kind of Turkish dried hay.
+
+"There," said Mr Burne triumphantly; "you see!  They are not frightened
+at the handkerchief."
+
+"Walk behind," said the professor, "and blow your nose--blow gently."
+
+The old gentleman hesitated for a moment, and then blew as was
+suggested, not so loudly as before, but a fairly sonorous blow.
+
+The horses all made a plunge, and had to be held in and patted before
+they could be calmed down again.
+
+"What ridiculous brutes!" exclaimed Mr Burne contemptuously.  "How
+absurd!"
+
+"You are satisfied, then?" said the professor.
+
+"I cannot help being," replied Mr Burne.  "Bless my heart!  It is
+ridiculous."
+
+"I am growing anxious, your excellencies," said Yussuf interrupting.
+"The time is getting on, and I want to overtake the baggage-horses.
+Will you please to mount, sir?"
+
+"Bless me, Yussuf," cried Mr Burne testily; "anyone would think that
+this was your excursion and not ours."
+
+"Your pardon, effendi, but it will be bad if the night overtakes us and
+we have not found our baggage.  Perhaps we may have to sleep at a khan
+where there is no food."
+
+"When we have plenty with the baggage.  To be sure.  But must I mount
+that animal again?  I am shaken to pieces.  There, hold his head."
+
+The old gentleman uttered a sigh, but he placed his foot in the stirrup
+and mounted slowly, not easily, for the horse was nervous now, and
+seemed as if it half suspected his rider of being the cause of that
+startling noise.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER NINETEEN.
+
+ADVENTURES IN THE HILLS.
+
+"All the result of coming among savages," grumbled Mr Burne.  "Anyone
+would think that the Turks had never learned the use of the
+pocket-handkerchief."
+
+"I do not suppose many of them have arrived at your pitch of
+accomplishment," said the professor, laughing, as they rode on along the
+faint track in and out of the loveliest valleys, where nature was
+constantly tempting them to stop and gaze at some fresh beauty.  But
+there was every prospect of darkness overtaking them before they reached
+the little mountain village where they were to rest for the night; and
+as the time went on the beauties of nature were forgotten in the
+all-powerful desire to overtake the driver with the two baggage-horses,
+laden with that which was extremely precious to so many hungry
+travellers, and at every turn their eyes were strained in front to look
+upon the welcome sight.
+
+"Not so much as a tail," muttered Mr Burne.  "I say," he said aloud,
+"what's become of that baggage?"
+
+Yussuf was understood to say that the man must have made haste, and that
+they would find him at the village.
+
+But if that was what the Muslim had said, he was wrong.  For when in the
+darkness, after what had become quite a dangerous finish to their
+journey along the edge of a shelf of rock, where, far below, the rushing
+and gurgling of a torrent could be heard, they reached the cluster of
+houses and the miserable khan, one thing was evident, and that was that
+the baggage had not arrived.
+
+"What is to be done, Yussuf?" said the professor.  "Must we go back and
+search for it?"
+
+"We could do nothing in the dark, effendi," was the reply.  "The path is
+safe enough in daylight; by night the risk is too great."
+
+"But he may come yet," exclaimed Mr Burne.
+
+Yussuf only shook his head, and said that they must wait.
+
+But he did not waste time, for he sought out the head-man of the village
+to ask for a resting-place for his employers, with a supply of the best
+food the village could afford, and barley for the horses.
+
+The man surlily replied that they had not enough food for themselves,
+and that the barley had all gone to pay the taxes.  They must go
+somewhere else.
+
+It was now that the weary and hungry travellers found out the value of
+Yussuf.
+
+For he came to the professor, as they sat together on their tired
+horses, and held out his hand.
+
+"Give me the firman, excellency," he said.  "These miserable people have
+been robbed and plundered by travellers who ask their hospitality, till
+they are suspicious of all strangers.  Let me show the head-man the
+sultan's command before I use force."
+
+The professor handed the document, and Yussuf walked straight to where
+the head-man was standing aloof, caught him by the shoulder and pushed
+him inside his house, where he made him read the order.
+
+The effect was magical.  The man became obsequious directly; the horses
+were led to a rough kind of stable; barley was found for them, a sturdy
+fellow removed bridles and saddles, and carried them into a good-sized
+very bare-looking room in the house, which he informed them was to be
+their chamber for the night.
+
+Here a smoky lamp was soon lit; rugs were brought in, and before long a
+rough meal of bread, and eggs and fruit was set before them, followed by
+some coffee, which, if not particularly good, was warm and refreshing in
+the coolness of the mountain air.
+
+The lamp burned low, and they were glad to extinguish it at last, and
+then lie down upon the rugs to sleep.
+
+It seemed strange and weird there in the darkness of that room.  Only a
+few hours before, they were in the heated plain; now by the gradual rise
+of the road they were high up where the mountain-breeze sighed among the
+cedars, and blew in through the unglazed window.
+
+There was a sense of insecurity in being there amongst unfriendly
+strangers, and Lawrence realised the necessity for going about armed,
+and letting the people see that travellers carried weapons ready for
+use.
+
+Twice over that day they had passed shepherds who bore over their
+shoulders what, at a distance, were taken for crooks, but which proved
+on nearer approach to be long guns, while each man had a formidable
+knife in his sash.
+
+But, well-armed though they were, Lawrence could not trust himself to
+sleep.  He was horribly weary, and ached all over with his long ride,
+but he could not rest.  There was that open window close to the ground,
+and it seemed to him to offer great facilities for a bloodthirsty man to
+creep in and rob and murder, if he chose, before the sleepers could move
+in their own defence.
+
+It was a window that looked like a square patch of transparent
+blackness, with a point or two of light in the far distance that he knew
+were stars.  That was the danger, and he lay and watched it, listening
+to the breathing of his friends.
+
+The door gave him no concern, for Yussuf had stretched himself across it
+after the fashion of a watchdog, and he too seemed to sleep.
+
+How time went Lawrence could not tell, but he could not even doze, and
+the time seemed terribly long.  His weariness increased, and, in
+addition, he began to feel feverish, and his skin itched and tingled as
+if every now and then an exquisitely fine needle had punctured it.
+
+The restlessness and irritation ceased not for a moment, and he realised
+now that he must have caught same disease peculiar to the country.  A
+fever, of course, but he knew enough of the laws of such complaints,
+from his long life of sickness, to feel that this was not a regular
+fever, for he perspired too freely, and his head was cool.
+
+He tossed from side to side, but there was no rest, and when at last the
+window faded from his sight, and he became insensible to what was going
+on around him, he was still conscious of that peculiar irritation, that
+prickled and itched and stung and burned, till he dreamed that he was
+travelling through a stinging-nettle wood that led up to a square
+window, through which a fierce-looking Turk armed with pistols and
+dagger crept to come and rob him.
+
+It was all dreadfully real, and, in the midst of his fear and agony, he
+could not help feeling that he was foolish to wish that the Guilford
+Street police-sergeant, whom he had so often seen stop by one particular
+lamp-post at the corner to speak to one of his men, would come now, for
+he had a sensation that this must be quite out of his beat.
+
+And all the time the fierce-looking Turk was coming nearer, and at last
+seized him, and spoke in a low whisper.
+
+He saw all this mentally, for his eyes were closed; but, as he opened
+them and gazed upwards, a broad band of pale light came through the
+square window, falling right on the stern face of the Turk as he bent
+over him just as he had fancied in his sleep.
+
+For the moment he was about to speak.  Then he calmed down and uttered a
+sigh as he realised the truth.
+
+"Is that you, Yussuf?" he said.
+
+"Yes," was the reply.  "It is morning, and I thought you might like to
+see the sun rise from the mountain here."
+
+"Yes, I should," said Lawrence, uttering another sigh full of relief;
+"but I am not well.  I itch and burn--my neck, my face, my arms."
+
+"Yes," said Yussuf sadly, as if speaking of a trouble that was
+inevitable.
+
+"Is it a fever coming on?"
+
+"Fever?" said Yussuf smiling; "oh, no! the place swarms with nasty
+little insects.  These rugs are full."
+
+"Ugh!" ejaculated Lawrence, jumping up and giving himself a rub and a
+shake.  "How horrid, to be sure!"
+
+Yussuf would not let him go far from the house, merely led him to a spot
+where the view was clear, and then let him gaze for a few minutes as the
+great orange globe rolled up and gilded the mists that lay in the
+hollows among the hills.  Then he returned to the house and prepared the
+scanty breakfast, of which they partook before going off in search of
+the missing baggage-horses and their load.
+
+Three hours were consumed in seeking out the spot where the man who had
+charge of the two animals had gone from his right path.  It was very
+natural for him to have done so, for the road forked here, and he
+pursued that which seemed the most beaten way.  Down here he had
+journeyed for hours, and when at last he had come to the conclusion that
+he had gone wrong, instead of turning back he had calmly accepted his
+fate, unloaded the animals, made himself a fire out of the abundant wood
+that lay around, and there he waited patiently until he was found.
+
+It was a hindrance so soon after their starting; but Yussuf seemed to
+set so good an example of patience and forbearance that the professor
+followed it, and Mr Burne was compelled to accept the position.
+
+"We shall have plenty of such drawbacks," Mr Preston said; "and we must
+recollect that we are not in the land of time-tables and express
+trains."
+
+"We seem to be in the land of no tables at all, not even chairs,"
+grumbled Mr Burne; "but there, I don't complain.  Go on just as you
+please.  I'll keep all my complaints till I get back, and then put them
+in a big book."
+
+A week of steady slow travelling ensued, during which time they were
+continually journeying in and out among the mountains, following rough
+tracks, or roads as they were called, whose course had been suggested by
+that of the streams that wandered between the hills.  Often enough the
+way was the dried-up bed of some torrent, amidst whose boulders the
+patient little Turkish horses picked their way in the most sure-footed
+manner.
+
+It was along such a track as this that they were going in single file
+one day, for some particular reason that was apparently known only to
+the professor and Yussuf.  They seemed to be deep down in the earth, for
+the rift along which they travelled was not above twenty feet wide, and
+on the one side the rock rose up nearly three thousand feet almost
+perpendicularly, while, on the other, where it was not perpendicular, it
+appeared to overhang.
+
+Now and then it opened out a little more.  Then it contracted, and
+seemed as if ere long the sides of the ravine would touch; but always
+when it came to this, it opened out directly after.
+
+The heat was intense, for there was not a breath of wind.  The gully was
+perfectly dry, and wherever there was a patch of greenery, it was fifty,
+a hundred, perhaps a thousand feet above their heads.
+
+"How much farther is it to the village where we shall stop for the
+night?" said the old lawyer, pausing to mop his forehead.
+
+"There is no village that we shall stop at, effendi," said Yussuf
+quietly.  "We go on a little more, and then we shall have reached the
+remains that Mr Preston wishes to see."
+
+"Bless my heart!" panted the old gentleman.  "You are killing that boy."
+
+"I am quite well," said Lawrence smiling, "only hot and thirsty.  I want
+to see the ruins."
+
+"Oh, go on," cried Mr Burne.  "Don't stop for me."
+
+Just then they were proceeding along a more open and sunny part when the
+professor's horse in front suddenly shied, swerved round, and darted
+back, throwing his rider pretty heavily.
+
+"Mind, sir!  Take care!" shouted Yussuf.
+
+"What's the good of telling a man to take care when he is down?" cried
+Mr Burne angrily; and he tried to urge his horse forward, but it
+refused to stir, while Lawrence's had behaved in precisely the same
+manner, and stood shivering and snorting.
+
+"Your gun, sir, quickly!" exclaimed Yussuf.
+
+"What is it?  Robbers?" cried Mr Burne excitedly as he handed the guide
+his double-barrelled fowling-piece.
+
+"No, sir; one of the evil beasts which haunt these valleys and slopes.
+Is the gun loaded, sir?"
+
+"Loaded?  No, man.  Do you suppose I want to shoot somebody?"
+
+"Quick, sir!  The charges!" whispered Yussuf; and when, after much
+fumbling, Mr Burne had forced his hand into his cartridge-bag, Yussuf
+was closing the breech of the gun, having loaded it with a couple of
+cartridges handed by Lawrence, who had rapidly dismounted and drawn his
+sword.
+
+It was evident that Mr Preston was stunned by the fall, for he lay
+motionless on one side of the ravine among the stones.
+
+"No, no, stop!" cried Yussuf as Lawrence was making his way towards the
+professor.
+
+The lad involuntarily obeyed, and waited breathless to see what would
+follow, as Yussuf advanced cautiously, gun in hand, his dark eyes
+rolling from side to side in search of the danger.
+
+For some minutes he could see nothing.  Then, all at once, they saw him
+raise the gun to his shoulder, take a quick aim and fire, when the
+horses started, and would have dashed off back, but for the fact that
+they were arrested by the way being blocked by the baggage animals and
+Mr Burne.
+
+As the gun was fired its report was magnified a hundredfold, and went
+rolling along in a series of peals like thunder, while the faint blue
+smoke rose over where Yussuf stood leaning forward and gazing at some
+broken stones.
+
+Then all at once he raised the gun again as if to fire, but lowered it
+with a smile, and walked forward to spurn something with his foot, and
+upon Lawrence reaching him it was to find him turning over a
+black-looking serpent of about six feet long, with a short thin tail,
+the body of the reptile being very thick in proportion to its length.
+Upon turning it over the Muslim pointed out that it had a peculiar
+reddish throat, and he declared it to be of a very poisonous kind.
+
+"How do you know it to be poisonous?" said Mr Preston, who had, unseen
+by them, risen from where he had been thrown.
+
+"Oh, Mr Preston, are you much hurt?" cried Lawrence.
+
+"I must say I am hurt," said the professor smiling.  "A heavy man like
+me cannot fall from his horse and strike his head against the stones
+without suffering.  But there, it is nothing serious.  How do you know
+that is a poisonous snake, Yussuf?"
+
+"I have been told of people being bitten by them, effendi, and some have
+died; but I should have said that it was dangerous as soon as I saw the
+horse shrink from it.  Animals do not generally show such horror unless
+they know that there is danger."
+
+"I don't think you are right about the horses," said the professor
+quietly, "for they are terrible cowards in their way; but I think you
+are right about the snake.  Serpents that are formed like this, with the
+thick, sluggish-looking shape, and that peculiar short tail, are mostly
+venomous.  Well, this one will do no more mischief, Burne."
+
+"No.  Nasty brute!" said the old lawyer, gazing down at the reptile
+after coaxing his horse forward.  "What are you going to do, Yussuf?"
+
+"Make sure that it will not bite any of the faithful," said the guide
+slowly; and drawing his knife he thrust the reptile into a convenient
+position, and, after cutting off its head, tossed the still writhing
+body to the side of the ravine.
+
+This incident at an end, they all mounted again and rode on, Yussuf in
+the middle, and Lawrence and Mr Preston, who declared himself better,
+on either hand, till, at the end of about an hour, the latter said
+quickly:
+
+"Do you think you are right, Yussuf?  These ravines are so much alike.
+Surely you must have made a mistake."
+
+"If I am right," replied Yussuf, pointing forward, "there is a spring of
+clear water gushing out at the foot of that steep rock."
+
+"And there is none, I think," said the professor, "or it would be
+running this way."
+
+"If it did not run another, effendi," said Yussuf grimly.  "Yes: I am
+right.  There is the opening of the little valley down which the stream
+runs, and the ruined rock-dwellings are just beyond."
+
+If there had been any doubt as to their guide's knowledge it would have
+been set aside by the horses, for Mr Burne suddenly uttered a warning
+shout, and, looking back, they saw the two baggage animals coming along
+at a sharp pace, which was immediately participated in by the rest of
+the horses, all trotting forward as fast as the nature of the ground
+would allow to get to a patch of green that showed at the foot of a
+great rock; and upon reaching it, there, as Yussuf had said, was a
+copious stream, which came spouting out from a crevice in the rock,
+clear, cool, and delicious, for the refreshment of all.
+
+The horses and baggage were left here in charge of the driver, and,
+following Yussuf, the little party were soon after at the foot of a very
+rugged precipice, the guide pointing upwards, and exclaiming:
+
+"Behold, effendi, it is as I said."
+
+For a few moments they all gazed upwards, seeing nothing but what
+appeared to be the rugged face of the cliff; but soon the eye began to
+make out a kind of order here and there, and that rugged ranges of
+stones had been built up on shelves of the rock, with windows and doors,
+but as far as could be made out these rock-dwellings had been roofless;
+and were more like fortifications than anything else, the professor
+said.
+
+"Yes, effendi," said Yussuf gravely, "strongholds, but dwelling-places
+as well.  People had to live in spots where they would be safe in those
+days.  Are you going to climb up?"
+
+"Certainly," was the reply.
+
+"That is well, for up beyond there is a way to an old temple, and a
+number of caves where people must have been living."
+
+"But where is the road up?" said Lawrence.
+
+"Along that rough ledge," replied Yussuf.  "I will go first.  Would it
+not be better if the young effendi stayed below?  The height is great,
+the road dangerous; and not only is it hot, but there are many serpents
+up among the ledges of the rock."
+
+"What do you say, Lawrence?" said the professor.
+
+"He is going to stop down with me," said Mr Burne shortly.
+
+"No, sir; I am going up," replied Lawrence.  "I may never be able to see
+such wonders as these again."
+
+"But, my dear boy, if you climb up here, I must go too," cried Mr
+Burne.
+
+"Come along, then, sir," cried Lawrence laughing; "the place looks so
+interesting I would not miss going up for the world."
+
+"Humph!  I know I shall be broken before I've done," muttered Mr Burne,
+taking out his handkerchief for a good blow; but glancing back in the
+direction where they had left the horses, he altered his mind, as if he
+dreaded the consequences, and replacing the silken square, he uttered a
+low sigh, and prepared to climb.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY.
+
+THE ANCIENT DWELLINGS.
+
+"Look here; stop a minute," said Mr Burne; "if we've got to climb up
+that break-neck place, hadn't we better leave these guns and things at
+the bottom, so as to have our hands clear?"
+
+"No--no--no," exclaimed Yussuf impatiently; "a man in this country
+should never leave his weapons out of his reach."
+
+"Bah! what nonsense, sir!  Anyone would think we were at sea again, or
+in a country where there are no laws."
+
+"There are plenty of laws, Burne," said the professor, "but we are
+getting out of their reach."
+
+"Highwaymen and footpads about, I suppose?" said the old lawyer
+mockingly.  "My dear sir, don't put such romantic notions into the boy's
+head.  This is not Hounslow Heath.  I suppose you will want to make me
+believe next that there are bands of robbers close at hand, with a
+captain whose belt is stuck full of pistols--eh, Yussuf?"
+
+"Oh, yes, sir," said their guide quietly.  "I should not be surprised.
+There are plenty of brigands in the mountains."
+
+"Rubbish, sir; stuff, sir; nonsense, sir!"
+
+"It is true, sir," replied Yussuf sturdily.
+
+"Then what do you mean, sir, if it is true, by bringing us into such a
+place as this?"
+
+Yussuf stared at him wonderingly; and Lawrence burst into a hearty fit
+of laughter.
+
+"Come, come, Burne," cried the professor; "if anyone is to blame, it is
+I.  Of course, this country is in a very lawless state, but all we have
+to do is to preserve a bold front.  Come along; we are wasting time."
+
+Yussuf smiled and nodded, and led the way up over the crumbling stones,
+climbing and pointing out the easiest paths, till they were at the first
+ledge, and were able to inspect the first group of cliff-dwellings,
+which proved to be strongly built roofless places, evidently of vast
+antiquity, and everywhere suggesting that the people who had dwelt in
+them had been those who lived in very troublous times, when one of the
+first things to think about in a home was safety, for enemies must have
+abounded on every side.
+
+For about a couple of hours the professor examined, and climbed, and
+turned over stones, finding here and there rough fragments of pottery,
+while Mr Burne settled himself down in a shady corner and had a nap.
+
+Yussuf was indefatigable, moving fragments of rock and trying to
+contrive ways off the giddy slope to another group of the strange old
+edifices, to which in due time, and not without some risk, the professor
+and Lawrence climbed.  But there was nothing more to reward them than
+they had found below, only that the wisdom of the choice of the old
+occupants was evident, for just as the professor had come to the
+conclusion that the people who made these their strongholds must have
+been at the mercy of the enemies who seized upon the spring down below
+in the ravine, they came upon proof that there was plenty of foresight
+exercised, and that these ancient inhabitants had arranged so as not to
+be forced to surrender from thirst.
+
+It was Lawrence who made the discovery, for having climbed a little
+higher up the cliff face to a fresh ledge, he called to the professor to
+follow, and upon his reaching the spot, a great niche right in the
+cliff, deep and completely hidden, there were the remains of a
+roughly-made tank or reservoir, formed by simply building a low wall of
+stones and cement across the mouth, when it was evident that the water
+that came down from above in rainy weather would be caught and preserved
+for use.
+
+It was all intensely interesting to everyone but Mr Burne, who could
+not get up any enthusiasm on the subject of whom these people were, and
+excused himself from climbing higher on account of his back.
+
+They descended at length, and Mr Burne sighed with satisfaction; but
+Yussuf had more wonders of the past to show the travellers, pointing out
+a narrow path that ran diagonally up the side of the gully, and assuring
+the party that if they only made up their minds to ascend bravely there
+was no danger.
+
+Again it was suggested that Mr Burne should sit down and wait; but the
+only effect of this was to make him obstinate; and he started forward
+and followed Yussuf up the steep path.
+
+It was decidedly dangerous in places where the stones had crumbled away,
+and a slip must have resulted in a terrible fall; but all got well over
+the perilous parts, and at last they climbed to a platform on the side
+of the huge rocky mass, where the low crumbling walls showed where a
+kind of temple had once stood.  Here they had an opportunity of gazing
+down into a valley that was one mass of glorious verdure, through which
+dashed a torrent, whose waters flashed and glittered where the sunbeams
+pierced the overhanging trees, and made the scene one of the most
+beautiful they had seen.
+
+There were more wonders yet, for the face of the rock was honey-combed
+with caverns which ran in a great distance, forming passages and
+chambers connected one with the other.
+
+These had evidently been inhabited, for there were marks of tools
+showing how they had been enlarged, and curious well-like arrangements
+which suggested tanks; but Yussuf assured the travellers that these
+holes in the natural rock were used as stores for grain, this being the
+manner in which it was stored or buried to the present day.
+
+"There," cried Mr Burne, as they came out of the last cave, and stood
+once more upon the platform of rock by the ruins, and had a glorious
+panorama of the defile below--"there, I've been as patient as can be
+with you, but now it's my turn.  What I say is, that we must go back to
+camp at once, and have a rest and a good lunch."
+
+"Agreed," said Mr Preston.  "You have been patient.  What is it,
+Yussuf?" he cried suddenly, as he saw the guide gazing intently down at
+something about half a mile away, far along the winding defile.
+
+"Travellers," said Yussuf; and in that wild, almost uninhabited region,
+the appearance of fellow-creatures excited curiosity.
+
+They were only seen for a few minutes before the party of mounted and
+unmounted men with their baggage were seen to curve round a bold mass of
+rock, and disappear into a narrow valley that turned off almost at right
+angles to that by which they had come.
+
+The descent proved more difficult than the ascent, and Mr Burne made
+several attempts to plunge down or slide amongst the debris instead of
+trusting to his feet; but these accidents were foreseen, and checked by
+Yussuf, who went in front, and at the first sound of a slip threw
+himself down and clung to the rock, making himself a check or drag upon
+the old lawyer's progress.
+
+They reached the bottom at last safely, but heated and weary with the
+long and arduous descent.
+
+Once on tolerably level ground in the bottom of the defile, however,
+their progress was easy, and, with the anticipation of long hearty
+drinks at the clear spring, and a good meal from the store on the
+pack-horses' backs, they strode on bravely in spite of the heat.  The
+track up to the cliff-dwellings was passed; but now that they were
+weary, the way seemed to be twice as far as when they were going in the
+morning, and the defile looked so different upon the return journey that
+at last Lawrence asked with a wistful look whether they had missed the
+spring.
+
+Yussuf smiled and replied that it was below, and not far distant now,
+and a few minutes later they turned an angle in the defile, and came in
+full view of the patch of verdure that marked its presence in the
+sterile stony gorge.
+
+"Hah!" ejaculated Mr Burne, "it makes one know the value of water,
+travelling in a land like this.  Only fancy how clear and cold and
+refreshing it will be."
+
+He nodded and smiled, for it was his custom after having been in any way
+unamiable to try and make up for it by pleasant remarks and jocularity.
+
+"Yes," said Mr Preston; "it does indeed.  This mountain air, too, gives
+one an appetite--eh, Lawrence?"
+
+"Is that curious feeling one has appetite?" said the lad.  "I fancied
+that I was not well."
+
+"But you feel as if you could eat?"
+
+"Oh, yes; a great deal," cried the boy, "and I shall be glad to begin."
+
+"Then it is hunger," said the professor laughing.  "Eh, what?"
+
+This last was in answer to some words uttered loudly by Yussuf, who had
+walked swiftly on, and entered the little depression where they had left
+the man with the horses.
+
+"Gone, excellency, gone!" he cried excitedly, for the place was empty;
+the six horses and the man were not visible.
+
+The little party stood gazing wonderingly at each other.
+
+The water was there, gushing with great force from beneath the towering
+mass of rock; but their supply of food, their means of progression, the
+man whom they had engaged--where were they?
+
+Yussuf stood with his hands clenched, and his brow contracted, gazing
+down at the ground.
+
+Mr Preston looked down the valley in the direction by which they had
+come that morning.
+
+Mr Burne took out his box, partook of a large pinch of snuff, and blew
+his nose violently.
+
+Lawrence walked to the spring, stooped down, and began drinking, dipping
+up a little water at a time in the hollow of his hand.
+
+Then there was a few moments' silence, and the professor spoke.
+
+"It is very vexatious, just when we were so hungry, but it is plain
+enough.  Something has startled the horses.  Your Ali Baba, Lawrence,
+has been biting them, and they have all gone off back, and Hamed has
+followed to catch them.  There, let's have a draught of spring water and
+trudge back."
+
+"Humph! yes," said Mr Burne hopefully.  "We may meet them coming back
+before long."
+
+They each drank and rose refreshed.
+
+"Come, Yussuf," said the professor.  "This way."
+
+"No, effendi," he exclaimed sharply; "not that way, but this."
+
+"What do you mean?" cried Mr Preston, for the guide pointed up the
+ravine instead of down.
+
+"The horses have not been frightened, but have been stolen--carried
+off."
+
+"Nonsense, man!" cried Mr Burne.
+
+"See!" said Yussuf, pointing to the soil moistened by the stream that
+ran from the source, "the horses have gone along this little valley by
+the side of the stream--here are their hoof-marks--and come out again
+higher up beyond this ridge of the mountain.  Yes: I know.  The valleys
+join again there beyond where we were to-day, and I ought to have known
+it," he cried, stamping his foot.
+
+"Known?  Known what, man?" cried Mr Burne angrily.
+
+"That those men, who I said were travellers, were the robbers, who have
+seized our horses, and carried everything off into the hills."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY ONE.
+
+A SKIRMISH.
+
+"This is a pretty state of affairs," cried Mr Burne, opening and
+shutting his snuff-box to make it snap.  "Now, what's to be done?"
+
+"Tramp to the nearest village, I suppose, and buy more," replied the
+professor coolly, "We must expect reverses.  This is one."
+
+"Hang your reverses, man!  I don't expect and I will not have them, if I
+can help it--serves us right for not watching over our baggage."
+
+"Well, Yussuf, I suppose you are right," said the professor.
+
+"Yes, effendi.  What is to be done?"
+
+"What I say."
+
+"Yes; what you say," replied the Turk frowning; "and he is so young.  We
+are only three."
+
+"What are you thinking, Yussuf?"
+
+"That it makes my blood boil, effendi, to be robbed; and I feel that we
+ought to follow and punish the dogs.  They are cowards, and would fly.
+A robber always shrinks from the man who faces him boldly."
+
+"And you would follow them, Yussuf?"
+
+"If your excellency would," he said eagerly.
+
+The grave quiet professor's face flushed, his eyes brightened, and for a
+few moments he felt as if his youthful days had come back, when he was
+one of the leaders in his college in athletics, and had more than once
+been in a town-and-gown row.  All this before he had settled down into
+the heavy serious absent-minded student.  There was now a curious
+tingling in his nerves, and he felt ready to agree to anything that
+would result in the punishment of the cowardly thieves who had left them
+in such a predicament; but just then his eyes fell upon Lawrence's
+slight delicate figure, and from that they ranged to the face of Mr
+Burne, and he was the grave professor again.
+
+"Why, Preston," said the old lawyer, "you looked as if you meant
+fighting."
+
+"But I do not," he replied.  "Discretion is the better part of valour,
+they say."  Then, turning to Yussuf--"What is the nearest place to where
+we are now?"
+
+Yussuf's face changed.  There was a look of disappointment in it for a
+few moments, but he turned grave and calm as usual, as he said:
+
+"There is a village right up the valley, excellency.  It is partly in
+the way taken by the robbers, but they will be far distant by now.  They
+are riding and we are afoot."
+
+"But is it far?"
+
+"Half the distance that it would be were we to return to the place we
+left this morning."
+
+"Forward, then.  Come, Lawrence, you must walk as far as you can, and
+then I will stay with you, and we will send the others forward for
+help."
+
+"I do not feel so tired now," said the lad.  "I am ready."
+
+Yussuf took the lead again and they set off, walking steadily on
+straight past the cliff-dwellings, and the ruins by the cave, till they
+reached the spot in the beautifully-wooded vale where, from far above,
+they had seen the horsemen pass, little thinking at the time that they
+were bearing off their strong helps to a journey through the mountains,
+and all the food.
+
+Here the beaten track curved off to the left, and the traces left by the
+horses were plain enough to see, for there was a little patch of marshy
+ground made by a little spring here, and this they had passed, Yussuf
+eagerly scanning them, and making out that somewhere about twelve horses
+had crossed here, and there were also the footprints of five or six men.
+
+"If we go this way we may overtake the scoundrels," said the old lawyer,
+"but it will not do.  Yussuf, I am a man of peace, and I should prove to
+be a very poor creature in another fight.  I had quite enough to last me
+the rest of my life on board that boat.  Here, let's rest a few hours."
+
+"No, excellency; we must go on, even if it is slowly.  This part of the
+valley is marshy, and there are fevers caught here.  I have been along
+here twice, and there is a narrow track over that shoulder of the
+mountain that we can easily follow afoot, though we could not take
+horses.  It is far shorter, too.  Can the young effendi walk so far?"
+
+Lawrence declared that he could, for the mountain air gave him strength.
+So they left the beaten track, to continue along a narrow water-course
+for a couple of miles, and then rapidly ascend the side of one of the
+vast masses of cliff, the path being literally a shelf in places not
+more than a foot wide, with the mountain on their left rising up like a
+wall, and on their right the rock sank right down to the stream, which
+gurgled among the masses of stone which had fallen from above, a couple
+of hundred feet below them and quite out of sight.
+
+"'Pon my word, Yussuf, this is a pretty sort of a place!" panted Mr
+Burne.  "Hang it, man!  It is dangerous."
+
+"There is no danger, effendi, if you do not think of danger."
+
+"But I do think of danger, sir.  Why, bless my heart, sir, there isn't
+room for a man to turn round and comfortably blow his nose."
+
+"There is plenty of room for the feet, effendi," replied Yussuf; "the
+path is level, and if you will think of the beautiful rocks, and hills,
+and listen to the birds singing below there, where the stream is
+foaming, and the bushes grow amongst the rocks, there is no danger."
+
+"But I can't think about the beauty of all these things, Yussuf, my man,
+and I can only think I am going to turn giddy, and that my feet are
+about to slip."
+
+"Why should you, effendi?" replied the Turk gravely.  "Is it not given
+to man to be calm and confident, and to walk bravely on, in such places
+as this?  He can train himself to go through what is dangerous to the
+timid without risk.  Look at the young effendi!" he added in a whisper;
+"he sees no danger upon the path."
+
+"Upon my word!  Really!  Bless my heart!  I say, Preston, do you hear
+how this fellow is talking to me?"
+
+"Yes, I hear," replied the professor.  "He is quite right."
+
+"Quite right!"
+
+"Certainly.  I have several times over felt nervous, both in our climb
+this morning, and since we have been up here; but I feel now as if I
+have mastered my timidity, and I do not mind the path half so much as I
+did."
+
+"Then I've got your share and my own, and--now, just look at that boy.
+It is absurd."
+
+"What is absurd?" said the professor quietly.
+
+"Why, to see him walking on like that.  Ill!  Invalid!  He is an
+impostor."
+
+The professor smiled.
+
+"I say, is it safe to let him go on like that?"
+
+"So long as he feels no fear.  See how confident he is!" said Mr
+Preston.
+
+Just then Lawrence stopped for the others to overtake him.
+
+"Have you noticed what beautiful white stone this is, Mr Preston?" he
+said.
+
+He pointed down at the path they were on, for every here and there the
+rock was worn smooth and shiny by the action of the air and water,
+perhaps, too, by the footsteps of men for thousands of years, and was
+almost as white as snow.
+
+"Yes," said the professor, "I have been making a mental note of it, and
+wishing I had a geologist's hammer.  You know what it is, I suppose?"
+
+"White stone, of course," said Mr Burne.
+
+"Fine white marble," said the professor.
+
+"Nonsense, sir!  What! in quantities like this?"
+
+"To be sure."
+
+"But it would be worth a large fortune in London."
+
+"Exactly, and it is worth next to nothing here, because it could not be
+got down to the sea-shore, and the carriage would be enormous."
+
+"What a pity!" exclaimed the old lawyer.  "Dear me!  Fine white marble!
+So it is.  What a company one might get up.  The Asia Minor Major Marble
+Quarry Company--eh, Preston?"
+
+"Yes, in hundred-pound shares that would be worth nothing."
+
+"Humph!  I suppose not.  Well, never mind.  I'd rather have a chicken
+pie and a loaf of bread now than all the marble in the universe.  Let's
+get on."
+
+Their progress was slow, for in spite of all that Yussuf had said they
+had to exercise a great deal of care, especially as the narrow track
+rose higher and higher, till they were at a dizzy height above the
+little stream, whose source they passed just as the sun was getting low;
+and then their way lay between two steep cliffs; and next round a sunny
+slope that was dotted with huge walnut-trees, the soil being; evidently
+deep and moist consequent upon a spring that crossed their path.
+
+The trees were of great girth, but not lofty, and a peculiarity about
+them was that they were ill-grown, and gnarled and knotted in a way that
+made them seem as if they were diseased.  For every now and then one of
+them displayed a huge lump or boss, such as is sometimes seen upon elms
+at home.
+
+"There's another little fortune there, Burne," said the professor
+quietly.
+
+"Nonsense, sir!  There isn't a tree in the lot out of which you could
+cut a good board.  Might do for gun-stocks."
+
+"My dear Burne," said the professor, "don't you know that these large
+ugly bosses go to Europe to be steamed till they are soft, and then
+shaved off into leaves as thin almost as coarse brown paper, and then
+used and polished for all our handsome pianofortes?"
+
+"No," said Mr Burne shortly, "I didn't know it, and I didn't want to
+know it.  I'm starving, and my back is getting bad again.  Here, Yussuf,
+how much farther is it?"
+
+"Two hours' journey, excellency; but as soon as we reach that gap in the
+rocks we come to a road that leads directly to the village, and the
+walking will be easier."
+
+"Hadn't we better try and shoot a bird or an animal, and make a fire
+under those trees, and see if we can find some walnuts?  I must eat
+something.  I cannot devour snuff!"
+
+The professor smiled.
+
+"There is nothing to shoot," he said; "and as to the walnuts, they are
+very nice after dinner with wine, but for a meal--"
+
+"Here, Lawrence, you are tired out, my boy," cried Mr Burne
+interrupting.
+
+"Yes, I am very tired," said Lawrence, "but I can go on."
+
+"It is dreary work to rest without food," said Yussuf, "but it might be
+better to get on to the spring yonder, and pick out a sheltered place
+among the rocks, where we could lie down and sleep for a few hours, till
+the moon rises, and then continue our journey."
+
+"That's the plan, Yussuf; agreed _nem con_," cried Mr Burne.
+
+"Perhaps it will be best," said Mr Preston, and they journeyed on for
+another half hour, till they reached the gap which their guide had
+pointed out, one which proved to be the embouchure of another ravine,
+along the bottom of which meandered a rough road that had probably never
+been repaired since the Romans ruled the land.
+
+"Let us go a little way in," said Yussuf; "we shall then be sheltered
+from the wind.  It will blow coldly when the sun has set."
+
+He led the way into a wild and awful-looking chasm, for the shadows were
+growing deeper, and to the weary and hungry travellers the place had a
+strangely forbidding look, suggestive of hidden dangers.  But for the
+calm and confident way in which Yussuf marched forward, the others would
+have hesitated to plunge into a gorge of so weird a character, until the
+sun had lightened its gloomy depths.
+
+"I think this will do," said Yussuf, as they turned an angle about a
+couple of hundred yards from the entrance.  "I will climb up here first.
+These rocks look cave-like and offer shelter.  Hist!"
+
+He held up his hand, for a trampling sound seemed to come from the face
+of the rocks a couple of hundred feet above them, and all involuntarily
+turned to gaze up at a spot where the shadows were blackest.
+
+All except Yussuf, who gazed straight onward into the ravine.
+
+It was strange.  There was quite a precipice up there, and it was
+impossible for people to be walking.  What was more strange, there was
+the trampling of horses' feet, and then it struck the professor that
+they were listening to the echoes of the sounds made by a party some
+distance in.
+
+"How lucky!" said Mr Burne.  "People coming.  We shall get something to
+eat."
+
+"Hush, effendi!" said Yussuf sternly.  "These may not be friends."
+
+"What?" exclaimed Mr Burne, cocking his gun.
+
+"Yes; that is right, excellencies; look to your arms.  If they are
+friends there is no harm done.  They will respect us the more.  If they
+are enemies, we must be prepared."
+
+"Stop!" said Mr Preston, glancing at Lawrence.  "We must hide or run."
+
+"There is time for neither, effendi," said Yussuf, taking out his
+revolver.  "They will be upon us in a minute, and to run would be to
+draw their fire upon us."
+
+"Run!" exclaimed Mr Burne; "no, sir.  As I'm an Englishman I won't run.
+If it was Napoleon Bonaparte and his army coming, and these were the
+Alps, I would not run now, hungry as I am, and I certainly will not go
+for a set of Turkish ragamuffins or Greeks."
+
+"Then, stand firm here, excellencies, behind these stones.  They are
+mounted; we are afoot."
+
+The little party had hardly taken their places in the shadow cast by a
+rock, when a group of horse and footmen came into sight.  They were
+about fourteen or fifteen in number apparently, some mounted, some
+afoot, and low down in that deep gorge the darkness was coming on so
+fast that it was only possible to see that they were roughly clad and
+carried guns.
+
+They came on at a steady walk, talking loudly, their horses' hoofs
+ringing on the stony road, and quite unconscious of anyone being close
+beside the path they were taking till they were within some forty yards,
+when a man who was in front suddenly caught sight of the group behind
+the rocks, checked his horse, uttered a warning cry, and the next moment
+ample proof was given that they were either enemies or timid travellers,
+who took the party by the rocks for deadly foes.
+
+For all at once the gloomy gorge was lit by the flashes of pretty well a
+dozen muskets, the rocks echoed the scattered volley, and magnified it
+fifty-fold, and then, with a yell, the company came galloping down, to
+rush past and reach the open slope beyond.
+
+How it all happened neither Mr Burne nor the professor could fully have
+explained.  It must have been the effect of Yussuf's example, for, as
+the bullets flew harmlessly over the party's head, he replied with shot
+after shot from his revolver, discharging it at the attacking group.  As
+he fired his second shot, Mr Burne's fowling-piece went off, both
+barrels almost together, and the professor and Lawrence both fired as
+the group reached them, and after them, as it passed and went thundering
+by and down the slope out beyond the entrance to the gorge.
+
+"Load again quickly," cried the professor; "they may return.  There is
+one poor wretch down."
+
+His command was obeyed, empty cartridges thrown out and fresh ones
+inserted; but the trampling of horses' hoofs was continued, and
+gradually grew more faint, as the little party descended from their
+improvised fort.  They ran down, for something curious had occurred.
+
+As the band of horsemen charged, their company seemed to divide in two,
+and the cause appeared to be this:
+
+One of the mounted men was seen to fall from his saddle and hang by the
+stirrup, when his horse, instead of galloping on, stopped short, and
+five other horses that were seen to be riderless stopped, after going
+fifty yards, and cantered back to their companion and huddled round him.
+
+"Why, there's Ali Baba!" cried Lawrence excitedly, as he ran down and
+caught his little steed by the bridle.
+
+"And the pack-horses!" cried Mr Burne quite as excitedly, as he
+followed.
+
+"Enemies, not friends, effendi," said Yussuf quickly.
+
+For all had seen at once now that they had recovered their lost horses,
+it being evident that the travellers, by taking the short cut, had got
+ahead of the marauding band, for such they seemed to be; and they had
+possibly made the task the easier by halting somewhere on the way to let
+their horses feed.
+
+But there was another cause for the horses keeping together, and not
+following those of the strangers in their headlong flight, for, on
+coming up, the reason for the first one stopping was perfectly plain.
+Hamed, the pack-horse driver, had been made prisoner, and, poor fellow!
+secured by having his ankles bound together by a rope which passed
+beneath the horse's girths.  When the charge had been made he had
+slipped sidewise, being unable to keep his seat, and gone down beneath
+his horse, with the result that the docile, well-trained animal stopped
+at once, and then its comrades had halted and cantered back.
+
+"Is he much hurt, Preston?" said Mr Burne eagerly, as the professor
+supported the poor fellow, while Yussuf drew out his dagger and cut the
+rope.
+
+"I cannot say yet.  Keep your eyes on the mouth of the gorge, and fire
+at once if the scoundrels show again."
+
+"They will not show again, effendi," said Yussuf.  "They are too much
+scared.  That's better.  The horses will stand.  They know us now.  Take
+hold of your bridle, Mr Lawrence, and the others will be sure to stay."
+
+Lawrence obeyed, and rested his piece on the horse's back, standing
+beside him and watching the mouth of the defile, while the others
+carried the injured man to the side and laid him down, the professor
+taking out his flask which was filled with spirit.
+
+"Yes," said Yussuf, acquiescing.  "It is not a drink for a true
+believer, but it is a wonderful medicine, effendi."
+
+So it proved, for soon after a little had been poured down Hamed's
+throat the poor fellow opened his eyes and smiled.
+
+"It is your excellencies!" he said in his native tongue; and upon Yussuf
+questioning him, he told them faintly that he was not much hurt, only a
+little stunned.  That he was seated by the fount, with his horses
+grazing, when the band of armed men rode up, and one of them struck him
+over the head with the barrel of his musket, and when he recovered
+somewhat he found himself a prisoner, with his legs tied as he was
+found, and the horses led and driven down a narrow defile, out of which
+they had made their way into a forest of shady trees.  Later on they had
+made a halt for a couple of hours, and then continued their journey,
+which was brought to an end, as far as he was concerned, by his falling
+beneath his horse.
+
+"What is to be done now?" said the professor.
+
+"Eat," exclaimed Mr Burne, "even if we have to fight directly after
+dinner."
+
+"The effendi is right," said Yussuf smiling.  "If we go on, we may fall
+into a trap.  If we go back a little way here till we find a suitable
+spot, the enemy will not dare to come and attack us in the dark.  Can
+you walk, Hamed?"
+
+The poor fellow tried to rise, but his ankles were perfectly numbed, and
+there was nothing for it but to help him up on one of the horses, and go
+back farther into the gloomy ravine, which was perfectly black by the
+time they had found a likely place for their bivouac, where the horses
+would be safe as well, and this done, one of the packs was taken down
+from its bearer and a hearty meal made by all, Yussuf eating as he kept
+guard with Lawrence's gun, while Hamed was well enough to play his part
+feebly, as the horses rejoiced in a good feed of barley apiece.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY TWO.
+
+THE USE OF A STRAW HAT.
+
+"There," said Mr Burne, as he lit a cigar, and sat with his back to a
+stone; "if anybody in Fleet Street, or at my club, had told me I could
+have such an adventure as this, I should have said--" Here he paused.
+
+"What, Mr Burne?" asked Lawrence after a time.
+
+"Tarradiddle!" replied the old gentleman shortly, and he took out his
+handkerchief to blow his nose, but promptly suppressed the act, and
+said:
+
+"No; wait till we get somewhere that is likely to be safe."
+
+That word "safe" occurred to everybody in the silence of that dark and
+solemn gorge, whose sombre aspect was enough to daunt the most
+courageous; but somehow that night, in spite of the riskiness of their
+position, no one felt much alarmed.
+
+There were several things which combined to make them feel cheerful.
+One was the company, for the knowledge of being there with a trusty
+companion on either side was encouraging.
+
+Then there was the calm confidence given by the knowledge that their
+enemies had run from them like a flock of sheep before a dog.
+
+Lastly, there were the satisfactory sensations produced by the recovery
+of their horses and belongings, and consequent enjoyment of a good meal.
+
+Taken altogether, then, after proper arrangements had been made to
+secure the horses, and for a watch being kept, no scruple was felt about
+lying down to sleep, everyone with his weapons ready for use in case of
+an attack, which after all was not greatly feared.
+
+Lawrence wanted to take his turn at keeping guard, but the professor
+forbade it.
+
+"No," he said; "you have done your day's work.  Sleep and grow strong.
+You will help us best by getting vigorous;" and hence it was that the
+lad lay down in the solemn stillness of the vast place, gazing up at the
+stars, which seemed dazzlingly bright in the dark sky, and then it
+seemed to him that he closed his eyes for a moment, and opened them
+again to see the mountain slopes bathed in sunshine, while the birds
+were twittering and piping, and the black desolate gorge of the previous
+night was a scene of loveliness such as he could not have imagined
+possible there.
+
+"Shows the value of the sun, Lawrence," said the professor laughing;
+"and what a fine thing it would be if some of our clever
+experimentalists could contrive to bottle and condense enough sunshine
+to last us all through the winters."
+
+Just then Yussuf came up through the dewy grasses and flowers with
+Lawrence's gun over his shoulder.
+
+"Well," said the professor, "what next--a good breakfast, and then
+start?"
+
+"Yes, effendi," said the Turk, "but the other way."
+
+"Other way?"
+
+"Yes, effendi; the band of rascals are lying in ambush for us about a
+mile distant."
+
+"Are you sure?"
+
+Yussuf smiled.
+
+"I went out at the mouth of the ravine to observe," he said; "and I
+could see nothing till, all at once, I saw a flash of light."
+
+"Well?"
+
+"Such a flash could only be reflected from a sword or gun."
+
+"From water--a piece of glass--or crystal."
+
+"No, excellency.  There is no water up on the mountain slope.  Pieces of
+glass are not seen there, and a crystal must be cut and polished to send
+forth such rays.  The enemy are waiting for us in a depression, out
+there beyond the mouth of the plain, and we must go back the other way."
+
+"Of course.  It will be safer.  But after a time they will follow us."
+
+"I think I can stop that, effendi," said their guide smiling; and while
+the horses were being loaded, and everything was being got ready for a
+start, Yussuf took out his knife, and selecting from among the bushes a
+good straight stick, he cut and trimmed it carefully till it was about
+the length of a gun.
+
+This done, he climbed up the ridge that screened them from the mouth of
+the gorge, and, selecting a spot from whence a good view of the sloping
+plain beyond could be obtained, he walked up and down for a few minutes.
+
+After this he beckoned to the professor and the others to join him; and
+as soon as they were there he drew their attention to a clump of bushes,
+as they seemed, but which must have been trees, a couple of miles away,
+though in that wondrously clear mountain air the distance did not seem
+to be a quarter.
+
+Mr Burne was nearest to the guide, in his straw hat, which he had
+retained in safety so far through having it secured by a lanyard, but it
+was growing very shabby, and was much out of shape from its soaking in
+the sea.
+
+The professor noticed that Yussuf--who was conspicuous in his red fez
+skull-cap, about which was rolled a good deal of muslin in the form of a
+turban or puggree--kept walking up and down on the edge of the ridge,
+and pointing out to Mr Burne the beauty of the prospect, with the
+distant ranges of snow-topped mountains, and the old lawyer kept on
+nodding his satisfaction.
+
+"Yes.  Very fine--very fine," he said; "but I want my breakfast."
+
+"There!" exclaimed Mr Preston suddenly.  "I saw it yonder."
+
+"The flash of light, effendi?" said Yussuf quietly.
+
+"Yes.  And there again."
+
+"I saw it then," said Lawrence quickly; and no one doubted now that
+their guide was right.
+
+After staying there for about a quarter of an hour Yussuf suggested that
+as the horses were ready, breakfast should be hastily eaten and they
+should start.  Consequently all went down, a hearty meal was made,
+Yussuf taking his walking to and from the ridge to guard against
+surprise, and then he approached Mr Burne to request him to give up his
+straw hat.
+
+"My straw hat!" exclaimed the old gentleman in astonishment.
+
+"Yes, effendi," replied Yussuf.  "I propose to fasten it, after wearing
+it for a few minutes and walking up and down, on one of the little
+bushes at the top of the ridge, and to stick this little pole out by its
+side."
+
+"What! to look like a man on guard?" cried Lawrence eagerly.
+
+"Yes," replied Yussuf.  "It will keep the enemy where they are watching
+it for half the day, even if it does not keep them till evening before
+they find out their mistake."
+
+"Then, stick your turban there," said Mr Burne shortly.
+
+"I would, effendi, if it would do as well, but it would not be so
+striking, nor so likely to keep them away.  They might suspect it to be
+a trick; but they would never think that an English effendi would leave
+his hat in a place like that."
+
+"And quite right, too," said the old lawyer with a snort.  "No; I shall
+not expose my brains to the risk of sunstroke, sir.  Bah!  Pish!  Pooh!
+Absurd!"
+
+There was a shiver among the horses, and a disposition to start off
+again, for Mr Burne blew another of his sonorous blasts; but the moment
+he whisked out his yellow silk flag, the others, as if by instinct,
+seized the horses' bridles and checked them in time.
+
+"Pah!  Bless my heart!" ejaculated the old gentleman, as soon as he saw
+what he had done.  "Here, Lawrence, you will have to take all my
+pocket-handkerchiefs away till we get back to a civilised land."
+
+"If the effendi would let me have his handkerchiefs I could make him a
+turban to keep off the sun, or if he would condescend to wear my fez it
+is at his service."
+
+"Rubbish!  Stuff!" cried Mr Burne, taking off his battered straw hat,
+which looked as if he had slept in it on the previous night, if not
+before, and then sticking it on again at a fierce angle.  "Do I look
+like a man, sir, who would wear a fez with a towel round it?  Hang it
+all, sir, I am an Englishman."
+
+Yussuf bowed.
+
+"Why, he must think me mad, Lawrence."
+
+"My dear Burne," said the professor smiling, "Yussuf is quite right.
+Come, you might make that concession."
+
+"Sir, do I look like a man who would wear a fez with a jack-towel
+twisted round it?" cried Mr Burne in the most irate manner.
+
+"You certainly do not, my dear Burne," said the professor laughing; "but
+you do look like a man who would make any sacrifice for the benefit of
+his party."
+
+"Ah!  I thought as much," cried the old gentleman.  "Now you come round
+me with carney.  There, Yussuf, take it," he cried, snatching off his
+straw hat and sending it skimming through the air.  "Now, then, what
+next?  Do you want my coat and boots to dress up your Guy Fawkes with?
+Don't be modest, pray.  Have even my shirt too while you are about it."
+
+He took five pinches of snuff in succession so close to Ali Baba that
+the horse began to sneeze--or snort would be the better term.
+
+Yussuf smiled, and took off his fez, from which he rapidly untwisted the
+muslin folds.
+
+"Your excellency will condescend to wear my fez?" he said.
+
+"No, sir, I will not," cried Mr Burne.  "Certainly not."
+
+"But your excellency may suffer from sunstroke," said Yussuf.  "I must
+insist."
+
+"You must what?" cried Mr Burne angrily.
+
+"Insist, your excellency," replied Yussuf gravely.  "I am answerable for
+your safety.  Your life, while I am in your service, is more than mine."
+
+"And yet, sir, you brought me here, along a break-neck path, to fight
+robbers yesterday.  Didn't they shoot at me?"
+
+"I could not prevent that, excellency," said Yussuf smiling.  "I can
+prevent you from being smitten by the sun.  Your handkerchief, please."
+
+"Oh, all right!" exclaimed Mr Burne ruefully.  "I suppose I am nobody
+at all here.  Take it.  Here are two."
+
+"Hah!" ejaculated Yussuf smiling with satisfaction, and with all the
+oriental's love of bright colours, as he took the two yellow silk
+handkerchiefs, and rolled them loosely before arranging them in a
+picturesque fashion round his bright scarlet fez, and handing the
+head-dress back to Mr Burne.
+
+"Humph!" ejaculated that gentleman, putting it on with a comical
+expression of disgust in his countenance.  "Here, you, Lawrence, if you
+dare to laugh at me, I'll never forgive you."
+
+"Do, please, Mr Burne," cried the lad, "for I must laugh: I can't help
+it."
+
+So he did laugh, and the professor too, while the old lawyer gave an
+angry stamp.
+
+"Look here," said the professor; "shall I wear the fez, and you can take
+my hat?"
+
+"Stuff, sir! you know your head's twice as big as mine," cried Mr
+Burne.
+
+"Have mine, Mr Burne," said Lawrence.
+
+"Bah! do you think I've got a stupid little head like you have.  No, I
+shall wear the fez, and I hope we shall meet some English people.  It
+will be a warning to them not to come out into such wild spots as this."
+
+The fact was that the old gentleman looked thoroughly picturesque, while
+Yussuf looked scarcely less so, as he rapidly turned the roll of muslin
+which he had taken from his fez into a comfortable white head-dress and
+put it on.
+
+Then, taking the stick and the straw hat, he climbed up to the top of
+the ridge, where they saw him shoulder the stick and walk to and fro as
+if on guard, before rapidly arranging the hat upon the top of a little
+cypress-tree, and placing the stick through the branches at a slope.
+
+So cleverly was this done, that even from where the travellers stood
+just below, the ruse was effective.  Seen from a quarter of a mile away
+it must have been just like Mr Burne on sentry.
+
+"There," said the old lawyer with comic anger, "worse and worse.  I am
+being set up in effigy for these barbarians to laugh at."
+
+"No," said the professor, "we are having the laugh at them."
+
+Yussuf came down smiling after finishing his task, and then, a final
+glance round having been given, and a look at the arms, they prepared to
+mount.
+
+One of the baggage-horses bore the grain used for their supply, and as a
+good feed for six horses night and morning had somewhat reduced his
+load, he was chosen to bear Hamed.
+
+For the driver, in spite of the bold face he put upon the matter, was
+quite unfit to walk.  The rough treatment he had received when his legs
+were tied together had completely crippled him, and in addition his head
+was injured by a kick from his horse when he fell.
+
+The man was brave, though, as soon as he found that he was not to be
+left behind, and all being now ready, Yussuf climbed the ridge once more
+to see whether the enemy was approaching, and after peering just over
+the edge, he descended, and they went on down the defile as fast as
+their horses could walk.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY THREE.
+
+THE PROFESSOR IS STARTLED.
+
+It was an exciting flight, the more so from the fact that they were
+obliged to keep on at a foot-pace because of the baggage-horses, when at
+any moment they knew that the enemy might appear behind in full chase.
+Certainly the road was bad, and it was only here and there that they
+could have ventured upon a trot or canter; but this did not lessen the
+anxiety that was felt.
+
+A dozen times over the professor would have been glad to pause and
+investigate some wonderful chasm or rift, but Yussuf was inexorable.  He
+pointed out that it would be madness to stop, for at any time the enemy
+might appear in sight, so Mr Preston had to resign himself to his fate.
+
+It was the same when, during the heat of the afternoon, they came to the
+ruins of a tower placed upon an angle in the defile quite a thousand
+feet above the rough track, so as to command a good view in every
+direction.  From where they stood it looked ancient enough to have been
+erected far back in the days when the armies of Assyria or Egypt passed
+through these gates of the country; certainly it was not later than the
+Roman times.
+
+"One might find inscriptions, perhaps, or something else to explain when
+it was made," said the professor.  "Come, Yussuf, don't you think we
+might stop and ascend here?"
+
+"No, effendi," replied Yussuf sternly.  "Those dogs may be close upon
+our track, and I cannot let you run risks.  We are not all men."
+
+"Yussuf is perfectly right," said Mr Burne, who had become quite
+reconciled to his fez with its gaudy roll of yellow silk; in fact, two
+or three times over he had taken it off and held it up to examine it as
+it rested on his fist.  "He is perfectly right," he repeated, "we do not
+want to fight, unless driven to extremities, and discretion is the
+better part of valour."
+
+"Yes," said the professor, looking up longingly at the watch-tower,
+"but--"
+
+"Now, my dear Preston, you really must not run risks for the sake of a
+few stones," cried the old lawyer.  "Come."
+
+There was no help for it, so the professor sighed, and they rode slowly
+on, with the heat growing more and more intense, till toward sundown,
+when, about a hundred and fifty feet above the path, there was a cluster
+of ruins, evidently of quite modern date, and among them a few old
+fruit-trees, one of which, a plum, showed a good many purple fruit here
+and there.
+
+The lawyer made a peculiar noise with his mouth as he drew rein, the
+others following his example.
+
+"Now, there are some ruins that you might very well examine," he said,
+pointing upwards with the barrel of his gun.  "Shall we dismount and
+climb up?"
+
+"To see these?" said the professor quietly; and then a change came over
+his countenance, and he laughed softly as he turned round to look his
+travelling companion in the face.  "Which stones do you want to look
+at?" he said.
+
+"Those, sir, those," cried Mr Burne fiercely.  "Can't you see?"
+
+"No," said the professor smiling; "I do not know which you mean, whether
+it is the building stones or the plum stones."
+
+"Tchah!" ejaculated the old gentleman, with his face puckering up into a
+comical grin.  "There, come along."
+
+Yussuf smiled too as he rode on, and at the end of a few moments he said
+gravely:
+
+"The plums would not have been worth gathering, effendi.  They are a
+bitter, sour kind."
+
+"Grapes are too, when the fox cannot reach them--eh, Lawrence?"
+
+No more was said, for every one was exhausted with the long slow ride.
+The little wind there was came from behind, and they were wandering in
+and out to such an extent that the soft mountain-breeze was completely
+shut off, and the horses were beginning to suffer terribly now from want
+of water to quench their burning thirst.
+
+At last, in front, that for which they had been hoping to see appeared
+to be at hand, for a patch of broad green bushes at the foot of a rock
+told plainly that their fresh growth must be the result of abundant
+watering at the roots, and, pressing onward, to their delight the horses
+proved the correctness of their belief by breaking into a canter, and
+soon carrying them to where the defile ended in one of larger extent, at
+whose junction a spring of clear water gushed from the foot of a rock,
+and Lawrence cried eagerly:
+
+"Why, this is the old place where we left Hamed!"
+
+And so it proved to be.
+
+Here, pursued or not, it was absolutely necessary to stop and recruit
+the horses, even if they had been prepared to suffer themselves; so a
+halt was made, one of the party took it in turn to be sentry, and the
+package containing provision was undone, the horses finding plenty of
+herbage to satisfy their wants.
+
+Yussuf took the first watch, while Lawrence and his friends were
+enjoying their repast with the hunger and appetite produced by such a
+long fast; and then Lawrence took his place, while Yussuf seated himself
+upon a stone by the spring, and began eating his simple meal of hard
+bread and a few dates.
+
+The night was coming on fast; and, enticed by the beauty of the shadows
+that were deepening in the gorge through which they had gone in pursuit
+of the robbers the day before, the professor walked on and on till he
+was nearly abreast of the rock-dwellings.
+
+They were just visible, but where he stood the gorge was in profound
+darkness, and he remained watching the ruins fade away as it were in the
+evening gloom, till, feeling that it was time to return, he was in the
+act of going back, when a peculiar click struck his ear, and he knew as
+well as if he had seen the act that a horse had struck its armed hoof
+against a stone.
+
+Had he felt any doubt it was set aside by a low snort, and, feeling that
+one of their steeds had strayed after him, and then gone on toward the
+end of the gorge, he was about to hurry forward and seize it, when a
+second click startled him, and in an instant he realised that the enemy
+had evidently been duped by the sham sentry, and given up the attempt to
+attack them.  What was more, he grasped that the enemy had started a
+ruse of their own, and were coming along the larger gorge, to turn back
+during the night by the spring, so as to take them in the rear, while
+they were expecting an attack in front.
+
+The professor realised all this as he stood there in the darkness
+leaning upon his gun, and afraid to stir, for he knew that to do so was
+to betray his whereabouts to a set of men who would perhaps take his
+life, and even if they spared this, carry him off to hold him to ransom.
+
+Worse still; they would then go on and surprise the party by the spring,
+his presence betraying their whereabouts, for there was only one spot
+likely in that stony wilderness for people to halt, and that was of
+course by the water side.
+
+What was he to do?
+
+It was a hard question, and the professor felt himself at his wits' end.
+He had stepped a dozen yards out of the track, and was standing amongst
+some rough stones which helped the darkness to conceal his presence,
+though the valley was in such a deep shadow that, as he strained eyes
+and ears to make out and count the enemy, he could do neither, though he
+knew now that they had halted just opposite to him, and he could hear
+them whispering evidently in consultation before they took another step
+in advance.
+
+The professor stood there in the darkness with the perspiration
+streaming down his face as he recalled the stories he had heard of the
+atrocities committed by the outlaws who made their homes in the
+mountains of the sultan's dominions.  He was tortured by a dozen
+different plans which suggested themselves for his next course of
+action, but neither of them commended itself for second consideration,
+while there he was, face to face with the one great difficulty, that he
+was cut off from his companions, and unable to stir without betraying
+his presence and being captured or perhaps slain.
+
+To stir was impossible.  He hardly dared to breathe, while his heart
+throbbed with so audible a beat that he fully expected it to betray his
+whereabouts.
+
+It was a perilous time, and his agony of mind was terrible, for just
+then it seemed to him that he had, to gratify his own selfishness,
+brought the son of his old friend--a lad weak and wasted from a long
+illness--into a peril which might have been avoided.  There they were,
+perfectly unconscious of danger in this direction; and as soon as the
+party had finished their whispered consultation he felt that they would
+steal cautiously on and make their attack.
+
+What should he do--fire at them or over them, and in the confusion make
+a dash for the little camp?
+
+He dared not risk it, for it seemed a clumsy, gambling experiment, which
+would most probably result in failure.
+
+What should he do then--sacrifice himself?
+
+Yes.  It seemed after all that his firing would not be so clumsy an
+expedient, for even if it ended in his own destruction it would warn his
+friends and place them upon their guard.
+
+He hesitated for a few moments, as he tried once more to realise the
+position.  This might not, after all, be the gang of men who had stolen
+their horses; but everything pointed to the fact that it was, as he had
+at first imagined--that they had been duped by Yussuf's ruse, and then
+made, by some way known to them, for the principal gorge, down which
+they had come to turn into the lesser ravine by the spring, and then in
+the night or early morning, take their victims in the rear, drive them
+out into the open country, and master them with ease.
+
+While Mr Preston was running over all this in his own mind he could
+hear the low whispering of the little, body of men going on, and every
+now and then an impatient stamp given by one of the horses, followed by
+a low muttered adjuration in the Turkish dialect, bidding the animal be
+still.
+
+It was only a matter of minutes, but it seemed to be hours before the
+band of men began to move forward cautiously through the darkness, and
+more than ever the professor blamed himself for not staying with his
+friends, but only to acknowledge the next moment that if he had done so
+he would not have known of the approach of the foe.
+
+As near as he could judge the enemy had about half a mile to go, and not
+knowing what to do Mr Preston began to follow them cautiously, getting
+as near as he could while straining his eyes to make out the figures of
+the mounted men as they moved slowly on.
+
+By degrees he found out that he was left a long way behind, but while
+quickening his pace he was compelled to do so with the greatest caution,
+and to walk with outstretched hands, for, though high above his head the
+starlight enabled him to make out the line of the high cliff against the
+sky, all below in that gorge was of pitchy blackness, and he had to
+guide himself by stepping carefully more than by the use of his eyes.
+
+In spite of his care he was, he found, being left more and more behind,
+and yet he dare not hasten for fear of coming suddenly upon the rear of
+the party.
+
+But at last, quite in despair, he pressed forward, trusting to his good
+fortune to get near enough to note their actions without being detected,
+so that at last he was within a very few yards, and he kept that
+distance till he felt that they must be very near the spring, when, as
+he pressed on, keeping to the path, as he believed, he suddenly found
+himself about to stumble over a low block of blackish stone just beneath
+his feet.
+
+He tried to save himself, but he was too late, and he blundered right
+upon it; but instead of knocking the skin off his shins, and falling
+heavily, he was stricken back, for the object he had taken for a rock
+felt soft, sprang up, and he found, as the man, who had been stooping to
+bind up his rough gear, uttered a few angry words in his own tongue,
+that he had come upon a laggard of the party.
+
+It was evident that in the darkness the man imagined that he was
+addressing a companion, for he gripped the professor fiercely and
+whispered a question.
+
+A struggle would have ensued, but just then a clear voice rang out on
+the night air, sounding wild and strange, and echoing from the face of
+the cliff as it seemed to cut the black darkness.
+
+The man dropped the professor's arm which he had seized, sprang away
+into the darkness ahead, and then there was utter silence.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR.
+
+RECEIVING THE ENEMY.
+
+Lawrence kept the watch in the ravine by which they had reached the
+spring that day, and as he posted himself a little way up the slope,
+where he could shelter himself behind a block of stone and gaze for some
+distance along the deep rift among the rocks, he could not help feeling
+somewhat elated by his position.
+
+He was stiff and sore with his long ride, but the refreshment of which
+he had partaken and the pleasant coolness of the evening air raised his
+spirits, and he smiled to himself as he felt that his strength was
+returning, and that he was drinking in health with every breath of the
+pure air around.
+
+There was something so important, too, in his position on sentry there,
+with a loaded gun resting upon the rock, the gun he took such pains to
+polish and keep free from every spot of rust.  Only a short time since
+he was lying back in his easy-chair in Guilford Street, waited upon
+incessantly by Mrs Dunn, while now he was a traveller passing through
+adventures which startled him sometimes, and at others thrilled him by
+their strangeness and peril.
+
+"It is like reading a book," he said to himself as he stood there
+watching the side of the ridge high up, with its rugged masses of stone,
+and a feathery cypress here and there turned to orange and gold by the
+setting sun.
+
+Then he went over again the skirmish of the past night, and how the
+robbers had been beaten off.  Next he began to wonder whether the band
+would stop at the end of the ravine long, and soon after, having
+surfeited himself with gazing at the fading light in the sky and the
+blackening rocks that had so lately been glistening as if of gold, he
+began to yawn and think that he should much like to lie down and sleep
+off this weariness which seemed to be coming over him like a mist.
+
+He leaned more and more upon the stone, so as to stare down the ravine,
+which kept growing darker and darker, till the bushes and tall feathery
+cypresses began to assume suspicious forms and seem to be tall watchers
+or crouching men coming slowly forward to the attack.
+
+A dozen times over he felt sure that he was right, and that he ought to
+fire or run back and give the alarm.  But a dread of being laughed at
+checked him; and then he seemed to see more clearly and to make out that
+these were not men, but after all trees and bushes upon the slope.
+
+This gave him more confidence for a time, as the shades of evening fell
+fast, and all below in the deep ravine grew black, but he was startled
+again by a low rushing noise that came down the valley, followed by a
+piteous wail which sent a chill through him, and made the hands which
+held the gun grow moist.
+
+"Was it the night breeze or some bird?" he asked himself, and as he was
+debating with himself as to whether he might not summon Yussuf or Mr
+Burne to stay with him, there came a gentle crackling noise from the
+side of the ravine, such as might be made by some wild beast, fresh from
+its lair, and in search of food.
+
+"What could it be?" he asked himself, as in spite of his determination
+his nervousness increased, and he realised that strength of mind is a
+good deal dependent upon vigour of body, and that he was far from
+possessing either.
+
+What wild beast was it likely to be?  He had heard of Syrian lions, but
+he thought that there could not be any there now; tigers he knew enough
+of natural history to feel would be in India; leopards in Africa.  Then
+what was this which approached?  It must be one of two things--either a
+hyena or a wolf.
+
+The former he had heard was extremely cowardly, unless it had to deal
+with a child or a lamb; but wolves, if hungry, were savage in the
+extreme, and as the noise continued, he brought the muzzle of the gun to
+bear, and the _click, click_, made by the locks sounded so loudly in the
+still evening air, that the creature, whatever it was, probably a lemur
+or wild-cat, took alarm, bounded off, and was heard no more.
+
+Then the heavy sleepy sensation began to resume its sway, and though the
+lad remained standing, his eyes closed, and he was suddenly completely
+overcome with fatigue and fast asleep, when he woke with a start, for a
+voice just behind him said:
+
+"Well, boy, how are you getting on?" and a faint odour of snuff,
+sufficient to be inhaled and to make him sneeze, roused Lawrence into
+thorough wakefulness.
+
+"I was getting drowsy, Mr Burne," said Lawrence sadly.
+
+"Enough to make you, my lad.  I've had a nap since I sat down, but I'm
+fresh as a daisy now.  I'm to relieve you, while Yussuf or the professor
+is to come by and by and relieve me.  I say, how do you like playing at
+soldiers?"
+
+"Playing at soldiers, Mr Burne?"
+
+"Well, what else do you call it?--mounting guard, and fighting robbers,
+and all that sort of thing.  I'm getting quite excited, only I don't
+know yet whether it's true."
+
+"It is true enough," said Lawrence laughing.
+
+"Oh, I don't know so much about that.  It doesn't seem to be possible.
+Couldn't believe that such things went on in these days, when people use
+telephones and telegraphs and read newspapers."
+
+"It does seem strange and unreal, sir, but then so do all these
+beautiful valleys and mountains."
+
+"So they do to us, my boy.  Shouldn't wonder if they are all theatrical
+scenery, or else we shall wake up directly both of us and say, `Lo! it
+was a dream.'"
+
+Lawrence sneezed twice heavily, for it was impossible to be in Mr
+Burne's company long without suffering from the impalpable dust that
+pervaded all his clothes; and as the old gentleman looked on with a grim
+smile and clapped his young companion on the shoulder, he exclaimed:
+
+"You are right, Lawrence, my lad, it is all real, and that proves it.  I
+never knew anyone sneeze in a dream.  There, go back.  Relieve guard.
+I'm sentry now, and I feel as if I were outside Buckingham Palace, or
+the British Museum, only I ought to have a black bearskin on instead of
+this red fez with the yellow roll round it.  How does it look, eh?"
+
+"Splendid, sir.  It quite improves you," replied Lawrence.
+
+"Get out, you young impostor!" cried the old lawyer.  "There, be off.
+You are getting well."
+
+Lawrence laughed and went back to the camping-place by the spring, where
+Hamed was bathing his ankles in the cold water, and Yussuf was
+diligently attending to the horses, whose legs he hobbled so as to keep
+them from straying away, though they showed very little inclination for
+this, the clear water and the abundant clover proving too great an
+attraction for them to care to go far.
+
+It was rapidly getting dark now, and hearing from Yussuf that the
+professor had taken his gun and strolled off along the great gorge,
+Lawrence was disposed to follow him, but the sensation of stiffness, the
+result of many hours in the saddle, made him prefer to await his return.
+Picking out, then, a snug spot among some stones that had fallen from
+above, where a clump of myrtles perfumed the soft evening air, he
+settled himself down, and soon sank into a comfortable drowsy state, in
+which he listened to the _munch munch_ of the horses, and a low crooning
+song uttered by Hamed as he finished his task of bathing his swollen
+ankles, and then walked up and down more strongly, pausing every now and
+then to stoop and rub them well.
+
+Soon after Yussuf came to his side, and stood looking along the gorge
+towards where the cliff-dwellings clustered on high; but it was too dark
+to see them now.
+
+"It is time the effendi was back," he said.  "He will not be long now.
+You will keep watch while I go and speak with his excellency, Burne."
+
+"Yes, I am well awake again, now," said Lawrence, starting up.  "I wish
+I did not grow so sleepy."
+
+"Why?" said Yussuf gently, as he laid his hand upon the boy's arm.  "I
+love to see you sleep, and sleep well.  It is a good sign.  It means
+that you are growing strong and well, and will some day be a stout and
+active man."
+
+"Do you think so?" said Lawrence dreamily.
+
+"I feel sure so," replied the Turk gravely.  "I am not educated like you
+Franks from the west, but I have lived to middle age, and noticed many
+things.  You are growing better and stronger.  I will go now and come
+back soon.  The effendi will be here then, and we two will watch, and
+you shall sleep."
+
+He strode away into the gathering darkness, passing the spring, turning
+round by the right, and making for the spot where the sentry were
+posted.  Here Mr Burne showed no inclination to go back to the little
+camp, but stood talking to him in his dry manner, for mutual dislike was
+gradually changing into a certain amount of friendliness.
+
+Meanwhile the horses went on biting off great mouthfuls of the rich
+clover that grew near the stream, and munched and munched up the juicy
+herbage as Lawrence listened and watched the pathway to see if he could
+catch sight of Mr Preston returning with his gun.
+
+It grew darker and darker still, but the professor did not come, and
+Lawrence began to grow drowsy again.
+
+He fought against it, but the desire to sleep overcame him more and
+more.  His head sank lower, and in an instant he was dreaming that he
+heard that rustling sound again of some wild animal approaching the
+group of rocks where he was stationed.
+
+Wolf--hyena--some fierce creature that was coming steadily on nearer and
+nearer, till before long it would spring upon him, and in the
+nightmare-like sensation he felt as if he were struggling to get away,
+while it fascinated him and held him to his place.
+
+One--two--three--four--there were several such creatures drawing nearer
+and nearer, and he could not cry for help, only stay motionless there in
+his horrible dread.
+
+Nearer--nearer--nearer, till he fancied he could see them in the
+darkness gathering themselves up to spring, and still he could not
+move--still he could not shout to his friends for help, till all at once
+he seemed to make a desperate spring, and then he was awake and staring
+into the thick darkness, telling himself that it was fancy.
+
+No; there were sounds farther up the gorge--sounds as of some animals
+coming softly down, nearer and nearer, but not wolves or hyenas.  They
+were horses.
+
+There was no doubt about it--horses; and now fully awake, the lad felt
+filled by a new alarm.  For who could it be but an enemy stealing along
+in the darkness; and in the sudden alarm, he did not pause to argue out
+whether it might not be travellers like themselves, but shouted in a
+clear ringing voice:
+
+"Who's that?"
+
+There was utter stillness in the deep gorge, just broken by the gurgling
+of the fount as the water gushed from below the rock; and in his alarm,
+startled as much by the deep silence as he had been by the sounds of
+approaching horsemen, Lawrence shouted again:
+
+"Who's that?" and then, hardly knowing what he did, he raised his gun
+and fired.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE.
+
+AFTER THE SCARE.
+
+The sides of the gorge took up the report of Lawrence's fowling-piece,
+and a volley of echoes ran rapidly along the valley; but that was no
+echo which rang out directly after, for there were two bright flashes,
+and a couple of shots that were magnified into terrific sounds, as they
+too rolled along the deep passage between the rocks.
+
+To Lawrence they seemed to be the answer to his fire from the enemy,
+and, in the excitement of the moment, before attempting to reload, he
+fired again, the flash from his piece cutting the darkness and resulting
+in another volley of echoes.
+
+Then there was a hoarse shout given in a commanding voice, followed by a
+shrill yell, and what seemed to be quite a large body of horsemen
+thundered by, while directly after, as Lawrence was trying to reload his
+piece, the darkness was cut again twice over by a couple of clear
+flashes, and the rocks rang out in a series of echoes as if a company of
+infantry had drawn trigger at the word of command.
+
+Meanwhile the beating of hoofs continued, growing more distant minute by
+minute, till the sounds died away.
+
+Then they rose again as if the band were returning, but it was only the
+reflected sound from the great face of some rock which they were
+approaching in their flight; and once more the noise faded, and
+Lawrence, as he stood there half petrified, heard a familiar voice
+shout:
+
+"Lawrence!  Lawrence, boy, are you there?"
+
+"Yes, yes, Mr Preston; here."
+
+A low murmur came out of the darkness as if the professor had spoken
+some words, Lawrence never knew what, and the next minute they were
+together standing listening to the sound of footsteps, and their guide
+came panting up.
+
+"What is it?" he cried.
+
+Mr Preston explained, and Yussuf stood thinking for a few moments, and
+hit upon the solution of the mystery at once.
+
+"I am not worthy of my name," he cried.  "I see it all now; they must
+have come round this way to surprise us."
+
+"And we have surprised them--so it seems," said the professor coolly.
+"Our firing scared them.  Will they come back?"
+
+"Here! anyone killed? anyone killed?" cried Mr Burne excitedly, as he
+came panting up to his friends.
+
+"I sincerely hope not," said the professor; and he explained anew what
+had occurred.  "But what is to be done now, Yussuf?"
+
+"Excellency, I hardly know what to say.  If we retreat at once it is a
+terrible march in the dark, and we should be much at our enemies' mercy.
+If we stay here we are greatly exposed, but it is better to be on guard
+than retreating.  I learned that when fighting with my people up
+northward against the Russ."
+
+"You think, then, that they will come back?"
+
+"It is impossible to say, effendi.  Perhaps not to-night, but we dare
+not trust them.  We must be prepared."
+
+"Let us see to the horses," cried Mr Preston.  "Hamed!"
+
+There was no reply, but, upon Yussuf shouting the name, a response came
+from far up the ravine, and they found that the horses were missing.
+
+"Oh, yes; I forgot to tell you," said Mr Burne; "they scampered up past
+me, when there was all that noise down below here.  One of them nearly
+knocked me over."
+
+They soon found that Hamed had limped off in search of the horses which
+had taken fright, and but for the fact that Yussuf had hobbled their
+forelegs, they would have galloped away.
+
+As it was they were soon secured, and, the party being divided into two
+watches, a careful guard was kept by one, while the other lay down to
+sleep with weapons ready to hand in case of an alarm.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY SIX.
+
+YUSSUF PREACHES STICK.
+
+There was no further alarm that night, for the marauders had dashed off
+in the full belief that they were attacked in front and rear, the four
+shots, multiplied by the tremendous echoes from the rocks, combining
+with the darkness to make them believe that their enemies were many, and
+they had not stopped till they were miles away.  As to making a fresh
+attack that was the last thing in their thoughts.
+
+The night, then, passed peacefully away, but the amount of rest obtained
+was very little indeed.
+
+After lying watching some time, Lawrence had fallen asleep, and had been
+awakened before daybreak by the professor, so that Hamed might have some
+repose; but, instead of lying down, the driver went off to his horses,
+and when Lawrence looked along the valley at sunrise, it was to see that
+Yussuf had spread his praying carpet, and was standing motionless with
+his hands outspread toward the east.
+
+A hasty meal was eaten, and then a fresh start made, with Yussuf in
+front, and the professor and Mr Burne, who looked like some sheik or
+grandee in his scarlet and yellow turban, a hundred yards behind, their
+guns glistening in the morning sun.
+
+The force was not strong, for, with Yussuf as advance guard, the
+professor and Mr Burne as rear, Lawrence had to form himself into the
+main body, as well as the baggage guard.  But as this was the whole of
+their available strength, the most was made of it, and they rode back
+along the ravine as fast as they could get the baggage-horses forward,
+momentarily expecting attack, and in the hope of seeing some travellers
+or people of the country, who would, for payment, give them help; but
+when in the afternoon they reached the spot where the old lawyer's
+Panama hat, perched on the top of the cypress, still kept guard, they
+had not seen a soul.
+
+Mr Burne was for recovering his hat, but yielded to good counsel, which
+was in favour of hastening on to the village some few miles below in the
+open country, before the enemy appeared.
+
+"Just as you like," he said.  "I will not oppose you, for I do not feel
+at all in a fighting humour to-day."
+
+The result was that just after sundown they rode into the little
+village, where about thirty men stood staring at them in a sour and
+evil-looking manner, not one responding to the customary salute given by
+Yussuf.
+
+The latter directed himself to one of the best-dressed men, standing by
+the door of his house, and asked where they could got barley for the
+horses.
+
+The man scowled and said that there was none to be had.
+
+Yussuf rode on to another, who gave the same answer.
+
+He then applied to a third, and asked where a room or rooms and
+refreshment could be obtained, but the man turned off without a word.
+
+Patiently, and with the calm gentlemanly manner of a genuine Turk, he
+applied in all directions, but without effect.
+
+"Have you offered to pay for everything we have, and pay well, Yussuf?"
+said the professor, as he sat there weary and hungry, and beginning to
+shiver in the cold wind that swept down from the snow-capped mountains.
+
+"Yes, excellency, but they will not believe me."
+
+"Show them the firman," said the professor.
+
+This was done, but the people could not read, and when they were told of
+its contents they shrugged their shoulders and laughed.
+
+It was growing dark, the cold increasing, and the travellers wearied out
+with their journey.
+
+"What is to be done, Yussuf?" said Mr Preston; "we cannot stop out here
+all night, and we are starving."
+
+"They are not of the faithful," said Yussuf indignantly.  "I have spoken
+to them as brothers, but they are dogs.  Look at them, effendi.  They
+are the friends and brethren of the thieves and cut-throats whom we met
+in the mountains."
+
+"Yes, we can see that, my good friend," said Mr Burne drily; "but as we
+say in our country--`soft words butter no parsnips.'"
+
+"No, effendi, soft words are no good here," replied Yussuf; and he took
+the thick oaken walking-stick which Mr Burne carried hanging from his
+saddle bow.
+
+"What are you going to do, Yussuf?" said Mr Preston anxiously, as he
+glanced round at the gathering crowd of ill-looking villagers, who
+seemed to take great delight in the troubles of the strangers.
+
+"Going to do, effendi," said Yussuf in a deep voice full of suppressed
+anger; "going to teach these sons of Shaitan that the first duty of a
+faithful follower of the Prophet is hospitality to a brother who comes
+to him in distress."
+
+"But, Yussuf," said Mr Preston anxiously.
+
+"Trust me, effendi, and I will make them remember what it is to insult
+three English gentlemen travelling for their pleasure.  Are we dogs that
+they should do this thing?"
+
+Before Mr Preston could interfere, Yussuf gave Hamed the bridle of his
+horse to hold, and, making up to the man who seemed to be the head-man
+of the village, and who certainly had been the most insolent, he knocked
+off his turban, caught him by the beard, and thrashed him unmercifully
+with the thick stick.
+
+Both Mr Preston and his companion laid their hands upon their
+revolvers, bitterly regretting Yussufs rashness, and fully expecting a
+savage attack from the little crowd of men, several of whom were armed.
+
+But they need not have been uneasy; Yussuf knew the people with whom he
+had to deal, and he went on belabouring the man till he threw himself
+down and howled for mercy, while the crowd looked on as if interested by
+the spectacle more than annoyed; and when at last, with a final stroke
+across the shoulders, Yussuf threw the man off, the people only came a
+little closer and stared.
+
+"Now," said Yussuf haughtily, and he seemed to be some magnate from
+Istamboul, instead of an ordinary guide, "get up and show the English
+lords into a good room, help unpack the baggage, and make your people
+prepare food."
+
+The man rose hastily, screwing himself about and rubbing his shoulders,
+for he was evidently in great pain; but he seemed to get rid of a
+portion thereof directly by calling up three of his people, two of whom
+he kicked savagely for not moving more quickly, and missing the third
+because he did display activity enough to get out of his way.
+
+Then obsequiously bowing to the professor and Mr Burne, he led the way
+into the best house in the village, his men holding the horses, and
+Yussuf stopping back to see that the baggage was taken in, and the
+horses carefully stabled in a snug warm place, where plenty of barley
+was soon forthcoming.
+
+"Why, Yussuf's stick is a regular magician's wand," said Mr Burne, as
+the master of the house showed them into his clean and comfortable best
+room, where he bustled about, bringing them rugs and cushions, while,
+from the noises to be heard elsewhere, it was evident that he was giving
+orders, which resulted in his sending in a lad with a tray of coffee,
+fairly hot and good, and wonderfully comforting to the cold and weary
+travellers.
+
+"Now," said Mr Burne, "what a chance for him to poison us and finish us
+off."
+
+"Have no fear of that.  The man would not injure us in that way," said
+the professor; "but I must confess to being rather uncomfortable, for I
+am sure we are in a nest of hornets."
+
+"Hark!" said Mr Burne, "I can hear a sizzling noise which means
+cooking, so pray don't let's have any prophecies of evil till the supper
+is over.  Then, perhaps, I shall be able to bear them.  What do you say,
+Lawrence?"
+
+"Supper first," said the latter laughing.
+
+"Very well, then," said Mr Preston smiling; "we will wait till after a
+good meal.  Perhaps I shall feel more courageous then."
+
+"What is he doing?" said Lawrence quietly, as their host kept walking in
+and out, for apparently no other reason than to stare at Mr Burne's
+scarlet and yellow head-dress.
+
+"I see," said Mr Preston quietly; "he evidently thinks Mr Burne here
+is some great grandee.  That fez and its adornments will be a protection
+to us as you will see."
+
+"Bah!" ejaculated the old lawyer; "now you are prophesying to another
+tune, and one is as bad as the other.  Give it up; you are no prophet.
+Oh, how hungry I am!"
+
+"And I," cried Lawrence.
+
+"Well," said the professor gravely, "to be perfectly truthful, so am I.
+Here, mine host," he said in Arabic, "bring us some more coffee."
+
+The man bowed low, smiled, and left the room with the empty cups, and
+returned directly after with them full, and after another glance at the
+scarlet and yellow turban, he looked at the swords and pistols and
+became more obsequious than ever.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN.
+
+CATCHING A TARTAR.
+
+If there had been any intention on the part of their host to deal
+deceitfully with them, he would have had plenty of opportunity, during
+about a couple of hours of the night, when it was the professor's turn
+to keep watch, for he fell fast asleep, and was awakened by Yussuf, who
+shook his head at him sadly.
+
+Morning came bright and cheery, with the birds singing, and the view
+from their window exquisite.  Close at hand there were the mountains,
+rising one above another, and rich with the glorious tints of the trees
+and bushes that clung to their sides, and after gazing at the glorious
+prospect, with the clear air and dazzling sunshine, Mr Burne exclaimed:
+
+"Bless me!  What an eligible estate to lay out in building plots!
+Magnificent health resort!  Beats Baden, Spa, Homburg, and all these
+places, hollow."
+
+"And where would you get your builders and your tenants?"
+
+"Humph!  Hah!  I never thought of that.  But really, Preston, what a
+disgraceful thing it is that such a lovely country should go to ruin!
+Hah! here's breakfast."
+
+For at that moment their host came in, and in a short time good bread,
+butter, yaourt or curd, coffee, and honey in the comb were placed before
+them, and somehow, after a good night's rest, the travellers did not
+find the owner of the house so very evil-looking.
+
+"Oh, no, effendi, he is not a bad fellow.  He bears no malice," said
+Yussuf, "these men are used to it.  They get so terribly robbed by
+everyone who comes through the village that they refuse help on
+principle till they are obliged to give it, when they become civil."
+
+"He is pleasant enough this morning," said Mr Burne.  "The man seems
+well off, too."
+
+"Yes, effendi, he is rich for a man of his station.  And now I have news
+for the effendi Preston."
+
+"News?  Not letters surely?" said the professor.
+
+"No, effendi; but there are ruins close by across the valley.  An old
+city and burying-place is yonder, this man tells me.  Nobody ever goes
+there, because the people say that it is inhabited by djins and evil
+spirits, so that no one dares to go and fetch away the stones."
+
+The professor rubbed his hands gleefully, and Mr Burne dropped the
+corners of his lips as he helped himself to some more yaourt.
+
+"How are you getting on with this stuff, Lawrence?" he said.
+
+"I like it," was the reply.
+
+"So do I," said Mr Burne grimly.  "It puts me in mind of being a good
+little boy, and going for a walk in Saint James's Park with the nurse to
+feed the ducks, after which we used to feed ourselves at one of the
+lodges where they sold curds and whey.  This is more like it than
+anything I have had since.  I say, gently, young man, don't eat
+everything on the table."
+
+"But I feel so hungry up here in the mountains," cried Lawrence
+laughing.
+
+"Very likely, sir," said Mr Burne with mock austerity; "but that is no
+reason why you should try and create a famine in the land."
+
+"Let him eat; Burne," said the professor; "he wants bone and muscle."
+
+"But he is eating wax," cried Mr Burne sharply.  "Let him eat chicken
+bone and muscle if he likes, and the flesh as well, but that would be no
+reason why he should eat the feathers."
+
+"I am only too glad to see him with a good appetite," said the professor
+pushing the butter towards Lawrence with a smile.
+
+"So am I.  Of course.  But I draw the line at wax.  Confound it all,
+boy! be content with the honey."
+
+"I would," said Lawrence with his mouth full; "but it is all so mixed
+up."
+
+"Humph!" ejaculated Mr Burne.  "Are you going to have a look at those
+old stones, Preston?"
+
+"Most decidedly."
+
+"In spite of the djins and evil spirits?"
+
+"Yes," replied the professor.  "I suppose they will not alarm you,
+Yussuf?"
+
+The guide smiled and shook his head.
+
+"I am most alarmed about those other evil spirits, effendi," he said
+smiling; "such as haunt these mountains, and who steal horses, and rob
+men.  I think the effendi will find some curious old ruins, for this
+seems to have been a famous place once upon a time.  There is an old
+theatre just at the back."
+
+"Theatre?  Nonsense!" said the old lawyer with a snort.
+
+"I meant amphitheatre, effendi--either Greek or Roman," said Yussuf
+politely.
+
+"Here, I say, Yussuf," said Mr Burne, lowering the piece of bread which
+he had raised half-way to his mouth; "are you an Englishman in disguise
+pretending to be a Turk?"
+
+Yussuf smiled, and then turned and arrested Mr Preston, who was about
+to leave his breakfast half finished and get ready to go and see the
+amphitheatre.
+
+"Pray, finish first, excellency," he said.  "You will not miss it now,
+but in a few hours' time you will be growing faint, and suffer for want
+of being well prepared."
+
+"You are right," said the professor.
+
+The breakfast was ended, and then, while the horses were being loaded,
+the travellers followed their host down the steep slope which formed his
+garden, and then by a stiff bit of pathway to where a splendid spring of
+water gushed right out of the rock; and the presence of this source
+explained a great deal, and made plain why ruins were to be found close
+at hand.
+
+In fact, they came upon dressed stones directly, and it was evident that
+there had been a kind of temple once close to the spring, for a rough
+platform remained which had been cut down level to the edge of the
+water.  The face of the rock had been levelled too, and upon it there
+were remains of a rough kind of inscription, while, upon examining the
+dressed stones which lay here and there, several, in spite of their
+decay, still retained the shape which showed that they had formed
+portions of columns.
+
+But, search how the professor would, he could find nothing to show what
+the date of the edifice had been.
+
+Five minutes' climbing amongst broken stones brought them to a clump of
+trees and bushes, mingled with which were a few white-looking fragments
+which looked so natural that the professor's heart sank with
+disappointment.  The stones appeared to be live stones, as geologists
+call it; in other words, portions of rock which had never been
+disturbed.
+
+But their host pushed on through the brambles and roses, which looked as
+natural as if they were in an English wilderness, only that the trees
+that rose beyond them were strange.
+
+"It's all labour in vain, Yussuf," said Mr Preston in rather a
+disappointed tone.  "You have not seen this theatre."
+
+"No, excellency; but the man described it so exactly, that I felt he
+must be right; and--yes, he is."
+
+As he spoke, he drew aside some bushes, and they found themselves gazing
+across heap upon heap of loose fragments of very pure white stone that
+was not unlike marble, and the cause of whose overthrow had most likely
+been the strong growth of the abundant trees, for the roots had
+interlaced and undermined them till they were completely forced out of
+place.  Beyond this chaos, that lay nearly buried in greenery, rose up
+one above the other what seemed to Lawrence at the first glance to be
+the ruins of a huge flight of steps built in a semicircular form, but
+which he recognised at once, from pictures which he had seen, as an
+amphitheatre.
+
+There was no mistaking it.  The steps, as he had thought them to be,
+were the seats of stone rising tier above tier, now broken, mouldering,
+and dislodged in many places, but in others curiously perfect.
+
+Where they, the travellers, stood must have been occupied by the actors,
+far back in the past perhaps a couple of thousand years ago; and these
+remains were all that was left to tell of the greatness of the people
+who once ruled in the land--great indeed, since they left such relics as
+these.
+
+Mr Burne said "Humph!" sat down, and lit a cigar, while their host
+rested upon a stone at a short distance, to admire the scarlet and
+yellow turban.  Yussuf followed the professor, whose eyes flashed with
+pleasure, while the old lawyer muttered derisively:
+
+"Come all the way, to see a place like this!  Why, I could have taken
+him to the end of Holborn in a cab, and shown him the ruins of Temple
+Bar all neatly numbered and piled-up, without all these pains."
+
+The professor did not hear his remark, for he was too intent upon his
+examination of the carefully built place, which he was ready to
+pronounce of Greek workmanship; but there was no one but Yussuf to hear.
+For Lawrence had noted that, where the stones lay baking in the sun,
+innumerable lizards were glancing about, their grey and sometimes green
+armoured skins glistening in the brilliant sunshine, and sending off
+flashes every time they moved.  Some were of a brownish hue clouded with
+pale yellow; and as they darted in and out of the crevices and holes
+among the stonework, they raised their heads on the look-out for danger,
+or to catch some heedless fly before darting again beneath the levelled
+stones or amongst the grass and clinging plants which were covering them
+here and there.
+
+Poisonous or not poisonous? that was the question Lawrence asked himself
+as he crept closer and watched the actions of the nimble bright-eyed
+creatures, longing to capture one or two, but hesitating.
+
+A reference to Yussuf solved the doubt.
+
+"Oh, no; perfectly harmless as to poison," he said; "but some of the
+larger ones can nip pretty sharply."
+
+"And draw blood?"
+
+"The largest would," he said; "but you need have no fear," he added
+dryly; "catch all you can.  I should be careful, though, for sometimes
+there are snakes lurking amongst the stones, and some of them are
+venomous.  But you know the difference between a snake and a lizard?"
+
+"Oh, yes," cried Lawrence laughing, "that's easy enough to tell."
+
+"Not always, effendi, when they are half hidden in the grass."
+
+Lawrence nodded, and went away to try and stalk one of the lizards.  The
+professor was busy making measurements and taking notes, while Mr Burne
+smoked on peaceably, and the Turk, who had led them here, crouched down
+and stared at the scarlet and yellow turban as if it fascinated him,
+while overhead the sun poured down its scorching beams and there was a
+stillness in the air that was broken by the low buzz and hum of flies,
+and the deep murmur of the spring below.
+
+Lawrence crept softly along to one white stone upon which three lizards
+were basking; and after a moment's hesitation thrust out his hand,
+making sure that he had seized one by the neck, but there were three
+streaks upon the white stone like so many darting shadows, and there was
+nothing.
+
+"Wasn't quick enough," he said to himself, and he went softly to another
+stone upon which there was only one, a handsome reptile, which looked as
+if it had been painted by nature to imitate polished tortoise-shell.
+
+The sun flashed from its back and seemed to be hot enough to cook the
+little creature, which did not stir, but lay as if fast asleep.
+
+"I shall have you easy enough," said Lawrence, as he gradually stepped
+up to the place and stooped and poised himself ready for the spring.
+
+He was not hasty this time, and the reptile was perfectly unsuspicious
+of danger.  There was no doubt about the matter--it must be asleep.  He
+had so arranged that the sun did not cast the shadow of his arm across
+the stone, and drawing in his breath, he once more made a dart at the
+lizard, meaning if he did not catch it to sweep it away from its hole,
+and so make the capture more easy.
+
+_Snatch_!
+
+A brown streak that faded out as breath does from a blade of steel; and
+Lawrence hurt his hand upon the lichened stone.
+
+"I'm not going to be beaten," he said to himself.  "I can catch them,
+and I will."
+
+He glanced at his companions, who were occupied in the amphitheatre;
+and, having scared away the lizards from the stones there, the lad went
+outside to find that there were plenty of remains about, and nearly all
+of them showed a lizard or two basking on the top.
+
+He kept on trying time after time, till he grew hot and impatient, and
+of course, as his most careful efforts were useless, it was only natural
+to expect that his more careless trials would be in vain.
+
+He was about to give the task up in despair, when all at once he caught
+sight of a good-sized reptile lying with its head and neck protruded
+from beneath a stone, and in such a position as tempted him to have one
+more trial.
+
+This time it seemed to be so easy, and the reptile appeared to be one of
+the kind he was most eager to capture--the silvery grey, for, as they
+lay upon the stones, they looked as if made of oxidised metal, frosted
+and damascened in the most beautiful manner.
+
+Lawrence glanced at the ground so as to be sure of his footing among the
+loose stones and growth, and he congratulated himself upon his
+foresight.  For as he peered about he saw a good-sized virulent-looking
+serpent lying right in his way, and as if ready to strike at anybody who
+should pass.
+
+Lawrence looked round for a stone wherewith to crush the creature, but
+he felt that if he did this he should alarm the lizard and lose it, so
+he drew back and picked up a few scraps, and kept on throwing first one
+and then another at the serpent, gently, till he roused it, and in a
+sluggish way it raised its head and hissed.
+
+Then he threw another, and it again hissed menacingly, and moved itself,
+but all in a sluggish manner as if it were half asleep.
+
+Another stone fell so near, though, that it made an angry dart with its
+head, and then glided out of sight.
+
+Lawrence took care not to go near where it had disappeared, but
+approached the lizard on the stone from a little to the left, which gave
+him a better opportunity for seizing it.
+
+It had not moved, and he drew nearer and nearer, to get within reach,
+noting the while that its body was not in a crack from which the
+creature had partly crept, but concealed by some light fine grass that
+he knew would yield to his touch.
+
+As he was about to dart his hand down and catch it by the neck and
+shoulders, he saw that it was a finer one than he had imagined, with
+flattish head, and very large scales, lying loosely over one another--
+quite a natural history prize, he felt.
+
+They were moments of critical anxiety, as he softly extended his hand,
+balancing himself firmly, and holding his breath, while he hesitated for
+a moment as to whether he should trust to the grass giving way as he
+snatched at the body, or seize the reptile by the head and neck, and so
+make sure.
+
+He had met with so many disappointments that he determined upon the
+latter, and making a quick dart down with his hand, he seized the little
+creature by the neck and head, grasping it tightly, and snatching it up,
+to find to his horror that he had been deceived by the similarity of the
+reptile's head, and instead of catching a lizard he had seized a little
+serpent about eighteen inches long, whose head he felt moving within his
+hand, while the body, which was flat and thick for the length, wound
+tightly round his wrist, and compressed it with more force than could
+have been expected from so small a creature.
+
+He had uttered a shout of triumph as he caught his prize, but his voice
+died out upon his lips, his blood seemed to rush to his heart, and a
+horrible sensation of fear oppressed him, and made the cold dank
+perspiration ooze out upon his brow.
+
+For he knew as well as if he had been told that he had caught up one of
+the dangerous serpents of the land.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT.
+
+HOW TO DEAL WITH AN ASP.
+
+For some minutes Lawrence Grange stood motionless as if turned to stone,
+and though the sun was shining down with tremendous power, he felt cold
+to a degree.  His eyes were fixed upon the scaly creature which he held
+out at arm's length, and he could neither withdraw them nor move his
+arm, while the reptile twined and heaved and undulated in its efforts to
+withdraw its head from the tightly closed hand.
+
+The boy could think little, and yet, strange as it may sound, he thought
+a great deal.  But it was of people who had been bitten by reptiles of
+this kind, and who had died in a few minutes or an hour or two at most.
+He could not think of the best means of disembarrassing himself of the
+deadly creature.  He could do nothing but stand with his eyes fixed upon
+the writhing beast.
+
+It was an asp.  He knew it was from the descriptions he had read of such
+creatures, and then the desire to throw it off--as far as he could, came
+over him, and his nerve began to return.
+
+But only for a moment, and he shivered as he thought of the consequences
+of opening his hand.  He saw, in imagination, the serpent clinging
+tightly with its body and striking him with its fangs over and over
+again.
+
+But had it not already bitten him on the hand as he held that vicious
+head within his palm.
+
+That he could not tell, only that he could feel the rough head of the
+hideous creature, and the scales pressing into his wrist.  But the
+probability was that the creature had not bitten him, though it was
+heaving and straining with all its force, which, like that of all these
+creatures, is remarkably great for their size.
+
+Once, as he stood there staring wildly, a peculiar swimming sensation
+came over him, and he felt as if he must fall; but if he did, it
+occurred to him that he must be at the mercy of this horrible beast, and
+by an effort he mastered the giddiness and stood firm.
+
+How long he stood there he could not tell, only that the horror of being
+poisoned by the reptile seemed more than he could bear, especially now
+that life was beginning to open out with a new interest for him, and the
+world, instead of being embraced by the dull walls of a sick-chamber,
+was hourly growing more beautiful and vast.
+
+All at once he started as it were from a dream, in which before his
+misty eyes the hideous little serpent was assuming vast proportions, and
+gradually forcing open his hand by the expansion of what seemed to be
+growing into a huge head.  For from just behind him there was a hoarse
+cry, and then a rush of feet, and he found himself surrounded by the
+professor, Mr Burne, Yussuf, and the Turk at whose house they stayed.
+
+"Good heavens, Lawrence! what are you doing?" cried the professor.
+
+"Hush! don't speak to him," cried Yussuf in a voice full of authority.
+"Let me."
+
+As he spoke he drew his knife from his girdle.  "Lawrence effendi," he
+said quickly, "has it bitten you?"
+
+The lad looked at him wildly, and his voice was a mere whisper as he
+faltered:
+
+"I do not know."
+
+"Tell me," cried Yussuf, "have you tight hold of it by the head?"
+
+There was a pause, and Lawrence's eyes seemed fixed and staring, but at
+last he spoke.
+
+"Yes."
+
+Only that word; and as the others looked on, Yussuf caught Lawrence's
+right hand in his left, and compressed it more tightly on the asp's
+head.
+
+"There, effendi," he said as he stood ready with his keen bare knife in
+his right hand, "the serpent is harmless now.  Take hold of it by the
+tail, and unwind it from his wrist."
+
+A momentary repugnance thrilled Mr Preston.  Then he seized the little
+reptile, and proceeded to untwine it from its constriction of Lawrence's
+wrist.
+
+It seemed a little thing to do, but it was surprising how tightly it
+clung, and undulated, contracting itself, but all in vain, for Mr
+Preston tore it off and held it out as straight as he could get the
+heaving body, encouraged in his efforts by Yussuf's declaration that the
+head was safe.
+
+Had it not been for his strong grasp the asp would have been torn from
+Lawrence's failing grasp, for he was evidently growing giddy and faint,
+when, placing his knife as close to the neck as he could get it, Yussuf
+gave one bold upward cut and divided the reptile, Mr Preston throwing
+down the writhing body while the head was still held tightly within
+Lawrence's hand.
+
+"Do not give way, Lawrence effendi," said Yussuf in the same stern
+commanding voice as he had used before.  "Hold up your hand--so.  That
+is well."
+
+He twisted the lad's clasped hand, thumb upwards, as he spoke; and those
+who looked on saw a few drops of blood fall from the serpent's neck as
+it moved feebly, the strength being now in the body that writhed among
+the stones.
+
+"Let him throw it down now," cried Mr Preston.  "He may be bitten, and
+we must see to him."
+
+"No," said Yussuf; "he must not open his hand yet.  The head may have
+strength to bite even now.  A few minutes, effendi, and we will see."
+
+He watched Lawrence curiously, and with a satisfied air, for instead of
+growing more faint, the lad seemed to be recovering fast--so fast,
+indeed, that he looked up at Yussuf and exclaimed:
+
+"Let me throw the horrid thing away."
+
+"It did not bite you?" said Yussuf quickly.
+
+"No, I think not.  It had no time," replied Lawrence.
+
+Yussuf said something to himself, and then, as he retained the hand
+within his, he exclaimed:
+
+"Tell us how you came to seize the dangerous beast."
+
+"I took it for a lizard," said the lad, who was nearly himself again,
+and then he related the whole of the circumstances.
+
+"Hah!  An easy mistake to make," said Yussuf loosening his grasp.  "Now,
+effendi, keep tight hold and raise your hand high like this; now, quick
+as lightning, dash the head down upon that stone."
+
+Lawrence obeyed, and the asp's head fell with a dull pat, moved
+slightly, and the jaws slowly opened, and remained gaping.
+
+"Let me look at your hand, Lawrence," cried Mr Preston excitedly.
+
+"Be not alarmed, excellency," said Yussuf respectfully, his commanding
+authoritative manner gone.  "If the young effendi had been bitten he
+would not look and speak like this."
+
+"He is quite right," said Mr Burne, who was looking very pale, and who
+had been watching anxiously all through this scene.  "But was it a
+poisonous snake?"
+
+"One of the worst we have, effendi," said Yussuf, stooping to pick up
+the broad flat head of the reptile, and showing all in turn that two
+keen little fangs were there in the front, looking exactly like a couple
+of points of glass.
+
+"Yes," said the professor, "as far as I understand natural history,
+these are poison fangs.  Bury the dangerous little thing, or crush it
+into the earth, Yussuf."
+
+The guide took a stone and turned it over--a great fragment, weighing
+probably a hundred pounds--and then all started away, for there was an
+asp curled up beneath, ready to raise its head menacingly, but only to
+be crushed down again as Yussuf let the stone fall.
+
+"Try another," said the professor, and a fresh fragment was raised, to
+be found tenantless.  Beneath this the head of the poisonous reptile was
+thrown, the stone dropped back in its place; and, sufficient time having
+been spent in the old amphitheatre, they returned to the Turk's house to
+get their horses and ride off to see the ruins across the stream where
+the djins and evil spirits had their homes.
+
+The horses were waiting when they got back, and the village seemed
+empty; for the people were away for the most part in their fields and
+gardens.  Their host would have had them partake of coffee again, and a
+pipe, but the professor was anxious to get over to the ruins, what he
+had seen having whetted his appetite; so, after paying the man liberally
+for everything they had had, they mounted.
+
+Quite a change had come over their unwilling host of the previous night,
+for as he held Mr Preston's rein he whispered:
+
+"Ask the great effendi with the yellow turban to forgive thy servant his
+treatment last night."
+
+"What does he say, Yussuf?" asked Mr Preston; and Yussuf, as
+interpreter, had to announce that if the effendis were that way again
+their host would be glad to entertain them, for his house was theirs and
+all he had whether they paid or no.
+
+"And tell the effendis to beware," he whispered; "there are djins and
+evil spirits among the old mosques, and houses, and tombs; and there are
+evil men--robbers, who slay and steal."
+
+"In amongst the ruins?" said Yussuf quickly.
+
+"Everywhere," said the Turk vaguely, as he spread out his hands; and
+then, with their saddle-bags and packages well filled with provisions
+for themselves, and as much barley as could be conveniently taken, they
+rode out of the village and turned down a track that led them through
+quite a deep grove of walnut-trees to the little river that ran rushing
+along in the bottom of the valley.  This they crossed, and the road then
+followed the windings of the stream for about a mile before it struck
+upwards; and before long they were climbing a steep slope where masses
+of stone and marble, that had evidently once been carefully squared or
+even carved, lay thick, and five minutes later the professor uttered a
+cry of satisfaction, for he had only to turn his horse a dozen yards or
+so through the bushes and trees to stand beside what looked like a huge
+white chest of stone.
+
+"Hallo, what have you found?" cried Mr Burne, rousing up, for he had
+been nodding upon his horse, the day being extremely hot.
+
+"Found!  A treasure," cried the professor.  "Pure white marble, too."
+
+"There, Lawrence, boy, it's in your way, not mine.  I never play at
+marbles now.  How many have you found, Preston?"
+
+"How many?  Only this one."
+
+"Why, it's a pump trough, and a fine one too," cried the old lawyer.
+
+"Pump trough!" cried the professor scornfully.
+
+"What is it then--a cistern?  I see.  Old waterworks for irrigating the
+gardens."
+
+"My dear sir, can you not see?  It is a huge sarcophagus.  Come here,
+Lawrence.  Look at the sculpture and ornamentation all along this side,
+and at the two ends as well.  The cover ought to be somewhere about."
+
+He looked around, and, just as he had said, there was the massive cover,
+but broken into half a dozen pieces, and the carving and inscription,
+with which it had been covered, so effaced by the action of the lichens
+and weather that it was not possible to make anything out, only that a
+couple of sitting figures must at one time have been cut in high relief
+upon the lid.
+
+"Probably the occupants of the tomb," said the professor thoughtfully.
+"Greek, I feel sure.  Here, Yussuf, what does this mean?"
+
+He caught up his gun that he had laid across the corner of the
+sarcophagus, and turned to face some two dozen swarthy-looking men who
+had come upon them unperceived and seemed to have sprung up from among
+the broken stones, old columns, and traces of wall that were about them
+on every side.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY NINE.
+
+A GAME AT MARBLES.
+
+It was a false alarm.  The people who had collected about them were not
+brigands, and they only carried working tools, not weapons for attack.
+
+"Means what, Yussuf?" said Mr Burne.
+
+"They have come to see how you dig out the buried treasure, effendi,"
+said the guide with a suspicion of a smile.
+
+"Treasure! what treasure?" cried the professor.
+
+"It is of no use to argue with them, your excellency; they of course
+know that, in place of there being only little villages here in the far
+back days, there were great cities, like Istamboul and Smyrna and
+Trieste, all over the country."
+
+"Quite true; there were."
+
+"And that these cities were occupied by great wealthy nations, whose
+houses and palaces and temples were destroyed by enemies, and they
+believe that all their golden ornaments and money lie buried beneath
+these stones."
+
+"What nonsense!" cried Mr Burne impatiently.  "If you dug down here you
+would find bones, not gold.  It is an old cemetery, a place of tombs--
+eh, Preston?"
+
+"Quite right," said the professor.  "Tell them that we are only looking
+for old pieces of sculpture and inscriptions."
+
+"I will tell them, effendi," said Yussuf smiling; and he turned to the
+people who were gathered round, and repeated the professor's words in
+their own tongue.
+
+The result was a derisive laugh, and one of the men, a great swarthy
+fellow, spoke at some length.
+
+"What does he say, Yussuf?" said Mr Burne.
+
+"He asks the excellency if we think they are fools and children--"
+
+"Yes, decidedly so," replied Mr Burne; "but hold hard, Yussuf; don't
+tell them so."
+
+"If it is likely they will believe that the Franks--"
+
+"No, no, not Franks, Yussuf," said the professor laughing; "he said
+`giaours.'"
+
+"True, effendi; he did--If they will believe that the giaours would come
+from a far country, and travel here merely to read a few old writings
+upon some stones, and examine the idols that the old people carved."
+
+"Well, I don't wonder at it," said Mr Burne with a sigh as he tickled
+his nose with a fresh pinch.  "It does seem very silly.  Tell them it is
+not they, but we: we are the fools."
+
+"Don't tell them anything of the kind, Yussuf," said the professor.  "It
+is not foolish to search for wisdom.  Tell them the truth.  We are not
+seeking for treasures, but to try and find something about the history
+of the people who built these cities."
+
+Yussuf turned to the country people again and delivered himself of his
+message, after which several of the people spoke, and there was another
+laugh.
+
+"Well, what do they say now?"
+
+"They ask why you want to know all this, effendi," replied Yussuf.  "It
+is of no use to argue with these people.  They have no knowledge
+themselves, and they cannot understand how Frankish gentlemen can find
+pleasure therein.  I have travelled greatly with Englishmen, and it is
+so everywhere.  I was with an effendi down in Egypt, where he had the
+sand dug away from the mouth of a buried temple, and the sheik and his
+people who wandered near, came and drove us away, saying that the
+English effendi sought for silver and gold.  It was the same among the
+hills of Birs Nimroud, where they dig out the winged lions and flying
+bulls with the heads of men, and the stones are covered with writing.
+When we went to Petra, four English effendis and your servant, we were
+watched by the emir and his men; and it was so in Cyprus, when the
+effendi I was with--an American excellency--set men to work to dig out
+the carved stones and idols from a temple there--not beautiful, white
+marble stones, but coarse and yellow and crumbling.  It is always a
+fight here in these lands against seeking for knowledge, effendi.  It is
+a thing they cannot understand."
+
+"What shall we do, then?"
+
+"What they do, effendi, half their time--nothing."
+
+"But they will be a nuisance," cried the professor.
+
+"Yes, effendi," said the guide, with a shrug of the shoulders.  "So are
+the flies, but we cannot drive them away.  We must be content to go on
+just as if they were not here."
+
+The professor saw the sense of the argument, and for the next four hours
+the party were busy on that hill-slope climbing amongst the stones of
+the ancient city--one which must have been an important place in its
+day, for everywhere lay the broken fragments of noble buildings which
+had been ornamented with colonnades and cornices of elaborate
+workmanship.  Halls, temples, palaces, had occupied positions that must
+have made the city seem magnificent, as it rose up building upon
+building against the steep slope, with the little river gurgling swiftly
+at the foot.
+
+There were the remains, too, of an aqueduct, showing a few broken arches
+here and there, and plainly teaching that the water to supply the place
+had been mainly brought from some cold spring high up in the mountains.
+
+And all the time, go where they would, the travellers were followed by
+the little crowd which gaped and stared, and of which some member or
+another kept drawing Yussuf aside, and offering him a handsome present
+if he would confess the secret that he must have learned--how the
+Frankish infidels knew where treasure lay hid.
+
+They seemed disappointed that the professor contented himself by merely
+making drawings and copying fragments of inscriptions; but at last they
+all uttered a grunt of satisfaction, rubbed their hands, gathered
+closely round, and seated themselves upon the earth or upon stones.
+
+For the professor had stopped short at the end of what, as far as could
+be traced, seemed to be one end of a small temple whose columns and
+walls lay scattered as they had fallen.
+
+Here he deliberately took a small bright trowel from a sheath in his
+belt, where he carried it as if it had been a dagger, and, stooping
+down, began to dig.
+
+That was what they were waiting for.  He had come at last upon the
+treasure spot, and though the trowel seemed to be a ridiculously small
+tool to work with, they felt perfectly satisfied that it was one of the
+wonderful engines invented by the giaours, and that it would soon clear
+away the stones and soil with which the treasure was covered.
+
+"What are you doing?" said the old lawyer, as Lawrence helped the
+professor by dragging out pieces of stone.  "Going to find anything
+there?"
+
+"I cannot say," replied the professor, who was digging away
+energetically, and dislodging ants, a centipede or two, and a great many
+other insects.  "This is evidently where the altar must have stood, and
+most likely we shall find here either a bronze figure of the deity in
+whose honour the temple was erected, or its fragments in marble."
+
+"Humph!  I see," cried the old lawyer, growing interested; "but I beg to
+remark that the evening is drawing near, and I don't think it will be
+prudent to make a journey here in the dark."
+
+"No," said the professor; "it would be a pity.  Mind, Lawrence, my lad;
+what have you there?"
+
+"Piece of stone," said the lad, dragging out a rounded fragment.
+
+"Piece of stone!  Yes, boy, but it is a portion of a broken statue--the
+folds of a robe."
+
+"Humph!" muttered the old lawyer.  "Might be anything.  Not going to
+carry it away I suppose?"
+
+"That depends," said the professor labouring away.
+
+"Humph!" ejaculated Mr Burne.
+
+"How is it that such a grand city as this should have been so completely
+destroyed, Mr Preston?" asked Lawrence.
+
+"It is impossible to say.  It may have been by the ravages of fire.
+More likely by war.  The nation here may have been very powerful, and a
+more powerful nation attacked them, and, perhaps after a long siege, the
+soldiery utterly destroyed it, while the ravages of a couple of thousand
+years, perhaps of three thousand, gave the finishing touches to the
+destruction, and--ah, here is another piece of the same statue."
+
+He dragged out with great difficulty another fragment of marble which
+had plainly enough been carved to represent drapery, and he was scraping
+carefully from it some adhering fragments of earth, when Mr Burne
+suddenly leaped up from the block of stone upon which he had been
+perched, and began to shake his trousers and slap and bang his legs for
+a time, and then limped up and down rubbing his calf, and muttering
+angrily.
+
+"What _is_ the matter, Mr Burne?" cried Lawrence.
+
+"Matter, sir!  I've been bitten by one of those horrible vipers.  The
+brute must have crawled up my leg and--I say, Yussuf, am I a dead man?"
+
+"Certainly not, your excellency," replied the guide gravely.
+
+"You are laughing at me, sir.  You know what I mean.  I am bitten by one
+of those horrible vipers, am I not?"
+
+The professor had leaped out of the little hole he had laboriously dug,
+and run to his companion's side in an agony of fear.
+
+"Your excellency has been bitten by one of these," said the guide
+quietly, and he pointed to some large ants which were running all over
+the stones.
+
+"Are--are you sure?" cried Mr Burne.
+
+"Sure, excellency?  If it had been a viper you would have felt dangerous
+symptoms."
+
+"Why, confound it, sir," cried Mr Burne, rubbing his leg which he had
+laid bare, "that's exactly what I do feel--dangerous symptoms."
+
+"What?  What do you feel?" cried the professor excitedly.
+
+"As if someone had bored a hole in my leg, and were squirting melted
+lead into all my veins--right up my leg, sir.  It's maddening!  It's
+horrible!  It's worse than--worse than--there, I was going to say gout,
+Lawrence, but I'll say it's worse than being caned.  Now, Yussuf, what
+do you say to that, sir, eh?"
+
+"Ants, your excellency.  They bite very sharply, and leave quite a
+poison in the wound."
+
+"Quite a poison, sir!--poison's nothing to it!  Here, I say, what am I
+to do?"
+
+"If your excellency will allow me," said Yussuf, "I will prick the bite
+with the point of my knife, and then rub in a little brandy."
+
+"Yes, do, for goodness' sake, man, before I go mad."
+
+"Use this," said the professor, taking a little stoppered bottle from
+his pocket.
+
+"What is it--more poison?" cried Mr Burne.
+
+"Ammonia," said the professor quietly.
+
+"Humph!" ejaculated the patient; and he sat down on another stone, after
+making sure that it did not cover an insect's nest, and had not been
+made the roof of a viper's home.
+
+Quite a crowd gathered round, to the old lawyer's great disgust, as he
+prepared himself for the operation.
+
+"Hang the scoundrels!" he cried; "anyone would think they had never seen
+an old man's white leg before."
+
+"I don't suppose they ever have, Mr Burne," said Lawrence.
+
+"Why, you are laughing at me, you dog!  Hang it all, sir, it's too bad.
+Never mind, it will be your turn next; and look here, Lawrence," he
+cried with a malignant grin, "this is a real bite, not a sham one.  I'm
+not pretending that I have been bitten by a snake."
+
+"Why, Mr Burne--"
+
+"Well, I thought it was, but it is a real bite.  Here, you, Yussuf, hold
+hard--what a deadly-looking implement!" he cried, as their guide bared
+his long keen knife.  "Look here, sir, I know I'm a dog--a giaour, and
+that you are one of the faithful, and that it is a good deed on your
+part to injure me as an enemy, but, mind this, if you stick that knife
+thing into my leg too far, I'll--I'll--confound you, sir!--I'll bring an
+action against you, and ruin you, as sure as my name's Burne."
+
+"Have no fear, effendi," said Yussuf gravely, going down on one knee,
+while the people crowded round.
+
+"Cut gently, my dear fellow," said Mr Burne; "it isn't kabobs or tough
+chicken, it's human leg.  Hang it all!  You great stupids, what are you
+staring at?  Give a man room to breathe--_wough_!  Oh, I say, Yussuf,
+that was a dig."
+
+"Just enough to make it bleed, effendi.  There, that will take out some
+of the poison, and now I'll touch the place with some of this spirit."
+
+"_Wough_!" ejaculated Mr Burne again, as the wound was touched with the
+stopper of the bottle.  "I say, that's sharp.  Humph! it does not hurt
+quite so much now, only smarts.  Thank ye, Yussuf.  Why, you are quite a
+surgeon.  Here, what are those fellows chattering about?"
+
+"They say the Franks are a wonderful people to carry cures about in
+little bottles like that."
+
+"Humph!  I wish they'd kill their snakes and insects, and not waste
+their time staring," said the old gentleman, drawing up his stocking,
+after letting the ammonia dry in the sun.  "Yes; I'm better now," he
+added, drawing down his trouser leg.  "Much obliged, Yussuf.  Don't you
+take any notice of what I say when I'm cross."
+
+"I never do, excellency," said Yussuf smiling gravely.
+
+"Oh, you don't--don't you?"
+
+"No, effendi, because I know that you are a thorough gentleman at
+heart."
+
+"Humph!" said Mr Burne, as he limped to where the professor had resumed
+his digging.  "Do you know, Lawrence, I begin to think sometimes that
+our calm, handsome grave Turkish friend there, is the better gentleman
+of the two."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER THIRTY.
+
+A TERROR OF THE COUNTRY.
+
+It was now evening, but instead of the air becoming cooler with the wind
+that blew from the mountains, a peculiar hot breath seemed to be exhaled
+from the earth.  The stones which had been baking in the sun all day
+gave out the heat they had taken in, and a curious sombre stillness was
+over everything.
+
+"Are we going to have a storm, Yussuf?" said Mr Burne, as he looked
+round at the lurid brassy aspect of the heavens, and the wild
+reflections upon the mountains.
+
+"No, excellency, I think not; and the people here seem to think the
+same."
+
+"Why?  They don't say anything."
+
+"No, excellency, but if they felt a storm coming they would have long
+ago hurried back to their houses instead of sitting here so contentedly
+waiting to see the effendi dig out his treasure."
+
+For the people had not budged an inch, but patiently watched every
+movement made by the travellers, crouching as it were, ready to spring
+forward, and see the first great find.
+
+But the professor made no great discovery.  He was evidently right about
+the building having been a temple, and it seemed as if an altar must
+have stood there, bearing a figure of which he picked up several pieces
+beautifully sculptured, but nothing that could be restored by piecing
+together; and when, wearied out, he turned to examine some other parts
+of the old temple, the most interesting thing that he found was a piece
+of column, nearly buried, and remarkable for containing two of the
+rounds or drums secured together by means of molten lead poured through
+suitable holes cut in the stones.
+
+"There," he said at last, "I have been so deeply interested in what I
+have seen here, that I owe you plenty of apologies, Burne, and you too,
+Lawrence."
+
+"Humph!" grunted the old lawyer, "you owe me nothing.  I would as soon
+stop here and look about at the mountains, as go on somewhere else.  My
+word, though, what a shame it seems that these pigs of people should
+have such a glorious country to live in, while we have nothing better
+than poor old England, with its fogs and cold east winds."
+
+"But this peace is not perfect," said the professor.  "And now, look
+here; we had better go back to our last night's lodgings.  We can get a
+good meal there and rest."
+
+"The very thing I was going to propose," said Mr Burne quickly.
+"Depend upon it that man will give us a pilaf for supper."
+
+"And without Yussuf's stick," said the professor smiling.  "But come
+along.  Let's look at the horses."
+
+The horses were in good plight, for Yussuf and Hamed had watered them,
+and they had made a good meal off the grass and shoots which grew
+amongst the ruins.
+
+They were now busily finishing a few handfuls of barley which had been
+poured for them in an old ruined trough, close to some half dozen broken
+pillars and a piece of stone wall that had been beautifully built; and,
+as soon as the patient beasts had finished, they were bridled and led
+out to where the professor and his friends were standing looking
+wonderingly round at the peculiar glare over the landscape.
+
+"Just look at those people," cried Lawrence suddenly; and the scene
+below them caught their eye.  For, no sooner had the professor and his
+companions left the coast clear than these people made a rush for the
+hole, which they seemed to have looked upon as a veritable gold mine,
+and in and about this they were digging and tearing out the earth,
+quarrelling, pushing and lighting one with the other for the best
+places.
+
+"How absurd!" exclaimed the professor.  "I did not think of that.  I
+ought to have paid them, and made them with their tools do all the work,
+while I looked on and examined all they turned up."
+
+"It would have been useless, effendi," said Yussuf.  "Unless you had
+brought an order to the pasha of the district, and these people had been
+forced to work, they would not have stirred.  Ah!"
+
+Yussuf uttered a peculiar cry, and the men who were digging below them
+gave vent to a shrill howl, and leaped out of the pit they were digging
+to run shrieking back towards the village on the other slope.
+
+For all at once it seemed to Lawrence that he was back on shipboard,
+with the vessel rising beneath his feet and the first symptoms of
+sea-sickness coming on.
+
+Then close at hand, where the horses had so short a time before been
+feeding, the piece of well-built wall toppled over, and three of the
+broken columns fell with a crash, while a huge cloud of dust rose from
+the earth.
+
+The horses snorted and trembled, and again there came that sensation of
+the earth heaving up, just as if it were being made to undulate like the
+waves at sea.
+
+Lawrence threw himself down, while Yussuf clung to the horses' bridles,
+as if to guard against a stampede, and the driver stood calmly in the
+attitude of prayer.
+
+Then again and again the whole of the mountain side shook and undulated,
+waving up and down till the sensation of sickness became intolerable,
+and all the while there was the dull roar of falling stones above,
+below, away to the left and right.  Now some huge mass seemed to drop on
+to the earth with a dull thud, another fell upon other stones, and
+seemed to be broken to atoms, and again and again others seemed to slip
+from their foundations, and go rolling down like an avalanche, and once
+more all was still.
+
+"Is it an earthquake?" said Lawrence at last in a low awe-stricken tone.
+
+"Seems like a dozen earthquakes," said the old lawyer.  "My goodness me!
+What a place for a town!"
+
+And as they all stood there trembling and expecting the next shock, not
+knowing but the earth might open a vast cavity into which the whole
+mountain would plunge, a huge cloud of dust arose, shutting out
+everything that was half a dozen yards away, and the heated air grew
+more and more suffocating.
+
+It was plain enough to understand now why it was that in the course of
+time this beautiful city should have been destroyed.  The first disaster
+might have been caused by war, but it was evident that this was a region
+where earth disturbance was a frequent occurrence, and as time rolled
+by, every shock would tear down more and more of the place.
+
+Very little was said, for though no great shock came now, there were
+every few minutes little vibrations beneath their feet, as if the earth
+was trembling from the effect of the violent efforts it had made.
+
+Now and then they held their breath as a stronger agitation came, and
+once this ended with what seemed to be a throb or a sound as if the
+earth had parted and then closed up again.
+
+Then came a lapse, during which the travellers sat in the midst of the
+thick mist of dust waiting, waiting for the next great throb, feeling
+that perhaps these were only the preliminaries to some awful
+catastrophe.
+
+No one spoke, and the silence was absolutely profound.  They were
+surrounded by groves where the birds as a rule piped and sang loudly;
+but everything was hushed as if the thick dust-cloud had shut in all
+sound.
+
+And what a cloud of dust!  The dust of a buried city, of a people who
+had lived when the earth was a couple of thousand years or more younger,
+when western Europe was the home of barbarians.  The dust of buildings
+that had been erected by the most civilised peoples then dwelling in the
+world, and this now rising in the thick dense cloud which seemed as if
+it would never pass.
+
+An hour must have gone by, and they were conscious as they stood there
+in a group that the mist looked blacker, and by this they felt that the
+night must be coming on.  For some time now there had not been the
+slightest quiver of the ground, and in place of the horses standing with
+their legs spread wide and heads low, staring wildly, and snorting with
+dread, they had gathered themselves together again, and were beginning
+to crop the herbage here and there, but blowing over it and letting it
+fall from their lips again as if in disgust.
+
+And no wonder, for every blade and leaf was covered with a fine
+impalpable powder, while, as the perspiration dried upon the exposed
+parts of the travellers, their skins seemed to be stiff and caked with
+the dust.
+
+"I think the earthquake is over, excellencies," said Yussuf calmly.  "I
+could not be sure, but the look of the sky this evening was strange."
+
+"I had read of earthquakes out here," said the professor, who was
+gaining confidence now; "but you do not often have such shocks as
+these?"
+
+"Oh, yes, effendi; it is not an unusual thing.  Much more terrible than
+this; whole towns are sometimes swallowed up.  Hundreds of lives are
+lost, and hundreds left homeless."
+
+"Then you call this a slight earthquake?" said Mr Burne.
+
+"Certainly, excellency, here," was the reply.  "It may have been very
+terrible elsewhere.  Terrible to us if we had been standing beside those
+stones which fell.  It would have been awful enough if all these ruins
+had been, as they once were, grandly built houses and temples."
+
+"And I was grumbling about poor dear old sooty, foggy England," said Mr
+Burne.  "Dear, dear, dear, what foolish things one says!"
+
+"Is not the dust settling down?" said the professor just then.
+
+"A little, your excellency; but it is so fine that unless we have a
+breeze it may be hours before it is gone."
+
+"Then what do you propose to do?" asked Mr Burne.
+
+"What can I do, excellency, but try to keep you out of danger?"
+
+"Yes, but how?"
+
+"We must stay here."
+
+"Stay here? when that village is so near at hand?"
+
+Yussuf paused for a few minutes and then said slowly, as if the question
+had just been asked:
+
+"How do we know that the village is near at hand?"
+
+"Ah!" ejaculated the professor, startled by the man's tone.
+
+"It was not more than two of your English miles from here, excellency,
+when we left the place this morning, but with such a shock there may be
+only ruins from which the people who were spared have fled."
+
+"How horrible!" exclaimed Lawrence.
+
+"Let us hope that I am wrong, effendi," said Yussuf hastily.  "I only
+speak."
+
+"But we cannot stay here for the night," said Mr Burne impatiently.
+
+"Excellency, we must stay here," said the Turk firmly.  "I am your
+guide, and where I know the land I will lead you.  I knew this country
+this morning, but how can I know it now?  Great chasms may lie between
+us and the village--deep rifts, into which in the dust and darkness we
+may walk.  You know what vast gorges and valleys lie between the hills."
+
+"Yes," replied Mr Preston.
+
+"Some of these have been worn down by the torrents and streams from the
+mountains, others have been made in a moment by such shocks as these.  I
+would gladly say, `come on; I will lead you back to the head-man's
+house,' but, excellencies, I do not dare."
+
+"He is quite right, Burne," said the professor gravely.
+
+"Oh, yes, confound him: he always is right," cried Mr Burne.  "I wish
+sometimes he were not.  Fancy camping out here for the night in this
+horrible dust and with the air growing cold.  It will be icy here by and
+by."
+
+"Yes, excellency, it will be cold.  We are high up, and the snow
+mountains are not far away."
+
+"We must make the best of it, Lawrence, my boy," said the professor
+cheerily.  "Then I suppose the next thing is to select a camp.  But,
+Yussuf, this is rather risky.  What about the asps?"
+
+"And the ants," cried Mr Burne with a groan.  "I can't sleep with such
+bed-fellows as these."
+
+"And the djins and evil spirits," cried Lawrence.
+
+"Ah, I don't think they will hurt us much, my boy," said the professor.
+
+"And there is one comfort," added Mr Burne; "we have left the cemetery
+behind.  I do protest against camping there."
+
+"A cemetery of two thousand years ago," said the professor quietly.
+"Ah, Burne, we need not make that an objection.  But come, what is to be
+done?"
+
+Yussuf answered the question by calling Hamed to come and help unpack
+the horses, and all then set to work to prepare to pass the night in the
+midst of the ruins, and without much prospect of a fire being made.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER THIRTY ONE.
+
+ALI BABA'S FEAT.
+
+The night came on colder and colder, and though Yussuf and Hamed worked
+hard at cutting bushes and branches of trees, the green wood covered
+with leaves obstinately refused to burn, and the result was a thick
+smoke, which hung about and spread amongst the dust, making the position
+of the travellers worse than before.  Yussuf searched as far as he
+could, but he could find no pines, neither were there any bushes of the
+laurel family, or the result would have been different.
+
+All this while they were suffering from a nervous trepidation that made
+even a heavy footfall startling, every one being in expectation of a
+renewal of the earthquake shocks.
+
+Rugs and overcoats were taken from the baggage and, giving up the fire
+as a bad job, the little party were huddled together for the sake of
+warmth, when all at once a breeze sprang up, and in less than half an
+hour the mist of dust had been swept away, and the dark sky was overhead
+studded with countless stars.
+
+It was even colder than before, the wind that came down from the
+mountains being extremely searching, and it seemed a wonder that there
+could be so much difference between day and night.  But in spite of the
+cold the little party felt cheered and relieved by the disappearance of
+the thick mist of dust.  The bright sky above them seemed to be a sign
+of the danger, having passed away, and suggestive of the morning
+breaking bright and clear to give them hope and the power of seeing any
+dangers that were near.
+
+But they were not to wait till morning, for soon after the clearing away
+of the mist, shouts were heard in the distance, to which they responded,
+and the communication was kept up till a party of men appeared, who
+proved to be no belated set of wanderers like themselves, but about
+twenty of the village people under the command of the head-man, come in
+search of them, and all ready to utter a wild cheer when they were
+found.
+
+The leader explained to Yussuf that the earthquake shocks had all been
+on this side of the little river, the village having completely escaped.
+About a couple of hours after the shocks the party of people who had
+been digging for treasure returned to the village, and upon the head-man
+learning that the travellers had been left up there he had organised a
+party to come in search.
+
+There was no mistaking the cordiality of the head-man or his joy at
+having found them, and after helping to repack the horses he led the way
+back confidently enough, and in the walk explained that the mischief
+done was very slight.  No gaps had opened, as far as he knew, but at all
+events the road from the old ruins to the village was safe.
+
+"Your cudgel seems to have been a regular genii's wand, Yussuf," said
+Mr Burne softly.  "You would not find it have so good an effect upon
+Englishmen."
+
+"It and your payments, effendi, have taught the man that we are people
+of importance, and not to be trifled with," replied Yussuf smiling; and
+Mr Burne nodded and took snuff.
+
+In an hour they were safely back at the head-man's house, where hot
+coffee and then a good meal prepared all for their night's rest amidst
+the warm rugs which were spread for them; and feeling that no watch was
+necessary here, all were soon in a deep sleep, Lawrence being too tired
+even to think of the danger to which they had been exposed.
+
+Directly after breakfast next morning the head-man came to them with a
+very serious look upon his countenance.
+
+The people of the village were angry, he said to Yussuf, and were
+uttering threats against the strangers, for it was due to them that the
+earthquake had taken place.  Every one knew that the old ruins were the
+homes of djins and evil spirits.  The strangers had been interfering
+with those ruins, and the djins and evil spirits had resented it.
+
+"But," said Yussuf, "your people did more than their excellencies."
+
+"Yes, perhaps so," said the head-man; "but they are fools and pigs.  Let
+the English effendis go, and not touch the ruins again."
+
+Yussuf explained, and the professor made a gesture full of annoyance.
+
+"Ask him, Yussuf, if he believes this nonsense."
+
+"Not when I am with you, excellencies," he said smiling; "but when I am
+with my people, I do.  If I did not think as they do I could not live
+with them.  I am head-man, but if they turn against me they are the
+masters, and I am obliged to do as they wish."
+
+There was nothing for it but to go, and they left the village with all
+its interesting surroundings as soon as the horses were packed, the
+people uttering more than one menacing growl till they were out of
+hearing.
+
+"So vexatious!" exclaimed the professor.  "I feel as if we have done
+wrong in giving up.  The firman ought to have been sufficient.  We shall
+never find such a place again--so rich in antiquities.  I have a good
+mind to turn back."
+
+"No, no, effendi," said Yussuf, "it would only mean trouble.  I can take
+you to fifty places as full of old remains.  Trust to me and I will show
+you the way."
+
+They journeyed on for days, finding good, bad, and indifferent lodgings.
+Sometimes they were received by the people with civility, at others
+with suspicion, for Yussuf was taking them farther and farther into the
+mountains, where the peasants were ignorant and superstitious to a
+degree; but, save where they crossed some plain, they were everywhere
+impressed by the grandeur of the country, and the utter ruin and neglect
+which prevailed.  Roads, cities, land, all seemed to have been allowed
+to go to decay; and, to make the journey the longer and more arduous,
+over and over again, where they came to a bridge, it was to find that it
+had been broken down for years, and this would often mean a journey
+along the rugged banks perhaps for miles before they found a place where
+it was wise to try and ford the swollen stream.
+
+There was always something, though, to interest the professor--a
+watch-tower in ruins at the corner of some defile, the remains of a
+castle, an aqueduct, a town with nothing visible but a few scattered
+stones, or a cemetery with the remains of marble tombs.
+
+Day after day fresh ruins to inspect, with the guide proving his value
+more and more, and relieving the party a great deal from the
+pertinacious curiosity of the scattered people, who would not believe
+that the travellers were visiting the country from a desire for
+knowledge.
+
+It must be for the buried treasures of the old people, they told Yussuf
+again and again; and they laughed at him derisively as he repeated his
+assurances.
+
+"Don't tell them any more," Lawrence used to say in a pet; "let the
+stupids waste their time."
+
+Sometimes this constant examination of old marbles and this digging out
+of columns or slabs grew wearisome to the lad, but not often, for there
+was too much exciting incident in their travels through gorge and
+gully--along shelves where the horses could hardly find foothold, but
+slipped and scrambled, with terrible precipices beneath, such as at
+first made the travellers giddy, but at last became so common, and their
+horses gave them so much confidence, that they ceased to be alarmed.
+
+It was a wonderful country, such as they had not dreamed could exist so
+near Europe, while everywhere, as the investigations went on, they were
+impressed with the feeling that, unsafe as it was now, in the past it
+must have been far worse, for on all hands there were the remains of
+strongholds, perched upon the top of precipitous heights with the most
+giddy and perilous of approaches, where, once shut in, a handful of
+sturdy Greeks or stout Romans could have set an army at defiance.  This
+was the more easy from the fact that ammunition was plentiful in the
+shape of rocks and stones, which the defenders could have sent crashing
+down upon their foes.
+
+It was one evening when the difficulties of the day's journey had been
+unusually great that they were on their way toward a village beyond
+which, high up in the mountains, Yussuf spoke of a ruined city that he
+had only visited once, some twenty years before.  He had reserved it as
+one of the choicest bits for his employers, and whenever Lawrence had
+been enraptured over some fine view or unusually grand remains Yussuf
+had smiled and said, "Wait."
+
+Their progress that day had been interrupted by a storm, which forced
+them to take shelter for a couple of hours, during which the hail had
+fallen in great lumps as big as walnuts, and when this was over it lay
+on the ridges in white beds and crunched beneath the feet of their
+horses.
+
+Their way lay along one of the defiles where the road had been made to
+follow the edge of the stream, keeping to its windings; but as they
+descended a slope, and came near the little river, Yussuf drew rein.
+
+"It is impossible, excellencies," he said; "the path is covered by the
+torrent, and the water is rising fast."
+
+"But is there no other way--a mile or two round?" said the professor.
+
+Yussuf shook his head as he pointed to the mountains that rose on every
+side.
+
+"It is only here and there that there is a pass," he said.  "There is no
+other way for three days' journey.  We must go back to the place where
+we sheltered and wait till the river flows back to its bed."
+
+"How long?" asked Mr Burne; "an hour or two?"
+
+"Perhaps longer, effendi," said Yussuf.  "Mind how you turn round; there
+is very little room."
+
+They had become so accustomed to ride along shelves worn and cut in the
+mountain sides that they had paid little heed to this one as they
+descended, their attention having been taken by the hail that whitened
+the ledges; but now, as they were turning to ascend the steep slope cut
+diagonally along the precipitous side of the defile, the dangerous
+nature of the way became evident.
+
+But no one spoke for fear of calling the attention of his companions to
+the risky nature of the ride back; so, giving their horses the rein, the
+docile beasts planted their feet together, and turned as if upon a pivot
+before beginning to ascend.
+
+So close was the wall of rock in places that the baggage brushed the
+side, and threatened to thrust off the horses and send them headlong
+down the slope, that began by being a hundred feet, and gradually
+increased till it was five, then ten, and then at least fifteen hundred
+feet above the narrow rift, where the stream rushed foaming along,
+sending up a dull echoing roar that seemed to quiver in the air.
+
+How it happened no one knew.  They had plodded on, reaching the highest
+part, with Hamed and the baggage-horses in front, for there had been no
+room to pass them.  First Yussuf, then the professor, Mr Burne and
+Lawrence on Ali Baba, of course counting from the rear.  There was a
+good deal of hail upon the path, but melting so fast in the hot sun that
+it was forgotten, and all were riding slowly on, when the second baggage
+horse must have caught its load against the rock, with the result that
+it nearly fell over the side.  The clever beast managed to save itself,
+and all would have been well had it not startled Ali Baba, who made a
+plunge, stepped upon a heap of the hail, and slipped, the left fore-hoof
+gliding off the ledge.
+
+The brave little animal made a desperate effort to recover itself, but
+it had lost its balance, and in its agony it made a bound, which took it
+ten feet forward, and along the rapid slope, where it seemed to stand
+for a moment, and then, to the horror of all, it began to slip and
+stumble rapidly down the steep side of the ravine towards a part that
+was nearly perpendicular, and where horse and rider must be hurled down
+to immediate death.
+
+Everyone remained motionless as if changed to stone, while the
+clattering of the little horse's hoofs went on, and great fragments went
+rattling off beneath it to increase their pace and go plunging down into
+the abyss as if to show the way for the horse to follow to destruction.
+
+It was all a matter of moments, with the gallant little beast making
+bound after bound downward, as it felt that it could not retain its
+position, while Lawrence sat well back in his saddle, gripping it
+tightly with his knees, and holding the loosened rein.
+
+Another bound, and another, but no foothold for the horse, and then,
+after one of its daring leaps, which were more those of a mountain sheep
+or goat than of a horse, Ali Baba alighted at the very edge of the
+perpendicular portion of the valley side, and those above saw him totter
+for a moment, and then leap right off into space.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER THIRTY TWO.
+
+ANOTHER SERPENT.
+
+The professor uttered a groan, and covered his eyes.
+
+But only for a moment.  The next he was descending from his horse, and
+beginning to clamber down the side of the precipice, but a cry from
+Yussuf stopped him.
+
+"No, no, effendi.  We must go back down to the side of the river and
+climb up.  We cannot descend."
+
+It was so plain that the professor said nothing; but, as if yielding to
+the command of a superior officer, clambered back to the pathway, and
+all stood gazing down to where the slope ended and the perpendicular
+wall began.
+
+There was nothing to see but the top of the wall of rock: nothing to
+hear but the hissing, roaring rush of the water far below.
+
+"Come," said Yussuf, turning his horse, and taking the lead in the
+descent along the path they had just reascended, down which, scrambling
+and slipping over the thawing ice, they crept slowly, looking in the
+midst of the stupendous chasm little bigger than flies.
+
+The old lawyer trembled, while the professor's cheeks looked sunken, his
+eyes hollow.  No one spoke, and as they went on, the crunching of the
+half-melted hailstones and the click of the horses' hoofs against the
+loosened stones sounded loudly in the clear air.
+
+It was a perilous descent, for the horses were constantly slipping; but
+at last the bottom of the defile was reached, and the steeds being left
+in charge of Hamed, Yussuf turned sharply to the right, closely followed
+by Mr Preston and Mr Burne, to climb along the steep stone-burdened
+slope, where the flooded mountain torrent was just beneath them and
+threatening to sweep them away.
+
+Yussuf turned from time to time to look at his companions, half
+expecting that they would not follow, for the way he took was extremely
+perilous, and he fully expected to see Mr Preston give up in despair.
+But, experienced as he was in the ways of Englishmen, he did not quite
+understand their nature, for not only was the professor toiling on over
+the mossy stones just behind him, but Mr Burne, with his face
+glistening in perspiration and a set look of determination in his
+features, was clambering up and sliding down with unwonted agility, but
+with a piteous look in his eyes which told how painfully he felt the
+position in which they were placed.
+
+No one spoke, every effort being needed for the toilsome task, as they
+clambered along, now down in narrow rifts, now dragging themselves
+painfully over the rugged masses of rock which lay as they had fallen
+from the side of the defile, a couple of thousand feet above them.  The
+scene would have appeared magnificent at another time; the colours of
+the rocks, the tufts of verdant bushes, the gloriously-mossed stones,
+the patches of white hail, and the glancing, rushing, and gleaming
+torrent, which was here deep and dark, there one sheet of white
+effervescing foam.  But the hearts of all were too full, and their
+imaginations were painting the spectacle upon which they soon expected
+to gaze, namely, the terribly mutilated body of poor Lawrence, battered
+by his fall out of recognition.
+
+One moment Mr Preston was asking himself how he could make arrangements
+for taking the remains of the poor lad home.  At another he was thinking
+that it would be impossible, and that he must leave him sleeping in this
+far-off land.  While, again, the course of his thoughts changed, and he
+found himself believing that poor Lawrence would have fallen and rolled
+on, and then, in company with the avalanche of loose stones set in
+motion by his horse's hoof's, have been plunged into the furious
+torrent, and been borne away never to be seen again.
+
+A curious dimness came over the professor's eyes, as he paused for a
+moment or two upon the top of a rock, to gaze before him.  But there was
+nothing visible, for the defile at the bottom curved and zigzagged so
+that they could not see thirty yards before them, and where it was most
+straight the abundant foliage of the trees growing out of the cliffs
+rendered seeing difficult.
+
+"It must have been somewhere here, effendi," said Yussuf at last,
+pausing for the others to overtake him, and pointing upwards.  "Let us
+separate now, and search about.  You, Mr Burne, keep close down by the
+river; you, Mr Preston, go forward here; and I will climb up--it is
+more difficult--and search there.  I will shout if I have anything to
+say."
+
+The professor looked up to find that he was at the foot of a mass of
+rock, high up on whose side there seemed to be a ledge, and then another
+steep ascent, broken by shelves of rock and masses which seemed to be
+ready to crumble down upon their heads.
+
+Each man felt as if he ought to shout the lad's name, and ask him to
+give some token of his whereabouts, but no one dared open his lips for
+the dread of the answer to the calls being only the echoes from the
+rocks above, while beneath there was the dull, hurrying roar of the
+torrent which rose and fell, seeming to fill the air with a curious
+hissing sound, and making the earth vibrate beneath their feet.
+
+They were separating, with the tension of pain upon their minds seeming
+more than they could bear, when, all at once, from far above, there was
+a cry which made them start and gaze upward.
+
+"Ahoy-y-oy!"
+
+There was nothing visible, and they remained perfectly silent--
+listening, and feeling that they must have been mistaken; but just then
+a stone came bounding down, to fall some fifty feet in front, right on
+to a mass of rock, and split into a score of fragments.
+
+Then again:
+
+"Ahoy!  Where are you all?"
+
+"Lawrence, ahoy!" shouted the professor, with his hands to his mouth.
+
+"Ahoy!" came again from directly overhead.  "Here.  How am I to get
+down?"
+
+All started back as far as they could to gaze upward, and then remained
+silent, too much overcome by their emotion to speak, for there, perched
+up at least a thousand feet above them, stood Lawrence in an opening
+among the trees, right upon a shelf of rock.  They could see his horse's
+head beside him, and the feeling of awe and wonder at the escape had an
+effect upon the party below as if they had been stunned.
+
+"How--am--I--to--get--down?" shouted Lawrence again.
+
+Yussuf started out of his trance and answered:
+
+"Stay where you are.  I will try and climb up."
+
+"All right," cried Lawrence from his eyrie.
+
+"Are you hurt, my boy?" cried Mr Preston; and his voice was repeated
+from the face of the rock on the other side.
+
+"No, not much," came back faintly, for the boy's voice was lost in the
+immensity of the place around.
+
+"We will come to you," cried the professor, and he began to follow
+Yussuf, who was going forward to find the end of the mass of rock wall,
+and try to discover some way of reaching the shelf where the boy was
+standing with his horse.
+
+"Are you coming too, effendi?" said Yussuf at the end of a few minutes'
+walking.
+
+"Yes," said the professor.  "You will wait here, will you not, Burne?"
+
+"Of course I shall--not," said the old lawyer.  "You don't suppose that
+I am going to stand still and not make any effort to help the boy, do
+you, Preston?  Hang it all, sir! he is as much interest to me as to
+you."
+
+It was evident that Mr Burne was suffering from exhaustion, but he
+would not give in, and for the next two hours he clambered on after his
+companions, till it seemed hopeless to attempt farther progress along
+the defile in that direction, and they were about to go back in the
+other, to try and find a way up there, when Yussuf, who was ahead,
+suddenly turned a corner and uttered a cry of delight which brought his
+companions to his side.
+
+There was nothing very attractive to see when they reached him, only a
+rushing little torrent at the bottom of a rift hurrying to join the
+stream below; but it was full of moment to Yussuf, for it led upward,
+and it was a break in the great wall of rock.
+
+Yussuf explained this clearly, and, plunging down, he was in a few
+minutes holding out his hand to his companions, and pointing out that
+the path was easier a few yards on.
+
+So it proved, for the stream grew less, and they were able to climb up
+its bed with ease, finding, too, that it led in the direction they
+wanted to take, as well as upward, till, at the end of an hour, they
+were able to turn off along a steep slope with a wall of rock above them
+and another below.
+
+The obstacles they met with were plentiful enough, but not great; and at
+last, when they felt that they were fully a thousand feet above the
+torrent, and somewhere near the spot on which they had hailed Lawrence,
+Yussuf stopped, but no one was to be seen.
+
+"That must be the shelf below us yonder, effendi," said the guide.  "I
+seem to know it because of the big tree across the valley.  Yes; that
+must be the shelf."
+
+He led the way to try and descend to it, but that proved impossible,
+though it was only some fifty feet below.
+
+Retracing their steps they were still defeated, but, upon going forward
+once more, Yussuf found what was quite a crack in the rocks, some huge
+earthquake split which proved to be passable, in spite of the bushes and
+stones with which it was choked, and after a struggle they found
+themselves upon an extensive ledge of the mountain, but no Lawrence.
+
+"The wrong place, Yussuf," said the professor, as Mr Burne seated
+himself, panting, upon a block of stone, and wiped his face.
+
+"No, effendi; but I am sure it was here," said the Turk quietly.  "Hush!
+what is that?"
+
+The sound came from beyond a mass of rock, which projected from the
+shelf over the edge of the precipice, the perpendicular rock seeming to
+fall from here sheer to the torrent, that looked small and silvery now
+from where they stood.
+
+"It is a horse feeding," said Yussuf smiling.  "They are over yonder."
+
+The next minute they were by the projecting rock which cut the shelf in
+two.
+
+Yussuf went close to the edge, rested his hand upon the stone, and
+peered over.
+
+"Only a bird could get round there," he said, shaking his head, and
+going to the slope above the ledge.  "We must climb over."
+
+Mr Burne looked up at the place where they were expected to climb with
+a lugubrious expression of countenance; but he jumped up directly, quite
+willing to make the attempt, and followed his companions.
+
+The climb proved less difficult than it seemed, and on reaching the top,
+some fifty feet above where they had previously stood, there below them
+stood Ali Baba, cropping the tender shoots of a large bush, and as soon
+as he caught sight of them he set up a loud neigh.
+
+There was no sign of Lawrence, though, until they had descended to the
+shelf on that side, when they found him lying upon the short growth fast
+asleep, evidently tired out with waiting.
+
+"My dear boy!" was on the professor's lips; and he was about to start
+forward, but Yussuf caught him roughly by the shoulder, and held him
+back.
+
+"Hist!  Look!" he whispered.
+
+Both the professor and Mr Burne stood chilled to the heart, for they
+could see the head of an ugly grey coarsely scaled viper raised above
+its coil, and gazing at them threateningly, after having been evidently
+alarmed by the noise which they had made.
+
+The little serpent had settled itself upon the lad's bare throat, and a
+reckless movement upon the part of the spectators, a hasty waking on the
+sleeper's part might end in a venomous bite from the awakened beast.
+
+"What shall we do, Yussuf?" whispered, the professor in a hoarse
+whisper.  "I dare not fire."
+
+"Be silent, effendi, and leave it to me," was whispered back; and, while
+the two Englishmen looked on with their hearts beating anxiously, the
+Turk slowly advanced, taking the attention of the serpent more and more.
+
+As he approached, the venomous little creature crept from the boy's neck
+on to his chest, and there paused, waving its head to and fro, and
+menacingly thrusting out its forked tongue.
+
+The danger to be apprehended was a movement upon the part of Lawrence,
+who appeared to be sleeping soundly, but who might at any moment awaken.
+Yussuf, however, was ready to meet the emergency, for he slowly
+continued to advance with his staff thrown back and held ready to
+strike, while, as he came nearer, the serpent seemed to accept the
+challenge, and crawled slowly forward, till it was upon a level with the
+lad's hips.
+
+That was near enough for Yussuf, who noted how Lawrence's hands were
+well out of danger, being beneath his head.
+
+He hesitated no longer, but advanced quickly, his companions watching
+his movements with the most intense interest, till the serpent raised
+itself higher, threw back its head, and seemed about to throw itself
+upon its advancing enemy.
+
+The rest was done in a flash, for there was a loud _whizz_ in the air as
+Yussuf's staff swept over Lawrence, striking the serpent, rapid as was
+its action, low down in the body, and the virulent little creature,
+broken and helpless, was driven over the edge of the precipice to fall
+far away among the bushes below.
+
+"Hallo! what's that?" cried Lawrence, starting up.  "Oh, you've got
+here, then."
+
+"Yes; we are here, my lad," cried the professor, catching one hand, as
+the old lawyer took the other.  "Are you much hurt?"
+
+"Only stiff and shaken.  Ali made such a tremendous leap--I don't know
+how far it was; and then he came down like an india-rubber ball, and
+bounded again and again till he could find good foothold, and then we
+slipped slowly till we could stop here, and it seemed as if we could go
+no farther."
+
+"What an escape!" muttered Mr Burne, looking up.
+
+"Oh, it wasn't there," said Lawrence patting his little horse's neck.
+"It must have been quite a quarter of a mile from here.  But how did you
+come?"
+
+Yussuf explained, and then Mr Preston looked aghast at the rock they
+had climbed over.
+
+"Why, we shall have to leave the pony," he said.
+
+"Oh, no, effendi," replied Yussuf; "leave him to me.  He can climb like
+a goat."
+
+And so it proved, for the brave little beast, as soon as it was led to
+the task by the rein passed over its head, climbed after Yussuf, and in
+fact showed itself the better mountaineer of the two, while, after the
+rock was surmounted, and a descent made upon the other side, it followed
+its master in the arduous walk, slipping and gliding down the
+torrent-bed when they reached it, till at last they reached the greater
+stream, which to their delight had fallen to its regular summer volume,
+the effects of the storm having passed away, and the sandy bed being
+nearly bare.
+
+Theirs proved quite an easy task now, in spite of weariness; and as
+evening fell, they reached Hamed, camped by the roadside, with the
+horses grazing on the bushes and herbage, all being ready to salute Ali
+Baba with a friendly neigh.
+
+They had a long journey before them still; but there was only one thing
+to be done now--unpack the provisions, light a fire, make coffee, and
+try to restore some of their vigour exhausted by so many hours of toil.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER THIRTY THREE.
+
+A FORMIDABLE PARTY.
+
+Fortunately for the travellers a glorious moonlight night followed the
+glowing evening, and they reached in safety a mountain village, where,
+awed by their appearance and display of arms, the rather surly people
+found them a resting-place.
+
+For days and days after this their way was on and on, among the
+mountains, deeper and deeper in the grand wild country.  Sometimes they
+encountered good and sometimes surly treatment, but the beauty of the
+scenery and the wonderful remains of ancient occupation recompensed the
+professor, while Mr Burne in his snappish manner seemed to be satisfied
+in seeing Lawrence's interest in everything around him, his relish for
+the various objects increasing every hour.
+
+For the change was unmistakable; he was making rapid progress back to
+health; and instead of the rough life and privations of hunger, thirst,
+and exposure having a bad effect, they seemed to rouse up in his nature
+a determination that rapidly resulted in vigour.
+
+"What are you going to show us to-day, Yussuf?" asked the lad, one
+glorious autumn morning, when the little party were winding along one of
+the many mountain tracks, so like others they had passed that they might
+have been repeating their journey.
+
+"Before long we shall reach the great ruins of which I have so often
+spoken," replied Yussuf, smiling at the boy's eager look.
+
+"At last!" cried Lawrence.  "I began to think that we were never going
+to get there.  But is there nothing to see to-day?"
+
+"Yes," replied Yussuf.  "We are approaching a village now.  It lies
+yonder low down in this rift--where the cedars are half-way up on that
+shelf in the mountain side."
+
+"Yes; I see," replied Lawrence; "but what a place!  Why, they must be
+without sun half their time."
+
+"Oh, no, effendi," said Yussuf; "certainly they are in shadow at times,
+but though the village seems to lie low, we are high up in the
+mountains, and when it is scorching in the plains, and the grass withers
+for want of water, and down near the sea people die of fever and
+sunstroke, up here it is cool and pleasant, and the flowers are
+blossoming, and the people gather in their fruit and tend their bees."
+
+"And in the winter, Yussuf?" said the professor, who had been listening
+to the conversation.
+
+"Ah, yes, in the winter, effendi, it is cold.  There is the snow, and
+the wolves and the bears come down from the mountains.  It is a bad time
+then.  But what will you?--is it always summer and sunshine everywhere?
+Ah! look, effendi Lawrence," he cried, pointing across the narrow gorge,
+"you can see from here."
+
+"See what?" cried Lawrence.  "I can only see some holes."
+
+"Yes; those are the caves where the people here keep their bees.  The
+hives are in yonder."
+
+"What, in those caves?"
+
+"Yes; the people are great keepers of bees, for they thrive well, and
+there is abundance of blossom for the making of honey."
+
+"But why do they put the hives in yonder?"
+
+"In the caves?  Because they are out of the sun, which would make the
+honey pour down and run out in the hot summer time, and in the winter
+the caverns are not so cold.  It does not freeze hard there, and the
+hives are away out of the snow, which lies so heavy here in the
+mountains.  It is very beautiful up here, and in the spring among the
+trees there is no such place anywhere in the country for nightingales;
+they till the whole valley with their song.  Now, effendi, look before
+you."
+
+They had reached a turn in the valley, where once more a grand view of
+the mountain chain spread before them, far as eye could reach, purple
+mountains, and beyond them mountains that seemed to be of silver, where
+the snow-capped their summits.
+
+But among them were several whose regular form took the professor's
+attention directly, and he pointed them out.
+
+"Old volcanoes," he said quietly.
+
+"Where?" cried Lawrence.  "I want above all things to see a burning
+mountain."
+
+"You can see mountains that once burned," said the professor; "but there
+are none here burning now."
+
+"How disappointing!" cried Lawrence.  "I should like to see one burn."
+
+"Then we must go and see Vesuvius," cried Mr Burne decisively.  "He
+shall not be disappointed."
+
+"I think the young effendi may perhaps see one burning a little here,"
+said Yussuf quietly.  "There are times when a curious light is seen
+floating up high among the mountains.  The peasants call it a spirit
+light, but it must be the sulphurous glare rising from one of the old
+cones, above some of which I have seen smoke hanging at times."
+
+"Why, Yussuf, you are quite a professor yourself, with your cones, and
+sulphurous, and arguments," cried Mr Burne.
+
+"A man cannot be wandering all his life among nature's wonders, effendi,
+and showing English, and French, and German men of wisdom the way,
+without learning something.  But I will watch each night and see if I
+can make out the light over the mountains."
+
+"Do, Yussuf," cried the professor eagerly.
+
+Yussuf bowed.
+
+"I will, excellency, but it is not often seen--only now and then."
+
+They began to descend the side of the defile, and before long came upon
+a fine grove of ancient planes, upon some of whose leafless limbs tall
+long-necked storks were standing, placidly gazing down at them unmoved;
+and it was not until the party were close by that they spread their
+wings, gave a kind of bound, and floated off, the protection accorded to
+them making them fearless in the extreme.
+
+"Stop!" cried the professor suddenly, and the little party came to a
+stand by a rough craggy portion of the way where many stones lay bare.
+
+"Well, what is it?" cried Mr Burne impatiently, "I'm sure those are
+natural or live stones, as you call them."
+
+"Yes," said the professor; "it was not the stones which attracted me,
+but the spring."
+
+"Well, we have passed hundreds of better springs than that, and besides
+it is bad water; see, my horse will not touch it."
+
+"I thought I was right," cried the professor dismounting.  "Look here,
+Lawrence, that decides it; here is our first hot spring."
+
+"Hot?" cried Lawrence, leaping off and bending over the spring.  "Why,
+so it is."
+
+"Yes, a pretty good heat.  This is interesting."
+
+"It is a volcanic country, then," said Lawrence eagerly.  "Oh, Mr
+Preston, we must see a burning mountain."
+
+"It does not follow that there are burning mountains now," said the
+professor smiling, "because we find hot springs."
+
+"Doesn't it?" said Lawrence in a disappointed tone.
+
+"Certainly not.  You would be puzzled to find a volcano in England, and
+yet you have hot springs in Bath."
+
+"Effendi, be on your guard.  I do not like the look of these people,"
+said Yussuf quickly, for a party of mounted men, all well-armed, was
+seen coming from the opposite direction; but they passed on scowling,
+and examining the little group by the hot spring suspiciously.
+
+"A false alarm, Yussuf," said the professor smiling.
+
+"No, effendi," he replied; "these are evil men.  Let us get on and not
+stop at this village, but make our way to the next by another track
+which I know, so as to reach the old ruined city, and they may not
+follow.  If they do, I think they will not suspect the way we have
+gone."
+
+There seemed to be reasons for Yussuf's suspicions, the men having a
+peculiarly evil aspect.  A perfectly honest man sometimes belies his
+looks, but when a dozen or so of individuals mounted upon shabby Turkish
+ponies, all well-armed, and wearing an eager sinister look upon their
+countenances, are seen together, if they are suspected of being a
+dishonest lot, there is every excuse for those who suspect them.
+
+"'Pon my word, Preston," said Mr Burne, "I think we had better get off
+as soon as possible."
+
+"Oh, I don't know," replied the professor; "the men cannot help their
+looks.  We must not think everyone we see is a brigand."
+
+"You may think that those are, effendi," said Yussuf in his quiet way.
+"Let us get on.  You go to the front and follow the track beyond the
+village--you can make no mistake, and I will hang back and try and find
+out whether we are followed."
+
+"Do you think there is danger, then?" whispered the professor.
+
+"I cannot say, effendi; it may be so.  If you hear me fire, be on your
+guard, and if I do not return to you, hasten on to the next village, and
+stay till you have sent messengers to find an escort to take you back."
+
+"Yussuf! is it so serious as that?"
+
+"I don't know, effendi.  I hope not, but we must be prepared."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR.
+
+A STARTLING CHECK.
+
+Yussuf's suspicions seemed to be without reason, for the rest of that
+day's journey was finished without adventure, and the party reached a
+village and found good quarters for the night.
+
+So comfortable were they that the scare was laughed at, and it seemed to
+all three that Yussuf was rather ashamed of his timidity.
+
+Contrary to their experience of many nights past they found the head-man
+of the village civil and even bumble; but it did not excite the
+suspicion of the travellers, who congratulated themselves upon their
+good fortune.
+
+The only drawback to their comfort was the fact that Lawrence was
+suffering somewhat from the shock of his descent from the rocky shelf.
+
+At first he had merely felt a little stiff, the excitement of the whole
+adventure tending to keep his thoughts from his personal discomfort; but
+by degrees he found that he had received a peculiar jar of the whole
+system, which made the recumbent position the most comfortable that he
+could occupy.
+
+It was no wonder, for the leaps which the pony had made were tremendous,
+and it was as remarkable that the little animal had kept its feet as
+that Lawrence had retained his seat in the saddle.
+
+The next morning, a memorable one in their journey, broke bright and
+clear; and Lawrence, after a hearty breakfast of bread, yaourt, and
+honey, supplemented by coffee which might have been better, and peaches
+which could not have been excelled, mounted Ali Baba in the highest of
+spirits, feeling as he did far better for his night's rest.  The sun was
+shining gloriously and lighting up the sides of the mountains and
+flashing from the streams that trickled down their sides.  Low down in
+the deep defiles there were hanging mists which looked like veils of
+silver decked with opalescent tints of the most delicate transparency,
+as they floated slowly before the morning breeze.
+
+Their host of the night wished them good speed with a smiling face, and
+they were riding off when Lawrence happened to look back and saw that
+the man had taken off his turban and was making a derisive gesture, to
+the great delight of the group of people who were gathered round.
+
+Lawrence thought it beneath his notice and turned away, but this once
+more seemed to give strength to Yussuf's suspicions.
+
+But a bright morning in the midst of the exhilarating mountain air is
+not a time for bearing in mind suspicions, or thinking of anything but
+the beauty of all around.  They were higher up in the mountains now,
+with more rugged scenery and grand pine-woods; and as they rode along
+another of the curious shelf-like tracks by the defile there was
+constantly something fresh to see.
+
+They had not been an hour on the road before Yussuf stopped to point
+across the gorge to an object which had taken his attention on the other
+side.
+
+"Do you see, effendi Lawrence?" he said smiling.
+
+"No."
+
+"Yonder, just to the left of that patch of bushes where the stone looks
+grey?"
+
+"Oh, yes; I see now," cried the lad--"a black sheep."
+
+"Look again," said Yussuf; and he clapped his hands to his mouth and
+uttered a tremendous "Ha-ha!"
+
+As the shout ran echoing along the gorge the animal on the farther
+slope, quite two hundred yards away, went shuffling along at a clumsy
+trot for some little distance, and then stopped and stood up on its
+hind-legs and stared at them.
+
+"A curious sheep, Lawrence!" said Mr Preston, adjusting his glass;
+"what do you make of it now?"
+
+"Why, it can't be a bear, is it?" cried Lawrence eagerly.
+
+"Undoubtedly, and a very fine one," said Mr Preston.
+
+"Let's have a look," said Mr Burne; and he too focussed his glass.
+"Why, so it is!" he cried--"just such a one as we used to have upon the
+pomatum pots.  Now, from what gardens can he have escaped?"
+
+The professor burst out laughing merrily.
+
+"It is the real wild animal in his native state, Burne," he said.
+
+"Then let's shoot him and take home his skin," cried Lawrence, preparing
+to fire.
+
+"You could not kill it at this distance, effendi," said Yussuf; "and
+even if you could, it would be a day's journey to get round to that side
+and secure the skin.  Look!"
+
+The chance to fire was gone as he spoke, for the bear dropped down on
+all-fours, made clumsily for a pile of rocks, and Mr Preston with his
+glass saw the animal disappear in a hole that was probably his cave.
+
+"Gone, Lawrence!" said the professor.  "Let's get on."
+
+"I should have liked to go on after him," said Lawrence, gazing at the
+hole in the rocks wistfully; "there's something so strange in seeing a
+real bear alive on the mountains."
+
+"Perhaps we shall see more yet," said Yussuf, "for we are going into the
+wildest part we have yet visited.  Keep a good look-out high up on each
+side, and I daresay we shall not go far without finding something."
+
+"Right, Yussuf," cried the professor; "there is another of those grand
+old watch-towers.  Look, Burne!--just like the others we have seen
+planted at the corner where two defiles meet."
+
+"Ah, to be sure--yes," said the old lawyer.  "What! an eagle's nest?"
+
+"And there goes the eagle," cried Lawrence, pointing, as a huge bird
+swept by them high up on rigid wing, seeming to glide here and there
+without the slightest effort.  "That's an eagle, is it not, Mr
+Preston?"
+
+"A very near relative, I should say," replied the professor.  "The
+lammergeier, as they call it in the Alpine regions.  Yes, it must be.
+What a magnificent bird!"
+
+"We shall see more and finer ones, I daresay," said Yussuf! quietly;
+"but the time is passing, excellencies.  We have a long journey before
+us, and I should like to see the better half of a difficult way mastered
+before mid-day."
+
+Their guide's advice was always so good that they continued their slow
+progress, the baggage-horses ruling the rate at which they were able to
+proceed; and for the next hour they went on ascending and zigzagging
+alone; the rugged mountain track, with defile and gorge and ridge of
+rock rising fold upon fold, making their path increase in grandeur at
+every turn, till they were in one of nature's wildest fastnesses, and
+with the air perceptibly brisker and more keen.
+
+All at once, just as they had turned into the entrance to one of the
+most savage-looking denies they had yet seen, Yussuf pointed to a
+distant pile of rock and said sharply:
+
+"Look, there is an animal you may journey for days without seeing.  Take
+the glass, effendi Lawrence, and say what it is."
+
+The lad checked his pony, adjusted his glass, an example followed by the
+professor, while Mr Burne indulged himself with a pinch of snuff.
+
+"A goat," cried Lawrence, as he got the animal into the field of the
+glass, and saw it standing erect upon the summit of the rock, and gazing
+away from them--"A goat!  And what fine horns?"
+
+"An ibex, Lawrence, my boy.  Goat-like if you like.  Ah, there he goes.
+How easily they take alarm."
+
+For the animal made a bound and seemed to plunge from rock to rock down
+into a rift, and then up an almost perpendicular wall on the opposite
+side higher and higher until it disappeared.
+
+"It is no wonder, excellency," said Yussuf as they rode on along the
+narrow path, "when every hand is against them, and they have been taught
+that they are not safe from bullets half a mile away, and--Why is Hamed
+stopping?"
+
+They had been halting to gaze at the ibex, and all such pauses in their
+journey were utilised for letting Hamed get well on ahead with his slow
+charge.  Experience had taught them that to leave him behind with the
+necessaries of life was often to miss them altogether till the next
+morning.
+
+In this case he had got several hundred yards in advance, but had
+suddenly stopped short, just at the point of a sharp elbow in the track,
+where they could see him with the two horses standing stock-still, and
+staring straight before him.
+
+"Let's get on and see," said the professor, and they pressed on to come
+upon a spot where the track forked directly after, a narrower path
+leading up a rift in the mountains away to their left, and the sight of
+this satisfied Yussuf.
+
+"Hamed thinks he may be doing wrong," he said, "and that perhaps he
+ought to have turned down here.  All right, go on!" he shouted in his
+own tongue, as they rode on past the wild passage among the rocks.
+
+But Hamed did not stir, and as they advanced they could see that he was
+sheltering himself behind one of his horses, and still staring before
+him.
+
+The way curved in, and then went out to the shoulder upon which the
+baggage-horses stood, doubtless bending in again directly on the other
+side.  Hence, then, it was impossible for Yussuf and his party to see
+what was beyond; neither could they gain a sight by altering their
+course, for their path was but a shelf with the nearly perpendicular
+side of the gorge above and below.
+
+They were now some eighty or ninety yards from the corner, and Yussuf
+shouted again:
+
+"Go on, man; that is right."
+
+But Hamed did not move hand or foot, and Yussuf checked his horse.
+
+"There is something wrong, effendis," he said quietly; and he thrust his
+hand into his breast and drew out his revolver.  "Get your weapons
+ready."
+
+"What, is there to be a fight?" said Mr Burne excitedly.
+
+"I hope not," said Mr Preston gravely, as he examined the charge of his
+double gun, an example followed by Lawrence, whose heart began to beat
+heavily.
+
+"You had better halt here, excellencies," said Yussuf.  "I will go
+forward and see."
+
+"No," said Mr Preston; "we will keep together.  It is a time for mutual
+support.  What do you think it is?"
+
+"The man is timid," said Yussuf.  "He is a good driver of horses, but a
+little frightens him.  The country is wild here; there may be wolves or
+a bear on the track which he would not dare to face, though they would
+run from him if he did."
+
+They all advanced together with their weapons ready for immediate use,
+and Lawrence's hands trembled with eagerness, as he strained his eyes
+forward in expectation of a glimpse at bear or wolf, and in the hope of
+getting a good shot.
+
+"Why don't you speak?  Are you ill?" continued Yussuf as he rode on
+forward.  But Hamed did not stir; and it was not until the guide could
+almost touch him that he was able to see what was the cause of his
+alarm, and almost at the same moment the others saw it too.
+
+"We must keep a bold face and retreat," said Yussuf in a quick low tone.
+"You, Hamed, take the bridle of that horse and lead him back; the other
+will follow."
+
+"No, no, no; they will fire."
+
+"So shall I," said Yussuf, placing the muzzle of his pistol close to the
+man's ear.  "Obey me; or--"
+
+Hamed shuddered and began to implore, but Yussuf was rigid.
+
+"Go on back," he said forcing himself round the foremost horse, closely
+followed by the professor, though there was hardly room for their steeds
+to pass, and there was a fall of several hundred feet below, while,
+pressed like this, Hamed began to whimper; but he obeyed, and led the
+horses past Lawrence and Mr Burne, who now went forward, eager and
+excited to know what was wrong, and upon joining their companions it was
+to find themselves face to face with a gang of about twenty
+fierce-looking men, all mounted, and who were seated with their guns
+presented toward the travellers' heads.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE.
+
+BROUGHT TO BAY.
+
+The strangers were some fifty yards away, and thoroughly blocked all
+further progress.  What they were was not open to doubt; but, though
+they sat there presenting their guns, they did not attempt to fire, nor
+yet to advance, contenting themselves by barring the travellers' way.
+
+"Do you think they are enemies, Yussuf?" said Mr Preston calmly.
+
+"There is no doubt of it, effendi," was the reply.
+
+"But had we not better ride boldly forward?  They will not dare to stop
+us.  Besides, if they do, we are well-armed."
+
+"They are twenty and we are only two, effendi, for we cannot depend upon
+three of our party.  It would be no use to attack.  We must retreat
+steadily, and get back to the village; they will not dare to follow us
+so far."
+
+"What do you propose doing, then?"
+
+"For one of us to remain here facing them, till the others have got
+fifty yards back.  Then one is to turn and face the scoundrels till I
+have ridden in, and on with the others another fifty yards or so, when I
+face round, and the one on duty rides in, and so on by turns.  If we
+keep a bold front we may hold them off."
+
+"A good plan," said the professor; "but would it not be better for two
+to face them, and two to go forward--I mean, to retreat?"
+
+"No, effendi; there is not too much room for the horses.  Do as I ask."
+
+Mr Preston obeyed on the instant, and with Hamed in front the retreat
+was commenced, all retiring and leaving Yussuf on the projecting corner,
+weapon in hand, and a sword hanging from his wrist by the knot.
+
+Then, at about fifty yards, Mr Preston halted and faced round, with gun
+presented, and as the others still rode on, Yussuf left his post and
+joined the professor, passing him and riding on another fifty yards
+behind, where he faced round in turn.
+
+As the professor made his horse face about and rode on, he had only just
+reached the guide, when a clattering of horses' hoofs behind him made
+him look sharply round.
+
+The enemy had advanced, and about half a dozen men had taken up the
+vacated position at the elbow of the track.
+
+There they stopped, looking menacing enough, but making no advance,
+merely watching the progress of the little party as they retreated round
+the curve towards the other corner which they had passed on their way.
+
+"Had we not better get on faster?" said the professor.
+
+"No," replied Yussuf; "we must go slowly, or they will close in; and
+your excellency does not want blood to be shed.  Our only chance is by
+keeping a bold front, and retreating till we can get help.  They will
+not dare to attack us if we keep on like this, for they do not care to
+risk their lives."
+
+"Go on then," said the professor; and the retreat was kept up for about
+ten minutes, and then came to a stop, for Hamed, on reaching the other
+corner with his baggage-horses, stopped short suddenly, and on Lawrence
+trotting up to him, the professor saw him too stop, and present his gun.
+
+"We are trapped, effendi," said Yussuf sadly.
+
+"Trapped!" cried Mr Preston sharply.  "What do you mean?"
+
+"The dogs have another party who have been hidden in that side track,
+and they have come out as soon as we passed.  We are between two fires.
+What shall we do?"
+
+It was plain enough, for the next minute Hamed and Lawrence were seen to
+be driven back, and a party similar to that upon the first corner stood
+out clearly in the morning air--a gang before, and one behind, and the
+precipice above and below.  It was either fight or yield now, and Yussuf
+had asked the question, what was to be done.
+
+Shut in as they were completely, the little party closed up together on
+the curved path, Hamed requiring no telling, while the enemy made no
+attempt to advance.
+
+Mr Burne took out his box, had a large pinch of snuff, and then blew
+his nose so outrageously that the horses pricked their ears, and Ali
+Baba snorted and looked as if he would try another of his wonderful
+leaps if that kind of thing were to be continued.
+
+"Well, Yussuf," said the professor, "what is to be done?"
+
+The guide sighed deeply and looked full in his employer's face.
+
+"Excellency," he said softly, "I feel as if all my bones were turned to
+water."
+
+"Oh, indeed, sir," cried Mr Burne sharply; "then you had better turn
+them back to what they were."
+
+"What is to be done, Yussuf?" continued the professor.  "If we make a
+stout resistance, shall we beat them off?"
+
+"No, effendi," said Yussuf sadly; "it is impossible.  We might kill
+several, but they are many, and those who are left do not value life.
+Besides, effendi, some of us must fall."
+
+"What are these people, then?"
+
+"Brigands--robbers, excellency."
+
+"Brigands and robbers in the nineteenth century!" cried Mr Burne
+angrily; "it is absurd."
+
+"In your country, excellency; but here they are as common as they are in
+Greece."
+
+"But the law, sir, the law!" cried Mr Burne.  "Confound the scoundrels!
+where are the police?"
+
+Yussuf shrugged his shoulders.
+
+"We are far beyond the reach of the law or the police, excellency,
+unless a little army of soldiers is sent to take or destroy these
+people; and even then what can they do in these terrible fastnesses,
+where the brigands have hiding-places and strongholds that cannot be
+found out, or if found, where they can set the soldiery at defiance?"
+
+Mr Burne blew his nose again fearfully, and created a series of echoes
+that sounded as if old men were blowing their noses from where they
+stood right away to Constantinople, so strangely the sounds died away in
+the distance.
+
+"Then why, sir, in the name of common sense and common law, did you
+bring us into this out-of-the-way place, among these dirty, ragged,
+unshaven scoundrels?  It is abominable!  It is disgraceful!  It is--"
+
+"Hush! hush!  Burne; be reasonable," said the professor.  "Yussuf has
+only obeyed orders.  If anyone is to blame it is I, for I wished to see
+this ruined fastness of the old Roman days."
+
+Yussuf smiled, and gave the professor a grateful look.
+
+"Humph!  It's all very well for you to take his part.  He ought to have
+known," grumbled the old lawyer.
+
+"Travellers are never free from risk in any of the out-of-the-way parts
+of the country," said Yussuf quietly.
+
+"And of course we knew that, and accepted the risk," said the professor.
+"Come, come, Burne, be reasonable.  Yussuf is not to blame.  The
+question is, What are we to do--fight or give up?"
+
+"Fight," said Mr Burne fiercely.  "Hang it all, sir!  I never give in
+to an opponent.  I always say to a client, if he has right upon his
+side, `Fight, sir, fight.'  And that's what I'm going to do."
+
+"Fight, eh?" said the professor gravely.
+
+"Yes, sir, fight, and I only wish I understood the use of this gun and
+long knife as well as I do that of a ruler and a pen."
+
+"Look here, Yussuf, if we fight, what will be the consequences?"
+
+"I will fight for your excellencies to the last," said the Turk calmly;
+"but I am afraid that we can do no good."
+
+"Confound you, sir!" cried Mr Burne; "if we give in they will take off
+our heads."
+
+"No, no, excellency, they will make us prisoners, and strip us of our
+arms and all that we have of value."
+
+"Humph!  Is that all?"
+
+"No, excellency.  They will demand a heavy ransom for your release--so
+many Turkish pounds."
+
+"Then we'll fight," cried Mr Burne furiously.  "I never would and I
+never will be swindled.  Ransom indeed!  Why, confound it all, Preston!
+is this real, or is it a cock-and-bull story told in a book?"
+
+"It is reality, Burne, sure enough," said the professor calmly; "and I
+feel with you, that I would sooner fight than give up a shilling; but,
+cowardly as it may seem, I fear that we must give up."
+
+"Give up?  Never, sir.  I am an Englishman," cried the old lawyer.
+
+"But look at our position.  We are completely at their mercy.  Here we
+are in the centre of this half-moon curve, and the scoundrels hold the
+two horns in force."
+
+"Then we'll dash up the mountain."
+
+"It is impossible, excellency," said Yussuf.
+
+"Then we'll go downwards."
+
+"To death, Burne?" said the professor smiling.
+
+"Confound it all!" cried Mr Burne, "we are in a complete trap.  Here,
+you, Yussuf, this is your doing, and you are in league with these
+rascals to rob us."
+
+"Excellency!"
+
+"Oh, Mr Burne!" cried Lawrence, with his face scarlet; and he leaned
+towards Yussuf, and held out his hand to the Turk, who sat with angry,
+lowering countenance upon his horse.
+
+"Mr Burne is angry, Yussuf," said the professor in a quiet, stern
+manner.  "He does not mean what he says, and I am sure he will apologise
+as an English gentleman should."
+
+Yussuf bowed coldly, and Mr Preston continued:
+
+"I have the most perfect confidence in your integrity, sir, and as we
+are brothers in misfortune, and you know these people better than we--"
+
+"Of course," said Mr Burne, with an angry ejaculation.
+
+"I ask you," said Mr Preston, "to give us your advice.  What had we
+better do--fight or give up?"
+
+Yussuf's face brightened, and he turned to the old lawyer.
+
+"Effendi," he said gravely, "you will know me better before we part, and
+you will tell me you are sorry for what you have said."
+
+"I won't, sir!  No, confound me, never!" cried the old lawyer; and he
+blew his nose like a challenge upon a trumpet.
+
+"I am deeply grieved, effendi," continued Yussuf, smiling as he turned
+to the professor, "for this is a terrible misfortune, and you will be
+disappointed of your visit to the old city.  But it would be madness to
+light.  We should be throwing away our lives, and that of the young
+effendi here, who has shown us of late that he has a long and useful
+life to lead.  It is our fate.  We must give up."
+
+"Never!" cried Mr Burne, cocking his gun.
+
+"Don't be foolish, my dear Burne," said the professor.  "I would say,
+let us fight like men; but what can we do against fifty well-armed
+scoundrels, who can shelter themselves and pick us off at their ease?
+Come, keep that gun still, or you will shoot one of us instead of an
+enemy."
+
+"Now, that's cruel!" cried Mr Burne with an air of comical vexation.
+"Well, I suppose you are right.  Here, Yussuf, old fellow, I beg your
+pardon.  I was only in a savage temper.  I suppose we must give in; but
+before I'll pay a shilling of ransom they shall take off my head."
+
+Yussuf smiled.
+
+"Confound you, sir, don't grin at a man when he's down," cried Mr
+Burne.  "You've got the better of me, but you need not rejoice like
+that."
+
+"I do not rejoice, excellency, only that you believe in me once more."
+
+"Here! hi! you black-muzzled, unbelieving scoundrels, leave off, will
+you!  Don't point your guns at us, or, by George and the dragon and the
+other champions of Christendom, I will fight."
+
+He had looked at the two points of the half-moon road, and seen that
+about a dozen men were now dismounted, and were apparently taking aim at
+them.
+
+"Well, Yussuf, we give up," said the professor.  "Perhaps, after all,
+they may be honest people.  Will you go to them and ask what they want
+with us?"
+
+"They are brigands, excellency."
+
+"Well, ask them what they will take to let us continue our journey in
+peace," cried Mr Burne.  "Offer 'em five shillings all round; I suppose
+there are about fifty--or, no, say we will give them ten pounds to go
+about their business; and a precious good day's work for the ragged
+jacks."
+
+"I will go forward," said Yussuf.  "Excellency," he continued to the
+professor, "trust me, and I will make the best bargain I can."
+
+"Go on, then," said the professor; "but is there any risk to yourself?"
+
+"Oh, no, effendi, none at all.  I have no fear.  They will know I come
+as an ambassador."
+
+"Go on, then," said the professor; and the Turk rode slowly forward to
+the men, who blocked their way, and who still held their guns menacingly
+before them as if about to fire.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER THIRTY SIX.
+
+GOOD OUT OF EVIL.
+
+"We've brought our pigs to a pretty market," grumbled Mr Burne, as they
+sat watching Yussuf ride up to the brigands.  "It means ruin, sir,
+ruin."
+
+"There's no help for it, Burne," said the professor calmly; "it is of no
+use to complain."
+
+"I am an Englishman, sir, and I shall grumble as much and as long as I
+please," cried the old gentleman snappishly; "and you, Lawrence, if you
+laugh at me, sir, I'll knock you off your horse.  Here, what was the use
+of our buying weapons of war, if we are not going to use them?"
+
+"Their conversation has been short," said the professor.  "I suppose it
+is settled.  So vexatious too, when we were quite near the ancient
+stronghold."
+
+"Bah! you've seen old stones and ruins enough, man.  I wish to goodness
+we were back in London.  Well, Yussuf, what do they say?"
+
+"That if your excellencies will surrender peaceably, you shall not be
+hurt.  There is nothing else for us to do but give up."
+
+"And you advise it, Yussuf?" said the professor.
+
+"Yes, your excellency, we must give up; and perhaps if you are patient I
+may find a means for us to escape."
+
+"Hah! that's better," cried Mr Burne; "now you are speaking like a man.
+Come along, then, and let's get it over.  Can the brutes speak
+English?"
+
+"No, excellency, I think not.  Shall I lead?"
+
+"No," said Mr Burne.  "I shall go first, just to show the miserable
+ruffians that we are not afraid of them if we do give up.  Come along,
+Preston.  Confound them! how I do hate thieves."
+
+He took a pinch of snuff, and then rode slowly on with an angry
+contemptuous look, closely followed by his companions, to where the
+brigands were awaiting them with guns presented ready to fire if there
+was any resistance.
+
+As they advanced, the party behind closed up quickly, all being in the
+same state of readiness with their weapons till the travellers found
+themselves completely hemmed in by as evil-looking a body of scoundrels
+as could be conceived.  Every man had his belt stuck full of knives and
+pistols, and carried a dangerous-looking gun--that is to say, a piece
+that was risky to both enemy and friend.
+
+One man, who seemed to hold pre-eminence from the fact that he was half
+a head taller than his companions, said a few words in a sharp fierce
+manner, and Yussuf spoke.
+
+"The captain says we are to give up all our arms," he said; and the
+professor handed his gun and sword without a word, the appearance of the
+weapons apparently giving great satisfaction to the chief.
+
+"Here, take 'em," growled Mr Burne; "you ugly-looking unwashed animal.
+I hope the gun will go off of itself, and shoot you.  I say, Preston,
+you haven't given them your revolver."
+
+"Hush! neither am I going to without they ask for it.  Yussuf is keeping
+his."
+
+"Oh, I see," said the old lawyer brightening.
+
+Lawrence had to resign his handsome gun and sword next, the beauty of
+their workmanship causing quite a buzz of excitement.
+
+After this, as Lawrence sat suffering a bitter pang at losing his
+treasured weapons, the chief said a few words to Yussuf.
+
+"The captain says, excellencies, that if you will ride quietly to their
+place, he will not have you bound.  I have said that you will go."
+
+"Yes," said the professor, "we will go quietly."
+
+The chief seemed satisfied, and the prisoners being placed in the
+middle, the whole band went off along the mountain path, higher and
+higher hour after hour.
+
+There was no attempt made to separate them, nor yet to hinder their
+conversation; and the brigands seemed less ferocious now that the
+business of the day had had so satisfactory a finish, for they were
+congratulating themselves upon having made a very valuable haul, and the
+captives, after a time, began to look upon their seizure as more
+interesting and novel than troublesome.  That is to say, all but the
+professor, who bemoaned bitterly the fact that he should miss seeing the
+old ruined, stronghold in the mountains, which was said to be the
+highest ruin in the land.
+
+"It seems so vexatious, Yussuf," he said towards evening, after a very
+long and tedious ride through scenery that was wild and grand in the
+extreme; "just, too, as we were so near the aim of all my desire."
+
+"Bother!" said Mr Burne, "I wish they would stop and cook some dinner.
+Are they going to starve us?"
+
+"No, excellency; and before an hour has passed, if I think rightly, we
+shall have reached the brigands' stronghold.  They will not starve you,
+but you will have to pay dearly for all you have."
+
+"I don't care," said Mr Burne recklessly.  "I'd give a five-pound note
+now for a chop, and a sovereign a-piece for mealy potatoes.  This
+mountain air makes me ravenous, and ugh! how cold it is."
+
+"We are so high up, excellency," said Yussuf; and then smiling, "Yes, I
+am right."
+
+"What do you mean?" said the professor.
+
+"I did not like to speak before, effendi," he said excitedly, "for I was
+not sure; but it is as I thought; they have now turned into the right
+road.  Everything points to it."
+
+"Look here," grumbled Mr Burne, "I'm not in a humour to guess
+conundrums and charades; speak out, man.  What do you mean?"
+
+"I mean, excellency, that I have been wondering where the brigands'
+strong place could be, and I believe I have found out."
+
+"Well, where is it?  A cave, of course?"
+
+"No, excellency; and you, effendi," he continued, turning to the
+professor, "will be delighted."
+
+"What do you mean, my good fellow?" said the professor warmly.
+
+"That you will have your wish.  There is no other place likely, and it
+seems to me that this band of men have made the old ruined stronghold
+their lurking-place, and you will see the ruins after all."
+
+"What?" cried Mr Preston excitedly.
+
+"I am not sure, excellency, for they may be only going to pass them on
+our way elsewhere; but we are now journeying straight for the grand old
+remains we sought."
+
+"Then, I don't care what ransom I have to pay," said the professor
+eagerly.  "Lawrence, my dear boy--Burne--this is not a misfortune, but a
+great slice of luck."
+
+"Oh! indeed! is it?" said the old lawyer sarcastically.  "I should not
+have known."
+
+It proved to be as Yussuf had anticipated, for, just as the sun was
+sinking below the mountains, the shelf of a path was continued along by
+the brink of a terrible precipice which looked black beneath their feet,
+and after many devious windings, it ended as it were before a huge pile
+of limestone, at the foot of which rocks were piled-up as if they had
+suddenly been dashed down from some tremendous tremor of the mountains.
+
+"Where are we going?" said the professor.
+
+"Up to the top of that great pile," said Yussuf.
+
+"But are the ruins there?"
+
+"Yes, effendi."
+
+"And how are we to set there?"
+
+"You will see, excellency.  It is quite right.  This is the robbers'
+home, where they could set an army at defiance."
+
+"But we can't get up there," said Lawrence, gazing at the dizzy height.
+
+As he spoke, the foremost horseman seemed to disappear, but only to come
+into sight again, and then it became evident that there was a zigzag and
+winding path right up to the top of the huge mass of rock which towered
+up almost perpendicularly in places, and, ten minutes later, Lawrence
+was riding up a path with so awful a precipice on his right that he
+closed his eyes.
+
+But the next minute the fascination to gaze down was too strong to be
+resisted, and he found himself looking round and about him, almost
+stunned by the aspect of the place.  But the sure-footed Turkish ponies
+went steadily on higher and higher round curves and sharply turning
+angles and elbows, till at last at a dizzy height the foremost horseman
+rode in between two masses of rock surmounted by ruined buildings.  Then
+on across a hideous gap of several hundred feet deep, a mere split in
+the rock bridged with the trunks of pine-trees, but awful to
+contemplate, and making the travellers hold their breath till they were
+across, and amid the gigantic ruins of an ancient stronghold.
+
+"Stupendous!" cried the professor, as they rode on amidst the traces of
+the former grandeur of the place.
+
+"How bitterly cold!" said the professor.
+
+"We are to dismount here," said Yussuf quietly, "and go into this old
+building."
+
+They obeyed, glad to descend from their horses, which were taken away,
+and then they were ushered to a great stone-built hall where a fire was
+burning, which seemed cheery and comfortable after their long ride.
+
+There were rugs on the floor, the roof was sound, and the window was
+covered by a screen of straw which made the place dark save for the warm
+glow of the fire, near which a little Turkish-looking man was seated,
+and a largely proportioned Turkish woman reclined on a rough kind of
+divan.
+
+"These are to be our quarters, effendi," said Yussuf, after a brief
+colloquy with the chief, who had accompanied them, "and these are our
+fellow-prisoners.  But he warns me that if we attempt to escape we shall
+be shot, for there are sentries on the watch."
+
+"All right," said Mr Burne approaching the fire; "tell him not to
+bother us to-night, only to give us the best they've got to eat, or else
+to let us have our baggage in and leave us to shift for ourselves."
+
+Just then an exclamation escaped the big Turkish woman, who sprang to
+her feet, and ran and caught the professor's hand.
+
+"Mr Preston!" she cried.  "Do you not know me?"
+
+"Mrs Chumley!" cried the professor.  "You here!"
+
+"Yes, we've been prisoners here for a month.  Charley, you lazy fellow,
+get up; these are friends."
+
+"Oh, are they?" said the little Turk, rising slowly.  "Well, I'm jolly
+glad of it, for I'm sick of being here.  Hallo, young Lawrence, I've
+often thought about you; how are you?  Getting better?  That's right.
+See you are.  How do, Preston?  How do, Mr Burne?  I say!  Ha-ha-ha!
+You're all in for it now."
+
+"For shame, Charley, to talk like that," cried the lady.  "Come up to
+the fire all of you.  I am very glad to see you here."
+
+"Oh, you are, eh, madam?" said the old lawyer sharply, as he warmed his
+hands over the blaze.
+
+"Well, I do not mean that," said the lady; "but it is always pleasant to
+meet English people when you are far from home."
+
+Just then the robber chief nodded, said a few words to Yussuf, and the
+prisoners were left alone.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER THIRTY SEVEN.
+
+A QUESTION OF RANSOM.
+
+"Nice state of affairs this, Mr Preston," said the little prisoner
+holding out his arms.  "Here's a dress for a gentleman;" and he
+displayed the rags of Turkish costume he wore.  "Chaps saw me at my club
+now."
+
+"Charley, will you hold your tongue," cried his lady angrily.  "How am I
+to explain our position if you will keep on chattering so?"
+
+"But, my darling--"
+
+"Will you be quiet, Charley.  Look here, Mr Preston," she continued,
+"it's just three weeks ago, as we were travelling in this horrible
+country at least ten miles away, we were seized by these horrid men, and
+brought here.  They've taken everything we had, and given us these
+miserable clothes, and every night they come to us and say--"
+
+"They'll cut off our heads to-morrow morning."
+
+"Will you be quiet, Charley," cried the lady, stamping her foot.  "How
+am I to explain?  Am I not always telling you what a chatter-box you
+are."
+
+"Yes, my dear, always."
+
+"Silence, sir!  Mr Preston," she continued, as her little husband went
+softly to Lawrence, and drew him aside to go on whispering in his
+ear--"Mr Preston, no one knows what we have suffered.  As I was
+saying--I hope you are listening, Mr--Mr--Mr--Mr--"
+
+"Burne, ma'am," said the old lawyer bowing.
+
+"Oh, yes, I had forgotten.  Mr Burne.  I beg your pardon.  As I was
+saying they come every night, and say that to-morrow morning they will
+cut off our heads and send them to Smyrna as an example, if our ransom
+does not come."
+
+"Your ransom, madam?" said the professor.
+
+"Yes.  Five thousand pounds--three for me and two for poor Charley; and
+though we have sent for the money, it does not come.  Isn't it a shame?"
+
+"Scandalous, madam."
+
+"And you can't tell how glad I am to see you here.  Have you brought the
+money?"
+
+"Brought the money, ma'am?  Why, we are prisoners too."
+
+"Oh, dear me, how tiresome!" cried the lady.  "I thought you were at
+first; and then I thought you were sent with our ransom.  What are we to
+do?  Mr Burne," she continued, turning to him, "you said you were a
+lawyer.  Pray, send for these people at once, and tell them that they
+will be very severely punished if they do not set us at liberty."
+
+"My dear madam," said the old lawyer, "I am only just getting myself
+thawed, and I have had nothing but snuff since breakfast.  I must have
+some food before I can speak or even think."
+
+Meanwhile little Mr Chumley was whispering to Lawrence on the other
+side of the fire, and relating all his troubles.  "Taken everything
+away, sir," he said--"watch, purse, cigars, and I actually saw the
+scoundrel who is at the head of them smoking my beautiful _partagas_
+that I brought with me from England.  I say, what had we better do?"
+
+"Try and escape, I suppose," said Lawrence.
+
+"Escape!  Look here, young man; are you a fly, or a bird, or a black
+beetle?" whispered the little man.
+
+"I think not," said Lawrence laughing.
+
+"Then you can't get away from here, so don't think it.  Why, it's
+impossible."
+
+Just then the fierce-looking chief entered, followed by a man carrying a
+great smoking dish, and as the leader drew near the fire, Lawrence bit
+his lip, for he saw that the tall ruffian was wearing his sword, and
+carrying his handsome gun in the hollow of his arm.
+
+The chief turned to Yussuf, who was seated in one corner of the room,
+and said a few words to him.
+
+Yussuf rose and addressed his little party in a low voice.
+
+"The brigand captain says, excellencies, that you are to be prepared to
+send in one of his men to-morrow morning as messenger to your agent
+where you like.  You are to write and say that, if injury is done to the
+messenger, you will be killed.  The messenger is to bring back six
+thousand pounds--two for each of you--as a ransom, and that, upon the
+money being paid, you will be set free."
+
+"And if the money be not paid, Yussuf, what then?" said the professor
+quietly.
+
+"The chief says no more, excellency."
+
+"But he will to-morrow or next day," cried Mr Chumley.  "He'll say that
+if the money is not paid he'll--"
+
+"Will you be quiet, Charley?" cried his wife.  "How you do chatter, to
+be sure!  Are you going to send for the money?"
+
+"I don't know yet," said the professor smiling.  "I must think over our
+position first."
+
+"But, Mr Burne!" cried the lady.
+
+"My dear madam," said Mr Burne, "I can say nothing till after supper.
+Here is a dish of fowl and rice to be discussed before we do anything
+else.  Here, Snooks, Brown, Hassan, Elecampane--what's your name?--lay
+the cloth and bring some knives and forks."
+
+The man addressed did not stir.  He had placed the smoking brass dish
+upon a stone near the fire, and with that his duties seemed to be ended.
+
+"They won't give you any knives or forks," said little Mr Chumley.
+
+"Will you be quiet, Charley?" cried his lady.  "No, gentlemen, you will
+have to sit down all round the dish like this, and eat with your fingers
+like pigs."
+
+"Pigs haven't got any fingers," whispered little Chumley to Lawrence.
+"Come along."
+
+"What is he whispering to you, Master Lawrence?" said the lady sharply.
+"Don't take any notice of what he says.  He talks too much and thinks
+too little.  If he had thought more and said less we should not be in
+this predicament."
+
+The chief and his follower had passed silently behind the great rug
+stretched over the doorway, and, led by their hunger, the prisoners all
+sat down round the dish "like this," to use Mrs Chumley's words--_this_
+being tailor fashion, or cross-legged _a la Turcque_; and then, in very
+primitive fashion, the supper of poor stringy fowl and ill-cooked rice
+began.
+
+The food was very poor, the bread being heavy and black; but all were
+too hungry to be particular, and at last the dish was completely
+finished, and conversation respecting their position began, while Yussuf
+sat aside and waited patiently to be questioned.
+
+"Look here, Yussuf," said the professor at last; "what is to be done?"
+
+"I fear, excellency," replied the guide, "that the only way of escape is
+by paying the ransom."
+
+"But, man, it is ruinous, and they dare not injure us.  Why, if the
+English people knew of our position troops would be sent to our
+assistance."
+
+"And the brigands would resent their coming by killing you and your
+friends, excellency."
+
+"They would not dare, Yussuf."
+
+"I'm afraid they would, effendi.  They are utterly reckless scoundrels,
+the sweepings of the country, and they are so powerful, and secure here
+that they laugh at the law, such law as we have in this unhappy land."
+
+"But such a state of affairs is monstrous, sir," said Mr Burne.  "I am
+a lawyer, sir, and I ought to know."
+
+"It is monstrous, excellency," said Yussuf; "but these men are outlaws.
+You see what a stronghold they have if it came to a fight; but your
+friends or the government would not dare to let it come to a fight, for
+if they did they would be slaying you."
+
+"Tchah!" cried Mr Burne; "this is about the knottiest case I ever did
+meet.  I say, you, Lawrence, a nice position you have placed us all in."
+
+"I, Mr Burne!" cried the lad wonderingly.
+
+"Yes, sir, you.  If you had only been quite well, like a reasonable boy
+of your age, we should not have come out here, and if we hadn't come out
+here we should not have been in this mess.  There, I'm too tired to
+talk.  Good-night."
+
+He threw himself down upon one of the rugs and was asleep directly,
+while the professor walked to the doorway, and found two fierce-looking
+sentries outside, one of whom menacingly bade him go back.
+
+He spoke in the Turkish language; but his manner made his meaning plain,
+so Mr Preston went back to the fireside, and sat talking to the
+Chumleys and Lawrence till the latter fell fast asleep; and at last, in
+spite of the peril of his position, the professor grew so weary that the
+account of the Chumleys' troubles began to sound soothing, and, what
+with the long day's work, the exposure to the keen mountain air, and the
+warmth of the fire, he too fell asleep, and silence reigned in the
+ancient structure that had been made their prison.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER THIRTY EIGHT.
+
+SUGGESTIONS OF ESCAPE.
+
+The morning broke so bright and clear, and from the window there were so
+many wonders of architecture visible in the old stronghold, that the
+professor and Lawrence forgot for the time that they were prisoners, and
+stood gazing out at the wonderful scene.
+
+Where they had been placed was evidently a portion of an old castle, and
+looking down there were traces of huge buildings of the most solid
+construction, such as seemed to date back a couple of thousand years,
+and yet to be in parts as strong as on the day they were placed and
+cemented stone upon stone.
+
+Huge wall, tremendous battlement, and pillared remains of palace or hall
+were on every side, and as they gazed, it seemed to them that they could
+easily imagine the presence of the helmeted, armoured warriors who had
+once owned the land.
+
+The sun was so glorious that the professor proposed a look round before
+breakfast.
+
+"Never mind the inconvenience, Lawrence," he said, "we have fallen into
+a wonderful nest of antiquities, worth all our journey and trouble.
+Here, come along."
+
+They went to the doorway, drew the great rug hanging before it aside,
+and were stepping out when a couple of guns were presented at their
+breasts, and they were angrily bidden to go back.
+
+It was a rude reminder that they were no longer upon a touring journey,
+and the fact was farther impressed upon them, after a breakfast of
+yaourt or curd, bread, and some very bad coffee, by a visit from the
+chief and half a dozen men.
+
+Yussuf was called upon to interpret, and that which he had to say was
+unpalatable enough, for he had to bid them empty their pockets, and pass
+everything they possessed over to their captors.
+
+Watches, purses, pocket-books, all had to go; but it was in vain to
+resist, and everything was handed over without a word, till it came to
+Mr Burne's gold snuff-box, and this he slipped back into his pocket.
+
+The attempt to save it was in vain; two sturdy scoundrels seized him,
+one on each side, and the snuff-box was snatched away by the chief
+himself.
+
+He uttered a few guttural sounds as he opened the box, and seemed
+disappointed as he found therein only a little fine brown dust, into
+which he thrust his finger and thumb.
+
+He looked puzzled and held it to his nose, giving a good sniff, with the
+result that he inhaled sufficient of the fine dust to make him sneeze
+violently, and scatter the remainder of the snuff upon the earth.
+
+Mr Burne made a start forward, but he was roughly held back, and the
+chief then turned to Yussuf.
+
+"Tell them," he said in his own tongue, "to write to their friends, and
+ask for the ransom--two thousand pounds each, and to say that if the
+money is not given their heads will be sent.  Bid them write."
+
+The fierce-looking scoundrel turned and stalked out of the place with
+his booty, and the moment he was free, Mr Burne dropped upon his knees
+and began sweeping the fallen snuff together in company with a great
+deal of dust and barley chaff, carefully placing the whole in his
+handkerchief ready for clearing as well as he could at his leisure.
+
+"That's just how they served us," said Mrs Chumley dolefully.  "I
+thought they would treat you the same."
+
+"So did I," said her husband dolefully.  "They've got my gold repeater,
+and--"
+
+"Now, Charley, don't--don't--don't bother Mr Preston about that
+miserable watch of yours, and I do wish you wouldn't talk so much."
+
+"But we must talk, madam," cried Mr Burne.  "Here, you, Yussuf, what's
+to be done?"
+
+"I can only give one piece of advice, effendi," said Yussuf gravely;
+"Write."
+
+"What, and ruin ourselves?"
+
+"Better that than lose your life, effendi," replied the guide.  "These
+people are fierce, and half savage.  They believe that you have money,
+and they will keep their word if it is not sent."
+
+"What, and kill us, Yussuf?" said Lawrence, with a horrified look.
+
+"Not if I can save you, Lawrence effendi," said Yussuf eagerly.  "But
+the letters must be sent.  It will make the villains think that we are
+content to wait, and put them off their guard.  Preston effendi, it is a
+terrible increase of the risk, but you will take the lady?"
+
+"Take the lady?"
+
+"Hush!  When we escape.  Do not say more now; we may be overheard.
+Write your letters."
+
+"Then you mean to try and escape."
+
+"Try and escape, effendi?" said Yussuf with a curious laugh; "why, of
+course."
+
+"What will you do?"
+
+"Wait, excellency, and see.  There are walls here, and I think places
+where we might get down past the guards with ropes."
+
+"And the ropes?"
+
+Yussuf laughed softly, and stared at the rugs as he said quietly:
+
+"I can see the place full of ropes, your excellency; only be patient,
+and we'll try what can be done in the darkness.  Write your letters
+now."
+
+Mr Preston had to appeal to the sentries, through Yussuf, for the
+necessary writing materials, and after a good deal of trouble his own
+writing-case, which had been in the plundered baggage, was brought to
+him.  He wrote to the vice-consul, Mr Thompson, at Smyrna, telling of
+their state, and asking advice and assistance, telling him, too, how to
+obtain the money required if diplomacy failed, and the ransom could not
+be reduced.
+
+This done, and a similar letter being written by Mr Burne, the sentry
+was again communicated with, and the despatches sent to the chief.
+
+An hour later there was a little bustle in the open space before their
+prison, and a couple of well-armed men mounted their horses, the chief
+standing talking to them for a few minutes, as if giving them final
+instructions.
+
+He then summoned his prisoners, and spoke to Yussuf, bidding him ask Mr
+Burne, whose wonderful head-dress won for him the distinction of being
+considered the most important personage present, whether he would like
+to make any addition to his despatch; for, said he:
+
+"I have told the people that any attempt at rescue means your instant
+death.  I will wait any reasonable time for your ransoms, and you shall
+be well treated; but I warn you that attempts to escape will be death to
+you.  That is all."
+
+"Wait a minute, Yussuf," said Mr Burne.  "Tell him he can keep the
+snuff-box and welcome, but he has a canister of best snuff in the
+package that was on the brown pony.  Ask him to let me have that."
+
+"Yes," said the chief, on hearing the request, "it is of no use to
+anyone.  He can have it.  What a dog of a Christian to take his tobacco
+like that!  Anything else?"
+
+"Yes," said Mr Preston, on hearing the reply, "tell him to send his men
+to watch me as much as he likes, but I want leave to inspect the old
+ruins and to make drawings.  Tell him I will not attempt to escape."
+
+"No, effendi," said Yussuf, "I will not tell him that, but I will ask
+the first;" and he made the request.
+
+"What! is he--one of the idiot giaours who waste their time in seeing
+old stones and imitate them upon paper?"
+
+"Yes, a harmless creature enough," said Yussuf.
+
+"So I suppose, or he would have fought.  Well, yes, he can go about, but
+tell him that if he attempts to leave my men behind they will shoot him.
+Not that he can get away, unless he has a djin to help him, or can
+fly," he added with a laugh.
+
+He walked to his men, gave them some further instructions, and they saw
+the two ambassadors go in and out among the ruins till they passed
+between two immense buttresses of rock, and then disappear down the
+perilous zigzag path that led to the shelf-like way.
+
+"Yes," said Yussuf, looking at Mr Preston, and interpreting his
+thoughts, "that is the only way out, excellency, but I do not despair of
+making our escape.  It must be a long time before arrangements can be
+made for your release, and the winter comes early here in these high
+places."
+
+"Winter?" cried Lawrence.
+
+"Yes," said Yussuf.  "It is fine and sunny one day, the next the snow
+has fallen, and a place like this may be shut off from the plains below
+for months.  You do not wish to pass the winter here, Lawrence effendi?"
+
+"I don't think I should mind," replied the lad, "everything is so fresh,
+and there is so much to see."
+
+"Well, now they are giving me leave to go about," said Mr Preston
+thoughtfully, "I think I could spend some months in drawing and writing
+an account of this old city, especially if they would let me make some
+excavations."
+
+"But his excellency, Mr Burne?" said Yussuf.
+
+"Oh!  I've got my snuff--at least I am to have it, and if they will feed
+us well I don't suppose I should mind very much.  The fact is, Preston,
+I've been working so hard all my life that I like this change.  Doing
+nothing is very pleasant when you are tired."
+
+"Of course it is," said the professor smiling.
+
+"And so long as there's no nonsense about cutting off men's heads, or
+any of that rubbish, I rather like being taken a prisoner by brigands.
+I wonder what a London policeman would think of such a state of
+affairs."
+
+"My masters are submitting wisely to their fate," said Yussuf gravely;
+"and while we are waiting, and those people think we are quite patient,
+I shall come with his excellency Preston, and while he draws I shall
+make plans, not of the city, but how to escape."
+
+Further conversation was cut short by the coming of Mr and Mrs
+Chumley, who eagerly asked--at least Mr Chumley wished to ask eagerly,
+but he was stopped by his lady, who retained the right--what
+arrangements had been made.  And she was told.
+
+"Oh, dear!" she sighed, "then that means weary waiting again.  Oh,
+Charley! why would you insist upon coming to this wretched land?"
+
+Mr Chumley opened his mouth in astonishment, but he did not speak then,
+he only waited a few minutes, and then took Lawrence's arm, and sat
+whispering to him apart, telling him how Mrs Chumley had insisted upon
+coming to Turkey when he wanted to go to Paris, and nowhere else, and
+that he was the most miserable man in the world.
+
+Lawrence heard him in silence, and as he sat he wondered how it was the
+most miserable man in the world could look so round and happy and grow
+so fat.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER THIRTY NINE.
+
+YUSSUF HAS HIS WITS ABOUT HIM.
+
+The weather was cold up there in the mountains, and it froze at night;
+but the sun was hot in the daytime, and the sky was mostly of a most
+delicious blue.  The chief always seemed to be scowling, watchful, and
+suspicious, but the prisoners had nothing but their captivity to
+complain about.  Rugs in abundance--every one of them stolen--were
+supplied for bedding and keeping out the cold night air that would have
+penetrated by door or window.  Upon proper representations being made by
+Yussuf the food supply was better, the guide installing himself at once
+as cook, to Mr Chumley's great delight; and agreeable dishes--pilaf,
+curry, kabobs, and the like--were prepared, with excellent coffee and
+good bread, while the scowling sentries became more agreeable, and took
+willingly to their duties, on finding that satisfactory snacks were
+handed to them, and hot cups of coffee on the bitter nights when they
+sat watching in their sheepskin or goatskin cloaks.
+
+As for the professor, in two days he had forgotten that he was a
+prisoner, and Lawrence was the best of friends with the evil-looking
+guards, who followed them with loaded guns to some old ruinous patch of
+wall, fortification, or hall.  Here the professor was in his element,
+drawing, planning, and measuring, longing the while to set a dozen
+strong-armed men to work digging up the stones embedded in the earth--a
+task which he was sure would be rewarded by the discovery of many
+objects of antiquity.
+
+Parties of the brigands went out now and then, but it was evident that
+their object was merely to forage, large quantities of barley being
+brought in, and some of the old buildings being utilised for stores.
+
+These seemed to be well supplied, and the community was preparing for
+the coming winter, so Yussuf told Lawrence--for the days when no food
+would be obtainable perhaps for months.
+
+Everyone seemed to lead a careless nonchalant life, the prisoners they
+had taken would, no doubt it was considered, bring in sufficient to make
+this a prosperous year's work, and till the ransoms were paid there was
+little more to do.
+
+The days glided by, and the watch over the prisoners grew less rigid.
+There was apparently only one way out of the stronghold, and that was
+always carefully guarded; and as it was evident to the captors that the
+professor and his companions were bent upon studying the place, the
+guards used to sit down upon some heap of old stones, with their guns
+across their knees, and smoke and sleep, while drawings were made, and
+inscriptions copied.
+
+Yussuf became quite a favourite, for he was a cook, and often showed the
+brigands' wives how to make some savoury dish; but for the most part he
+was busy helping the professor, carrying his paper, cleaning stones, or
+performing some such office.
+
+And so the days glided by, with the professor perfectly contented, the
+old lawyer apparently little troubled so long as his snuff held out, and
+Lawrence growing sturdier, and enjoying the feeling of health more and
+more.
+
+The only discontented people were the Chumleys, the gentleman
+complaining bitterly about the absence of news, and the lady because her
+husband would chatter so incessantly.
+
+"I say, Yussuf," said Lawrence one night as he sat talking to the guide,
+"they won't cut off our heads, will they?"
+
+Yussuf shook his head.
+
+"I have only one dread," he replied; "and that is of an attempt being
+made to rescue us."
+
+"I don't see anything to be afraid of there," said Lawrence laughing.
+
+"But I do," said the Turk seriously.  "If an attack were made, those
+people would become fierce like dogs or rats at bay, and then they might
+take our lives."
+
+"They would not without, then?"
+
+"No," said Yussuf; "they would threaten, and hold out for a heavy
+ransom, but if the friends that have been written to are clever, they
+will make the ransom small, and we shall be freed.  But it may take a
+long time, for the brigands will hold out as long as they think there is
+a chance of getting a large sum.  They are safe here; they have abundant
+stores, and nothing to do: they can afford to wait."
+
+"Well, I'm sure Mr Preston is in no hurry," said Lawrence; "nobody is
+but the Chumleys."
+
+"And I," said Yussuf smiling.
+
+"You? why, I thought you were happy enough.  You haven't said a word
+lately about escaping."
+
+"No," replied Yussuf smiling; "but sometimes those who are so quiet do a
+great deal.  I am afraid of the winter coming with its snow and shutting
+us in for months when we could not escape, for, even if the snow would
+let us pass, we should perish in the cold.  I have been hard at work."
+
+"You have, Yussuf?  What have you been doing?  Oh, I know; making
+plans."
+
+"And ropes," said Yussuf gravely.
+
+"Ropes?  I have seen you make no ropes."
+
+"No, because you were asleep.  Wait a moment."
+
+He rose quietly and walked to the entrance, drawing the rug that hung
+there aside and peering out, to come back as softly as he left his seat,
+and glancing at where the professor, wearied out with a hard day's work,
+was, like his companions by the fire, fast asleep.
+
+"The guards are smoking out there, and are safe," said Yussuf.  "See
+here, Lawrence effendi, but do not say a word to a soul."
+
+"I shall not speak," said Lawrence.
+
+Yussuf gave another glance at the Chumleys, and then stepped to a corner
+of the great hall-like place which formed their prison, drew aside a rug
+on the floor, lifted a slab of stone, and pointed to a coil of worsted
+rope as thick as a good walking-stick, and evidently of great length.
+
+It was only a few moments' glance, and then the stone was lowered, the
+dust swept over it, and the rug drawn across again.
+
+"You see I am getting ready," said Yussuf.
+
+"But what are we going to do?"
+
+"I have been watching and waiting," whispered the guide, "and I have
+found a place where we can descend from the old wall over the great
+defile."
+
+"But it is so awful a place, Yussuf."
+
+"Yes, it is awful; but there is a ledge we can reach, and then creep
+along and get beyond the sentries.  Then all will be easy, for we can
+get a long way some dark night before the alarm is given, and in the day
+we can hide.  Of course we must load ourselves with the food we have
+saved up."
+
+"Yes, yes, of course," said Lawrence thoughtfully; "but Mrs Chumley,
+she would not go down a rope."
+
+"Why, not?" said Yussuf quietly; "she talks like a man."
+
+"When are you going to try, then?" said Lawrence excitedly.
+
+"In about ten days.  I shall be ready then, and the nights will be dark.
+But, patience--you must not be excited."
+
+"But you will tell Mr Preston?"
+
+"Yes; to-morrow night, when I have finished my first rope.  Go to sleep
+now."
+
+"And you, Yussuf?"
+
+"Oh, I am going to work," he said smiling.  "See, my material is here."
+
+He drew out a handful of worsted threads which were evidently part of a
+rug which he had unravelled, and as soon as Lawrence had lain down, the
+Turk walked to the darkest corner of the building, and Lawrence could
+just make out that he was busy over something, but he was perfectly
+silent.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER FORTY.
+
+A GRAND DISCOVERY.
+
+It was the very next day that the professor took his paper, rule, and
+pencils down to a building that seemed to have been a temple.  It was at
+the very edge of the tremendous precipice, and must once have been of
+noble aspect, for it was adorned with a grand entrance, with handsomely
+carved columns supporting the nearly perfect roof, and the wonder was
+that the brigands had not utilised it for a dwelling or store.  But
+there it was, empty, and the professor gazed around it with rapture.
+
+The guards stood at the entrance leaning against the wall watching him
+and Lawrence carelessly, and then, going out into the sunshine, they
+picked out a sheltered spot, and sat down to smoke.
+
+The professor began to draw.  Soon afterwards Mr Burne sat down on a
+broken column taking snuff at intervals, and Yussuf seated himself with
+his back to the doorway, drew some worsted from his breast, and began to
+plait it rapidly, while Lawrence went on investigating the inmost
+recesses of the place.
+
+"Come and look here, Yussuf," he cried at the end of a few minutes, and
+the Turk followed him to a part of the building behind where an altar
+must have stood and pointed down.
+
+"Look here," he said; "this stone is loose, and goes down when I stand
+upon that corner.  It's hollow, too, underneath."
+
+He stamped as he spoke, and there was a strange echoing sound came up.
+
+"Hush!" said Yussuf quickly, and he glanced round to see if they were
+observed; but they were hidden from the other occupants of the place;
+and, stooping down, Yussuf brushed away some rubbish, placed his hands
+under one side of the stone where it was loose, and lifted the slab
+partly up.
+
+The air came up cool and sweet, so that it did not seem to be a vault;
+but it was evidently something of the kind, and not a well, for there
+was a flight of stone steps leading down into the darkness.
+
+It was but a moment's glance before Yussuf lowered the stone again, and
+hastily kicked some rubbish over it, and lowered a piece of an old
+figure across it so as to hide it more.
+
+"What is it?" said Lawrence quickly.
+
+"I do not know," replied Yussuf.  "It is our discovery.  It may be
+treasure; it may be anything.  Say no word to a soul, and you and I will
+get a lamp, escape from the prison to-night, and come and examine it,
+and see what it is.  It may be a way out."
+
+Lawrence would gladly have gone on at once, but Yussuf signed to him to
+be silent; and it was as well, for he had hardly time to throw himself
+down on a block of stone, and sham sleep, when the guards came
+sauntering in and looked suspiciously round.  Then, not seeing two of
+their prisoners, they came on cautiously, and peered over the stones
+that hid them from where the professor was drawing, to find Yussuf
+apparently asleep, and Lawrence sharpening his pocket-knife upon a
+stone.
+
+One of the men came forward and snatched the knife away, saying in his
+own tongue that boys had no business with knives, after which he stalked
+off and returned to his old place outside.
+
+"You see," said Yussuf quietly, "it was no time now for examining the
+place; wait till night."
+
+For the first time since he had been a prisoner the hours passed slowly
+to Lawrence.  It seemed as if it would never be night, and every time he
+met the professor's or Mr Burne's eye, they seemed to be taking him to
+task for keeping a secret from them.
+
+Then, too, Mrs Chumley appeared to be suspecting him, and Chumley drew
+him aside as if to cross-examine him; but it was only to confide a long
+story about how severely he had been snubbed that day for wanting to
+follow the professor to the ruins where he was making his drawings.
+
+At last, though, the guards had thrust in their villainous faces for the
+last time, according to their custom, and all had lain down as if to
+sleep.
+
+An hour must have passed, and Lawrence lay with his heart beating,
+waiting for a summons from Yussuf; but it seemed as if one would never
+come, and the lad was about to give up and conclude that their guide had
+decided not to go that night, when a hand came out of the darkness and
+touched his face, while a pair of lips almost swept his ear, and a voice
+whispered:
+
+"Rise softly, and follow me."
+
+Lawrence needed no second invitation, and, rising quickly, he followed
+Yussuf to where the rug hung over the door.
+
+"Bend down low, and follow me," whispered the Turk.  "The guards are
+nearly asleep."
+
+He drew the rug a little on one side, and Lawrence saw where the two men
+were huddled up in their sheepskin cloaks.
+
+"Do as I do," whispered Yussuf.
+
+The moon was shining, and the part where the guards sat was well in the
+light; but a black shadow was cast beneath the walls of the great
+building, and by stooping down and keeping in this, the evading pair
+were able to get beyond the ken of the guards, and though lights shone
+out from one ruined building, whether from fire or lamp could not be
+told, not a soul was about, and they were able to keep on till the
+inhabited part was left behind and the old temple reached.
+
+"It was a dangerous thing to do, Lawrence effendi," said the guide.  "I
+repented promising to bring you, for the men might have fired."
+
+"Never mind that," whispered Lawrence.  "We are safe now.  Have you
+brought a light?"
+
+"Yes," was the reply; and, by the moonlight which shone through a gap,
+Yussuf led the way among the broken stones to the back of the old altar,
+where, after feeling about, he found the side of the stone, lifted it
+right up, and leaned it against a broken column.
+
+Then, after a word of warning, he stooped down and struck a match, but
+the draught that blew up the opening extinguished it on the instant.
+
+Another and another shared the same fate, after giving them a glimpse of
+a ragged set of stone steps; and as it was evident that no light could
+be obtained that way, Yussuf took the little lamp he had brought into a
+corner of the building, lit it, and sheltering it inside his loose
+garment, he came back to where Lawrence waited listening.
+
+"I'll go first," said Yussuf.  "Mind how you come."
+
+He lowered himself into the hole, and descended a few steps.
+
+"It is quite safe," he said.  "Come down;" and Lawrence descended to
+stand by his side.
+
+"Shelter this lamp a minute," whispered Yussuf.  "I must close the
+stone, or the light will be out."
+
+Lawrence took the lamp, the perspiration standing on his forehead the
+while, as he felt that this was something like being Aladdin, and
+descending into the cave in search of the wonderful lamp.
+
+"Suppose," he thought, "that Yussuf should step out and leave him in
+this horrible place to starve and die.  Nobody would ever guess that he
+was there, and no one would hear his cries.  What was the place--a tomb?
+And had Yussuf gone and left him?"
+
+There was a low dull hollow sound as the stone descended into its place,
+and a cry rose to the lad's lips, but it had no utterance, for Yussuf
+said softly from above:
+
+"Now you may show the light, and we can see where we are."
+
+Lawrence drew a breath of relief as he took the light from his breast,
+and saw that he was standing upon a very rough flight of stone steps,
+with the rugged wall of rock on either side.
+
+Yussuf took the lamp and held it up, showing a rough arch of great
+stones over their heads, and the square opening over a rough landing
+where they had descended, while on either side the rock looked as if at
+some time it had been split, and left a space varying from four to six
+feet wide, the two sides being such that, if by some convulsion of
+nature they were closed, they would have fitted one into the other.
+
+"Follow close behind me," said Yussuf.  "This must lead into some vault
+or perhaps burial-place.  You are not frightened?"
+
+"Yes, I am," said Lawrence in a low tone.
+
+"Shall we go back?"
+
+"No, but I cannot help being a little alarmed."
+
+Yussuf laughed softly.
+
+"No wonder," he said.  "I feel a little strange myself.  But listen,
+Lawrence; what we have to fear is a hole or crack in the rock into which
+we might fall, so keep your eyes on the ground."
+
+But their path proved very easy, always a steep descent, sometimes cut
+into stairs, sometimes merely a rugged slope, and always arched over by
+big uncemented stones.
+
+No vault came in sight, no passage broke off to right or left; it was
+always the same steep descent--a way to some particular pine made by the
+ancients, who had utilised the crevice or split in the rock, and arched
+it over to make this rugged passage.
+
+"I think I understand," said Yussuf, when they had gone on descending
+for quite three hundred yards.
+
+"What is it?" said Lawrence; "a tomb?"
+
+"No."
+
+"A treasure chamber?"
+
+"No."
+
+"What, then?"
+
+"There must be a spring of good water somewhere down at the bottom, and
+this was of great value to the people who built this place on the rock.
+Shall we go any farther?"
+
+"Yes, I want to see the spring," said Lawrence.  "I am not so frightened
+now."
+
+"There is quite a current of air here," said Yussuf, when they had
+descended another hundred yards or so.  "The spring must be in the open
+air, and out by the mountain side."
+
+Lawrence was too intent upon his feet to answer, and they descended
+another fifty yards, when Yussuf stopped, for the way was impeded by a
+piled-up mass of fallen stones, and on looking up to see if they were
+from the roof they found that the arching had ceased, and that the roof
+was the natural rock of wedged-in masses fallen from above.
+
+"We can get no farther," said Yussuf, holding the lamp above his head.
+
+"Look, look!" said Lawrence softly; "there is a light out there."
+
+Yussuf looked straight before him; and placing the lamp upon the ground,
+and shading it with his coat, there, sure enough, not more than a dozen
+yards away, was a patch of light--blight moonlight.
+
+"I was wrong," said Yussuf calmly; "this is not the way to a spring, but
+a road from that temple down to some pathway along by the side of the
+mountain, and closed up by these fallen stones.  Lawrence effendi, we
+shall not want my ropes to descend from the walls.  You have found a way
+out of the old place that has lain hidden for hundreds of years."
+
+"Do you think so?"
+
+"Yes; and that we have only to set to work and clear away these stones
+sufficiently to reach the entrance, and then we can escape."
+
+"Let us begin, then, at once," cried Lawrence joyously.
+
+"No; we will go back now, and examine the way, so as to make sure that
+our course up and down is safe.  Then we will get back, and be satisfied
+with our night's work."
+
+"Yes," said Yussuf, when he reached the stone again; "it is all quite
+plain.  I could come up and down here in the dark, and there will be
+light enough at the bottom in the daytime to see what to do."
+
+He raised the stone after extinguishing his lamp, and they both stepped
+out; the stone was lowered into its place, a little earth and dust
+thrown over it and a few fragments of rubbish, and then the midnight
+wanderers stole back to the prison, but only to stop short in the shadow
+with Lawrence chilled by horror.  For, as they were about to step up to
+the portal, one of the guards yawned loudly, rose, and walked to the
+rug, drew it aside, and looked in.
+
+He stood there gazing in so long, that it seemed as if he must have
+discovered that there were absentees; but, just as Lawrence was in
+despair, he dropped the curtain, walked back to his companion, and sat
+down with his back to the portal.
+
+Yussuf wasted no time, but glided along in the shadow, and Lawrence
+followed; but as he reached the portal he kicked against a piece of
+loose stone and the guards sprang up.
+
+Lawrence would have stood there petrified, but Yussuf dragged him in,
+hurried him across the interior, threw him down, and took his place
+behind him.
+
+"Pretend to be asleep," he whispered; and he turned his face away, as
+the steps of the guards were heard, and they lifted the rug curtain and
+came in with a primitive kind of lantern, to look round and see if all
+were there, being satisfied on finding them apparently asleep, and going
+back evidently believing it was a false alarm.
+
+"Safe this time, Yussuf," whispered Lawrence.
+
+"Yes," said the guide.  "Now sleep in peace, for you have discovered a
+way to escape."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER FORTY ONE.
+
+THE TIME FOR FLIGHT.
+
+"And you are sure, Yussuf?" said Mr Preston two days later.
+
+"Yes, effendi.  I have been there alone twice since, and in a few hours
+I had moved enough stones to let me through to the light, and in a few
+hours more I can make the passage so easy that a lady can go through."
+
+"And where the light shines in?"
+
+"Is just over a narrow rugged path leading down the mountain--a way that
+has been forgotten.  Effendi, after I have been there once again the way
+is open, and though the path is dangerous it will lead to safety, and we
+must escape."
+
+"When?" said Mr Preston eagerly.
+
+"As soon as we can collect a little food--not much, but enough to carry
+us to the nearest village where we can get help."
+
+"And our goods--our property?"
+
+"Must stay, excellency.  Once you are all safe we can send the soldiery
+by the path by which we left, for the brigands will not know how we have
+escaped."
+
+"Well, I can save my drawings," said the professor, "and they will be
+worth all the journey, as we have no ransom to pay."
+
+The next day Mr Burne was let into the secret, but it was decided not
+to tell the Chumleys till they were awakened on the night of the
+attempt.
+
+It was hard work to keep down the feeling of elation so as not to let
+the chief see that the captives were full of hope, for he came day by
+day to visit them and complain about the length of time his messengers
+were gone.
+
+But the secret was well kept, and those who shared it, in obedience to
+Yussuf's suggestion, began to store away portions of their provisions so
+as to be prepared at any moment for a journey which might take them for
+many days through the mountains away from village or beaten track.
+
+"I shall leave this place with regret," the professor said with a sigh;
+"but I must say I do not relish paying for my stay with every shilling I
+have scraped together during my life."
+
+"No.  Let's get away, Preston," said Mr Burne.  "Oh, if I could only
+commence an action against these scoundrels for our imprisonment!  I'd
+make them smart."
+
+They were sitting together among the ruins, and their thoughts naturally
+reverted to Yussuf and his reticent ways, for two days had passed since
+he had made any communication, and he had seemed to be more retiring
+than ever.
+
+The sun was shining brightly, and warmed the stones where they sat, but
+the air seemed to be piercingly cold, and Mr Burne shivered more than
+once, and got up to walk about.
+
+"I shall not be sorry to get down out of the mountains," he said.  "What
+do you say, Lawrence?"
+
+"Oh!  I've liked the stay up here very well, it has all been so new and
+different; and besides, I have been so well, and I feel so strong."
+
+"Yes, you are better, my boy," said Mr Burne, nodding his head
+approvingly.
+
+"I used to feel tired directly I moved," continued Lawrence, "but now I
+scarcely ever feel tired till quite night.  Yussuf says it is the
+mountain air."
+
+"Yes," said the professor dryly, "it is the mountain air.  Where is
+Yussuf?"
+
+"Here, excellency," said their guide; and they all started with
+surprise, he had approached so quietly.  "I was coming to tell you that
+I have been up to the top of the old temple, and have at length traced
+the ancient path.  I have only seen parts of it here and there, but I
+can make out the direction it takes, and it is right opposite to that by
+which we came."
+
+"But where does it lead?" said the professor.
+
+"Away west, effendi--where, I cannot say; but let us get out of this
+place and I will lead you in safety somewhere."
+
+"But the old path--is it very dangerous?" said Mr Burne.
+
+"I went out upon it last night in the darkness, and followed it for a
+couple of miles, excellency.  It is dangerous, but with care we can get
+safely along."
+
+"You have quite cleared the passage, then?" said the professor.
+
+"Right to the mouth, effendi.  There, so as not to excite notice, I have
+only left a hole big enough to crawl from.  Not that anyone could see,
+except from the mountain on the other side, and nobody is ever there."
+
+"When do we go, then?" said Lawrence eagerly.
+
+"If their excellencies are willing, to-morrow night," said Yussuf.
+"Every hour I am expecting to see the messenger return, and you,
+gentlemen, forced to agree to some terms by which in honour you will be
+bound to pay heavy amounts, and then it will not be worth while to
+escape."
+
+"I say, look here, Yussuf," said Mr Burne, "are you real or only sham?"
+
+Yussuf frowned slightly.
+
+"Your excellency never trusted me," he replied proudly.
+
+"I did not at first, certainly," said the old lawyer.  "I'll go so far
+as to say that in the full swing of my suspicions I was almost ready to
+think that you had been playing into the brigands' hands and had sold
+us."
+
+"Oh, Mr Burne!" cried Lawrence reproachfully.
+
+"You hold your tongue, boy.  You're out of court.  You haven't been a
+lawyer for nearly forty years; I have."
+
+"I have tried hard to win Mr Burne's confidence," said Yussuf gravely.
+"I am sorry I have failed."
+
+"But you have not failed, my good fellow," cried the old lawyer.  "I
+only say, Are you a real Turk or a sham?"
+
+"Will your excellency explain?" said Yussuf with dignity.  "I speak your
+tongue, and understand plain meanings, but when there are two thoughts
+in a word I cannot follow."
+
+"I mean, my dear fellow, you so thoroughly understand the thoughts and
+ways of English gentlemen that it is hard to think you are a born Turk."
+
+"Oh!" said Yussuf smiling.  "I have been so much with them, excellency,
+and--I have tried to learn."
+
+"There's a lesson for you, Lawrence," said the professor smiling.
+"Well, then, Yussuf, to-morrow night."
+
+"Yes, excellency."
+
+"Then, had we not better tell the Chumleys?"
+
+Yussuf was silent for a few moments.
+
+"I am sorry about them," he said at last.  "We cannot leave them behind,
+for it would mean their death; but if we fail in our escape, it will be
+through them.  No, excellency, say no word till we are ready to start,
+and then say, `Come!'"
+
+"You are right, Yussuf," said Mr Burne.  "That woman would chatter all
+over the place if she knew: say nothing, and we must make the best of
+them.  But I say, isn't it turning very cold?"
+
+"Yes, excellency, we are high up in the mountains.  There is no other
+place so high as this, and if we do not go soon the winter will be upon
+us."
+
+"Winter? not yet," said the professor.
+
+"Your excellency forgets it is winter in the mountains when it may be
+only autumn in the plains."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER FORTY TWO.
+
+A SAD FAILURE.
+
+At last!
+
+The Chumleys were fast asleep; the wood fire had burned down into a
+faint glow that played over the white ashes, and the air seemed to be
+piercingly cold.
+
+The guards had looked in according to their custom, and then proved how
+cold it was by stopping by the fire for about a quarter of an hour,
+talking in a low tone together before going out.
+
+The provisions, principally bread and raisins, were taken out of
+Yussuf's hiding-place, where he kept the worsted rope, and this latter
+he wore twisted round his chest, beneath his loose garment, ready in
+case it might be wanted.  The food was made into six packages, and each
+took his load, leaving two for the Chumleys, and now a short
+conversation ensued about Hamed, whom they had only seen once since
+their imprisonment.  For the driver had been sent to another part of the
+old ruins with the horses.
+
+The professor was saying that they ought to try and get Hamed away with
+them; but Yussuf declared it would be impossible, and said that as a
+compatriot he was perfectly safe.
+
+Under these circumstances it was decided to leave him; and now, all
+being ready, Lawrence was deputed to awaken the Chumleys, and bid them
+rise and follow.
+
+"How do you feel, my lad?" said the professor, with his lips to
+Lawrence's ears.
+
+"Nervous, sir."
+
+"No wonder.  It seems cruel to have to leave so much behind, but never
+mind.  Now, Burne, are you strung up?"
+
+"Yes, quite," was the reply.
+
+"Ready, Yussuf?"
+
+"Yes, excellency, and mind, once more, all are to follow me close under
+the walls.  Not a word is to be spoken."
+
+"But you will pause for a few minutes in the subterranean passage,"
+whispered the professor.  "I must see that."
+
+"You will have ample time, excellency.  Now, Lawrence effendi, awaken
+your friends."
+
+Lawrence drew a long breath, and stooping down, laid his hand upon Mr
+Chumley's shoulder.
+
+"Don't!" was the gruff response.
+
+"Mr Chumley, wake up.  Hush!  Don't speak."
+
+"Eh, what?  Time to get up.  Why don't you pull aside the rug?"
+
+"Hush, sir!  Wake up."
+
+"Eh, what?  Is my wife ill?"
+
+"No, no.  Are you awake now?"
+
+"Awake?  Yes, of course; what is it?"
+
+"We have a way open to escape.  Wake your wife.  Tell her not to speak."
+
+"But she will.  Oceans!" said the little man sadly.
+
+"She must not speak.  Wake her; tell her there is a way of escape, and
+then you two must carry these parcels of food, and follow in silence."
+
+"I say, Lawrence, old man, is it real?" he whispered.
+
+"Quite!  Quick!  You are wasting time."
+
+"But won't they shoot at us?"
+
+"Not if you are both silent," whispered Lawrence; and creeping on
+all-fours the little man reached over, awakened his wife, and
+communicated the news.
+
+To the surprise of all she woke up quite collected, grasped the idea at
+once, and rose to her feet.  Then putting on her head-dress, and
+throwing a shawl over her shoulders and securing the ends--
+
+"I am ready," she said.
+
+"Bravo!" whispered the professor.  "Now, silence, for we have to pass
+the guards."
+
+"But where are we going?" said Chumley.
+
+"Chumley!  Oh, that tongue!" whispered his wife.
+
+"Silence!" said Yussuf decidedly; and then after a pause, "Ready?"
+
+There was no reply, and taking this for consent, he bade the professor
+come last, after holding the rugs aside till all had passed, and then he
+stepped out, and stepped back again, for a piercingly cold breath of air
+had darted into the prison.
+
+"It is snowing," he said in a low whisper.
+
+"Well?" said Mr Burne, "we are going down from the mountain, and we
+shall leave it behind, shall we not?"
+
+"Yes, perhaps," said the guide, in a doubting manner.  "Shall we risk
+it?"
+
+"Yes, certainly," said Mr Preston.  "We must go now."
+
+"It is well," said Yussuf, and he stepped out, the others following in
+his steps; but when it came to Lawrence's turn, to his intense surprise
+he found that his feet sank deep in the softly gathering flakes.  He
+looked to his left as he kept on by the wall; but the guards were not
+visible though their voices could be heard, and it was evident that they
+had sheltered themselves among some stones where they were gossiping
+together.
+
+Not a sound was heard but the rush of wind as the little party crept
+on--their footsteps were effectually muffled, and in a few minutes they
+were beyond the hearing of the guards, even had they spoken; but they
+had to keep close together, for the drifting snow was blinding, and hid
+their footprints almost as soon as they were formed.
+
+Away to their left lay the ruins which formed the robbers' town, and
+farther away, and still more to the left, lay the way to the entrance,
+where there was quite a grand room, and a goodly fire burned; but the
+fugitives could only see snow: the air was thick with it, and they kept
+on until Yussuf stopped so suddenly that they struck one against the
+other.
+
+"What is it?" said Lawrence, who was next to him now, the Chumleys
+having asked him to go before them.
+
+"I have lost my way," said Yussuf angrily; "the snow has deceived me.
+The old temple should be here."
+
+"Well, here it is," said Lawrence, who had stretched out his hand.
+"Here is one of the columns."
+
+"Ha!" ejaculated Yussuf; "good boy!  Yes, the fourth; I know it by this
+broken place in the side.  Two more steps and we are in shelter."
+
+It was a proof of his admirable powers as a guide to have found the way
+in the midst of the blinding snow, but no one thought of that.  Every
+mind was strained to the greatest pitch of tension; and when Yussuf led
+the way into the old temple, and the footsteps were heard upon the
+marble floor, Mr Burne started and thought that their pursuers were
+upon them.
+
+"Here is the place," said Yussuf.  "Lawrence effendi," he continued as
+he raised the stone, "you know the way; go first and lead.  I must come
+last and close the stone, so that they may not know the way we have
+come."
+
+"Is there any danger?" said Mrs Chumley excitedly.
+
+"None at all," replied Lawrence.  "It is only to walk down some rough
+steps."
+
+She said no more, but let herself be helped down through the opening,
+and in five minutes they were all in what seemed to be quite a warm
+atmosphere, waiting in the intense darkness while Yussuf carefully
+closed the stone.
+
+"There is nothing to mind," said Lawrence.  "I have been all the way
+down here, and I will tell you when the steps end and the rough slopes
+begin."
+
+He spoke aloud now, in quite a happy buoyant manner which affected the
+rest, and their spirits rose still higher when Yussuf suddenly struck a
+match and lit the lamp which his forethought had provided.
+
+This done they stood in the rugged arched passage to shake off the
+clinging snow with which they were covered, and with spirits rising
+higher still the whole party followed Yussuf, who, lamp in hand, now
+went to the front.
+
+"I should like to stop here for an hour or two to examine this roofing
+and the steps," said the professor.  "Pre-Roman evidently.  We have
+plenty of time, have we not?"
+
+"Effendi, it would be madness," cried Yussuf angrily.  "Come on!"
+
+"I have done, and you are master of the situation," said the professor
+quietly; while Mr Burne burst into a laugh, took snuff, and then blew
+his nose, so that it echoed strangely along the passage.
+
+"Effendi!" cried Yussuf reproachfully.
+
+"Tut-tut!" exclaimed the old lawyer.  "I thought we were safe."
+
+"How much farther have we to go?" said Mrs Chumley at last.
+
+"We are at the bottom," replied Yussuf.  "Mind, there are stones here.
+You must mind or you will hurt yourselves, and the wind will put out the
+lamp directly.  There is an opening here, and when I have thrust out a
+stone or two we shall be on a rocky path.  You will all follow me
+closely.  Better take hold of hands; then, if one slips, all can help."
+
+But the wind did not blow out the lamp; and as they stood watching
+Yussuf creep along a narrow horizontal passage the light shone upon the
+dazzling snow which had filled up the hole, and after thrusting at it
+for a few minutes and scraping it down their guide desisted and crept
+back.
+
+"I feared this," he said sadly.
+
+"Feared!  Feared what?" cried Mr Burne.
+
+"The snow, effendi.  The way is blocked; the snow must be drifting down
+from the mountains and falling in sheets."
+
+"But it will not last, man?"
+
+"Perhaps for days, excellency; and even if the hole were open, I see it
+would be utter madness to brave the dangers of that shelf of rock in the
+face of this storm."
+
+"Oh, nonsense!" cried Mr Burne; "let's go on.  We cannot get back."
+
+"His excellency does not know the perils of a mountain snow-storm or he
+would not say this.  Suppose that we could force our way out through
+that snow, how are we to find the buried path with a precipice of a
+thousand feet below?  No, excellencies, we are stopped for the present
+and must get back."
+
+"How unfortunate!" cried the professor; "but Yussuf is right--we must
+return and wait for a better time.  Can we get back unseen?"
+
+"We must try, excellency; but even if we are caught, it will not be till
+after we are out of the passage and the stone is down.  This must be
+kept a secret."
+
+The way back did not seem long.  The stone was closed, and, low-spirited
+and disheartened, they crossed the rugged floor of the old temple and
+stood once more amid the snow, which had already fallen knee-deep and in
+places drifted far deeper.  But, in spite of the confusion caused by
+what answered to intense darkness, Yussuf led them straight to the
+prison-hall, and then close under its walls till the rug yielded to his
+hand, and as he drew it aside quite a pile of snow crumbled into the
+well-warmed place and began to melt.
+
+They were safely back without discovery; and there was nothing left but
+to shake off the clinging snow, and, after hiding their packages, try to
+rid themselves of their disappointment in sleep.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER FORTY THREE.
+
+THE WINTRY GUARDIAN.
+
+For four days the snow fell incessantly.  The aspect of the whole place
+was changed, and it was only with difficulty that the appointed guards
+managed to bring provisions to the prisoners.
+
+Fortunately an ample supply of fuel was stacked by the door, so that a
+good fire was kept; but on the fourth day no food was brought whatever,
+and but for the store they had in concealment matters would have looked
+bad, for there was no knowing how much longer the storm would last.
+
+But on the fifth day the sun shone out brilliantly, and the brigands and
+their wives were all busy with shovels digging ways from place to place;
+and when at last the prison-hall was reached it was through a cutting
+ten feet deep, the snow being drifted right up to the top of the lofty
+door.
+
+The scene was dazzling; the ruins piled-up with the white snow, the
+mountains completely transformed as they glittered in the sun, and above
+all the sky seemed to be of the purest blue.
+
+The cold was intense, but it was a healthy inspiriting cold, and the
+disappointment and confinement of the past days were forgotten as the
+glorious sunshine sent hope and life into every heart.
+
+In the course of the day the chief came, bringing with him piled on the
+shoulders of a lad more rugs and fur coats for his prisoners; and a long
+conversation ensued, in which he told them through Yussuf that he
+expected his messengers would have been back before now, but they had
+probably been stopped by the snow, and they must wait patiently now for
+their return.
+
+A further conversation took place at the door between the chief and
+Yussuf, and then the former departed.
+
+"Well, Yussuf," said Mr Preston anxiously; "what does he say?  Not
+execution yet from his manner?"
+
+"No, excellency; it is as I feared."
+
+"Feared?" cried Mrs Chumley excitedly; "are we to be kept closer
+prisoners?"
+
+"No, madam; you are to have greater freedom now."
+
+"Freedom?" all chorused.
+
+"Yes," said Yussuf; "you are to be at liberty to go where you please in
+the old city, but it will not be far, on account of the snow."
+
+"And outside the town?" said the professor.
+
+"Outside the town, excellency," said Yussuf sadly.  "You do not realise
+that we had a narrow escape that night."
+
+"Escape?"
+
+"Yes, of being destroyed; the snow everywhere is tremendous.  Even if no
+more comes, we shall be shut in here, perhaps, for months."
+
+"Shut in?"
+
+"Yes; the mountains are impassable, and there is nothing for it but to
+submit to fate."
+
+"But the snow will soon melt in this sunshine."
+
+"No, excellency, only on the surface, unless there is a general thaw.
+You forget where we are, high up in the Dagh.  Even where the snow
+melts, it will freeze every night, and make the roads more impassable.
+As to our path by the side of the precipice it will not be available for
+months."
+
+There was a serious calm in Yussuf's words that was most impressive.  It
+seemed so hard, too, just as they had been on the point of escaping, for
+the winter to have closed in upon them so soon, and with such terrible
+severity; but that their case was hopeless seemed plain enough, for the
+guards were withdrawn from their door, and in the afternoon they
+relieved the tedium of their confinement by walking along the cuttings
+that had been made.
+
+On every hand it could be seen that the brigands were accustomed to such
+events as this; firing and food had been laid up in abundance, and
+whether the winter, or an enemy in the shape of the government troops,
+made the attack, they were prepared.
+
+"There is nothing for it, Lawrence, but to accept our position, I
+suppose," said the professor.
+
+"No," said Mr Burne, who overheard the remark; "but suppose my snuff
+does not hold out, what then?"
+
+Before anyone could answer, he made a suggestion of his own.
+
+"Necessity is the mother of invention," he said.  "I should have to bake
+some of this Turkish tobacco, and grind it between stones."
+
+Then a week glided away, and during that time, being left so much to
+their own devices, the brigands keeping in the shelter of their homes,
+the professor visited the ancient passage with Yussuf, and carefully
+explored it.
+
+"Ancient Greek," he said when he returned, "like the greater part of
+this old city.  Some of it has been modernised by the Romans, but that
+passage is certainly ancient Greek, about--"
+
+"But the way out--the way to escape, Mr Preston," said Mrs Chumley
+eagerly, "surely that is of more consequence than your dates."
+
+"To be sure, yes; I forgot, ma'am.  Yussuf made a careful investigation
+of the mouth of the passage where it opens upon the side of the
+precipice; in fact, I went out with him.  The track is many feet deep in
+snow, and it would be utter folly to attempt to escape."
+
+"Oh, dear me!" sighed Mrs Chumley.
+
+"We must bear our lot patiently till the first thaw comes, and then try
+and make our way over the mountains."
+
+These were the words of wisdom, and for long weary weeks the prisoners
+had to be content with their position.  The brigands did a little
+snow-cutting, and then passed the rest of their time sleeping by the
+fires they kept up night and day.  Food was plentiful, and the chief
+behaved civilly enough, often paying his prisoners a visit, after which
+they were entirely left to their own resources.
+
+"We ought to be low-spirited captives," Mr Burne used to say, as he
+beat his hands together to keep them warm; "but somehow nobody seems
+very miserable."
+
+And this was a fact, for every day the professor kept them busy with
+shovels digging away the snow from some piece of ruin he wished to
+measure and draw, while after the chief had been, and noted what was
+done, he said something half contemptuously to his men, and no
+interference took place.
+
+Day after day, with a few intervals of heavy snow and storm, the
+dazzling sunshine continued, with the brilliant blue sky, and the
+mountains around looking like glistening silver.
+
+Everywhere the same deep pure white snow, in waves, in heaps, in drifts,
+and deep furrows, silvery in the day, and tinged with rose, purple,
+scarlet, and gold as the sun went down.
+
+They were so shut in that an army of men could not have dug a way to
+them; and, knowing this, the brigands dropped into a torpid state, like
+so many hibernating bears, while the professor's work went on.
+
+"Do you know, Lawrence," he said one day, laying down his pencil to rub
+his blue fingers, "I think I shall make a great book of this when I have
+finished it.  I have got the castle done, the principal walls, the
+watch-towers and gates, and if there was not so much snow I should have
+finished the temple; but, bless my heart, boy, how different you do
+look!"
+
+"Different, sir!" said Lawrence laughing.  "Oh, I suppose the wind has
+made my nose red."
+
+"I did not mean that: I meant altogether.  You look so well."
+
+Lawrence had been handling a shovel, throwing snow away from the base of
+an old Greek column, and he smiled as he said:
+
+"Oh, I feel very well, sir."
+
+He need not have spoken, for the mountain air had worked wonders.
+Nature was proving the best doctor, and the enforced stay in that clear
+pure air, with the incessant exercise, had completely changed the lad.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER FORTY FOUR.
+
+THE EVASION.
+
+Three months had passed away, and though the hopes of the prisoners had
+been raised several times by the commencement of a thaw, this had been
+succeeded again and again by heavy falls of snow, and by repeated frosts
+which bound them more closely in the stronghold.
+
+But at last the weather completely changed.  The wind came one day
+cloud-laden, and with a peculiar sensation of warmth.  Thick mists hid
+the mountain tops, and filled up the valleys, and a few hours later the
+professor and his companions had to make a rush for the shelter of the
+great hall that was their prison, for a terrific downpour commenced, and
+for the next fortnight continued almost incessantly.
+
+The change that took place was astounding; the mountain sides seemed to
+be covered with rills, which rapidly grew, as they met, into mountain
+torrents, which swirled and foamed and cut their way through the dense
+masses of snow, till they were undermined and fell with loud reports;
+every now and then the loosened snow high up began to slide, and
+gathered force till it rushed down as a mighty avalanche, which crashed
+and thundered on its course, bearing with it rock and tree, and quite
+scraping bare places that had been covered with forest growth.
+
+At first the prisoners started up in alarm as they heard some terrible
+rush, but where they were placed was out of danger; and by degrees they
+grew used to the racing down of avalanche, and the roar of the leaping
+and bounding torrents, and sat talking to Yussuf all through that wet
+and comfortless time about the probabilities of their soon being able to
+escape.
+
+"The snow is going fast," he said; "but for many days the mountain
+tracks will be impassable.  We must wait till the torrents have
+subsided: we can do nothing till then."
+
+Nearly four months had passed, since they had met the brigands first,
+before Yussuf announced that he thought they might venture to make a new
+attempt.  The snow had pretty well gone, and the guards were returning
+to their stations at the great gate.  There was an unwonted hum in the
+settlement, and when the chief came he seemed to take more interest in
+his prisoners, as if they were so many fat creatures which he had been
+keeping for sale, and the time had nearly come for him to realise them,
+and take the money.
+
+In fact, one day Yussuf came in hastily to announce a piece of news that
+he had heard.
+
+The messengers were expected now at any moment, for a band of the
+brigands had been out on a long foraging excursion, and had returned
+with the news that the passes were once more practicable, for the snow
+had nearly gone, save in the hollows, and the torrents had sunk pretty
+nearly to their usual state.
+
+"Then we must be going," said Mr Burne, "eh?"
+
+"Yes, effendi," said the guide, "before they place guards again at our
+door.  We have plenty of provisions saved up, and we will make the
+attempt to-night."
+
+This announcement sent a thrill through the little party, and for the
+rest of the day everyone was pale with excitement, and walked or sat
+about waiting eagerly for the coming of night.
+
+There was no packing to do, except the tying up of the food in the
+roughly-made bags they had prepared, and the rolling up of the
+professor's drawings--for they had increased in number, the brigand
+chief having, half-contemptuously, given up the paper that had been
+packed upon the baggage-horses.
+
+Mr Preston was for making this into a square parcel, but Yussuf
+suggested the rolling up with waste paper at the bottom, and did this so
+tightly that the professor's treasure, when bound with twine, assumed
+the form of a stout staff--"ready," Mr Burne said with a chuckle, "for
+outward application to the head as well as inward."
+
+All through the rest of that day the motions of the people were watched
+with the greatest of anxiety, and a dozen times over the appearance of
+one of the brigands was enough to suggest that suspicion had been
+aroused, and that they were to be more closely watched.
+
+But the night came at last--a dark still night without a breath of air;
+and as, about six o'clock as near as they could guess, everything seemed
+quiet, Yussuf went out and returned directly to say that there were no
+guards placed, and that under these circumstances it would be better to
+go at once.  No one was likely to come again, so they might as well save
+a few hours and get a longer start.
+
+This premature announcement startled Mrs Chumley, so that she turned
+faint with excitement, and unfortunately the only thing they could offer
+her as a restorative was some grape treacle.
+
+This stuff Chumley insisted upon her taking, and the annoyance roused
+her into making an effort, and she rose to her feet.
+
+"I'm ready," she said shortly; and then in a whisper to her husband,
+"Oh, Charley, I'll talk to you for this."
+
+"Silence!" whispered Yussuf sternly.  "Are you all ready?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Then follow as before, and without a word."
+
+He drew aside the rug, and the darkness was so intense that they could
+not see the nearest building as they stepped out; but, to the horror of
+all, they had hardly set off when a couple of lanterns shone out.  A
+party of half a dozen men, whose long gun-barrels glistened in the
+light, came round one of the ruined buildings, and one of them, whose
+voice sent a shudder through all, was talking loudly.
+
+The voice was that of the chief, and as the fugitives crouched down,
+Yussuf heard him bid his men keep a very stringent look-out, for the
+prisoners might make an attempt to escape.
+
+Yussuf caught Lawrence's hand and drew him gently on, while, as he had
+Mrs Chumley's tightly grasped, she naturally followed, and the others
+came after.
+
+"Quick!" whispered Yussuf, "or we shall be too late."
+
+The darkness was terrible, but it was in their favour, so long as they
+could find the way to the old temple; and they needed its protection,
+for they had not gone many yards among the ruins before there was an
+outcry from the prison, then a keen and piercing whistle twice repeated,
+and the sounds of hurrying feet.
+
+Fortunately the old temple lay away from the inhabited portion: and as
+they hurried on, to the great joy of all they found that the chief and
+his men were not upon their track, but were hurrying toward the great
+rock gates, thus proving at once, so it seemed, that they were ignorant
+of any other way out of the great rock-fortress.
+
+Once or twice Yussuf was puzzled in the darkness, but he caught up the
+trail again, and in a few minutes led them to the columned entrance of
+the temple, into whose shelter they passed with the noise and turmoil
+increasing, and lights flashing in all directions.
+
+"Hadn't we better give up," said Mr Chumley, with his teeth chattering
+from cold or dread.
+
+"Give up!  What for?" cried Mr Burne.
+
+"They may shoot us," whispered the little man.  "I don't mind, but--my
+wife."
+
+"Silence!" whispered Yussuf, for the noise seemed to increase, and it
+was evident that the people were spreading all over the place in the
+search.
+
+As Yussuf spoke he hurried them on, and in a minute or two reached the
+stone that led to the passage in the rift.
+
+It was quite time he did, for some of the people, who knew how they had
+affected that place, were making for the temple.
+
+But Yussuf lost no time.  He turned up the stone in an instant, and
+stood holding it ready.
+
+"Go first, Lawrence effendi," he whispered; "help Lady Chumley and lead
+the way."
+
+Lawrence dropped down at once, and Mrs Chumley followed with unexpected
+agility; then Chumley, Mr Burne, the professor; and as Yussuf was
+following, lights flashed through the old building, and lit up the roof.
+
+Fortunately the ruins of the ancient altar sheltered the guide, as he
+stepped down and carefully lowered the stone over his head as he
+descended; and so near was he to being seen that, as the stone sank
+exactly into its place, a man ran over it, followed by half a dozen
+more, their footsteps sounding hollow over the fugitives' heads.
+
+Meanwhile Lawrence hurried Mrs Chumley down, the others following
+closely, till the bottom of the steps and slopes was reached, and the
+cool night air came softly in through the opening.
+
+There they stopped for Yussuf to act as guide; but, though his name was
+repeated in the darkness again and again, there was no answer, and it
+soon became evident that he was not with the party.
+
+"We cannot go without him," said Mr Preston sternly.  "Stop here, all
+of you, and I will go back and try to find him."  But there was no need,
+for just then they heard him descending.
+
+"I stopped to listen," he said.  "They have not yet found our track, and
+perhaps they may not; but they are searching the temple all over, for
+they have found something, and I don't know what."
+
+"My bag of bread and curd!" said Mr Chumley suddenly.  "I dropped it
+near the door."
+
+"Hah!" ejaculated Yussuf; but no one else said a word, though they
+thought a great deal, while Mr Chumley uttered a low cry in the
+darkness, such a cry as a man might give who was suffering from a sharp
+pinch given by his wife.
+
+The next moment the guide passed them, and they heard him thrust out a
+stone, which went rushing down the precipice, and fell after some
+moments, as if at a great distance, with a low pat.  Then Yussuf bade
+them follow, and one by one they passed out on to a narrow rocky shelf,
+to stand listening to the buzz of voices and shouting far above their
+heads, where a faint flickering light seemed to be playing, while they
+were in total darkness.
+
+"Be firm and there is no danger," said Yussuf; "only follow me closely,
+and think that I am leading you along a safe road."
+
+The darkness was, on the whole, favourable, for it stayed the fugitives
+from seeing the perilous nature of the narrow shelf, where a false step
+would have plunged them into the ravine below; but they followed
+steadily enough, with the way gradually descending.  Sometimes they had
+to climb cautiously over the rocks which encumbered the path, while
+twice over a large stone blocked their way, one which took all Yussuf's
+strength to thrust it from the narrow path, when it thundered into the
+gorge with a noise that was awful in the extreme.
+
+Then on and on they went in the darkness, and almost in silence, hour
+after hour, and necessarily at a very slow pace.  But there was this
+encouragement, that the lights and sounds of the rock-fortress gradually
+died out upon vision and ear, and after turning a sharp corner of the
+rocks they were heard no more.
+
+"I begin to be hopeful that they have not found out our way of escape,"
+said Mr Preston at last in a cheerful tone; but no one spoke, and the
+depressing walk was continued, hour after hour, with Yussuf untiringly
+leading the way, and ever watchful of perils.
+
+From time to time he uttered a few words of warning, and planted himself
+at some awkward spot to give a hand to all in turn before resuming his
+place in front.
+
+More than once there was a disposition to cry halt and rest, for the
+walk in the darkness was most exhausting; but the danger of being
+captured urged all to their utmost endeavours, and it was not till
+daybreak, which was late at that season of the year, that Yussuf called
+a halt in a pine-wood in a dip in the mountains, where the pine needles
+lay thick and dry; and now, for the first time, as the little party
+gazed back along the faint track by which they had come through the
+night, they thoroughly realised the terrible nature of their road.
+
+"Everyone lie down and eat," said Yussuf in a low voice of command.
+"Before long we must start again."
+
+He set the example, one which was eagerly followed, and soon after, in
+spite of the peril of their position and the likelihood of being
+followed and captured by the enraged chief, everyone fell fast asleep,
+and felt as if his or her eyes had scarcely been closed when, with the
+sun shining brightly, Yussuf roused them to continue their journey.
+
+The path now seemed so awful in places, as it ran along by the
+perpendicular walls of rock, that Chumley and Lawrence both hesitated,
+till the latter saw Yussuf's calm smile, full of encouragement, when the
+lad stepped out firmly, and seeing that his wife followed, the little
+man drew a long breath and walked on.
+
+Now they came to mountain torrents that had to be crossed; now they had
+to go to the bottom of some deep gorge; now to ascend; but their course
+was always downwards in the aggregate, and at nightfall, when Yussuf
+selected another pine-wood for their resting-place, the air was
+perceptibly warmer.
+
+The next morning they continued along the faintly marked track, which
+was kept plain by the passage of wild animals; but it disappeared after
+descending to a stream in a defile; and this seemed to be its limit, for
+no trace of it was seen again.
+
+For six days longer the little party wandered in the mazes of these
+mountains, their guide owning that he was completely at fault, but
+urging, as he always led them down into valleys leading to the south and
+west, that they must be getting farther away from danger.
+
+It was this thought which buoyed them up during that nightmare-like
+walk, during which they seemed to be staggering on in their sleep and
+getting no farther.
+
+It seemed wonderful that they should journey so far, through a country
+that grew more and more fertile as they descended from the mountains,
+without coming upon a village or town; but, though they passed the
+remains of three ancient places, which the professor was too weary to
+examine, it was not until the seventh day that they reached a
+goodly-sized village, whose head-man proved to be hospitable, and, on
+finding the state to which the travellers had been reduced and the
+perils through which they had passed, he made no difficulty about
+sending a mounted messenger to Ansina, ninety miles away, with letters
+asking for help.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER FORTY FIVE.
+
+HOMEWARD BOUND.
+
+Exhausted as the travellers were, sleep, good food, and the soft sweet
+air soon restored them, and they were ready to continue their journey
+long before their messenger returned, to bring faithfully the means for
+a fresh start, with fresh ponies, and the necessaries they required,
+though these were hard to obtain in so out-of-the-way a place.
+
+The weather was threatening as they started at last for Ansina, the
+Chumleys electing to accompany them.  In fact, on parting, their host,
+who had been amply recompensed for his kindness, warned them to hasten
+on to the port, for snow, he said, would fall before the week was out,
+and then the famished wolves would descend from the mountains and the
+plain become dangerous.
+
+The advice was readily taken, for all were quite satisfied that their
+travels in Asia Minor would be better ended for the present.
+
+In this spirit they made the best of their way to the port, where they
+arrived with the snow falling slightly, though high up in the mountains
+there was a heavy storm.  They took up their quarters at the best hotel
+in the place, and could have gone on at once by the steamer from
+Beyrout, but at Lawrence's wish the departure was put off till the
+coming of the next boat, a fortnight later.
+
+"You do not feel so well?" said Mr Preston anxiously.
+
+"Eh, what, not so well?" cried Mr Burne, turning to look at Lawrence.
+"Look here, don't say that.  I thought we had cured him."
+
+"Oh, I'm quite well and strong," cried Lawrence quickly.
+
+"But you seem so dull," said the professor.
+
+Lawrence did not answer, but turned away his head.
+
+"I wish we had gone on," said Mr Preston anxiously.  "There would have
+been good medical advice on board."
+
+"No, no, I am not ill," said Lawrence; and then in a broken voice, he
+cried excitedly, "I wanted to put it off as long as I could."
+
+"What! going home, my dear lad?" said Mr Burne eagerly.  "You are
+afraid of our climate again.  Then let's stay."
+
+"No, no; it was not that," said Lawrence.  "I--I--there, I must say it.
+Yussuf has--has been such a good fellow, and we shall have to say
+good-bye at Smyrna."
+
+The professor was silent for a few minutes.
+
+"Perhaps not for always," he said at last.  "Yes: he has been a
+thoroughly good fellow, and I, for one, should like to come out and have
+another trip with him.  What do you say?"
+
+"Yes, yes," cried Lawrence eagerly; and he rushed out of the room, to be
+seen the next minute holding on by the grave-looking Turk's arm and
+telling him the news.
+
+"Look at that," whispered Mr Burne to the professor, as he eagerly
+watched Yussuf's countenance.  "Now, if ever anyone tells me in the
+future that the Turks always hate the Christians, I can give him an
+instance to the contrary."
+
+The time soon glided by for the coming of the next boat, and in due
+course they landed at Smyrna, where the parting with Yussuf was more
+that of friends and friend, than of the employer and employed.
+
+"If you do come out again, excellencies, and I am living, nothing shall
+stay me from being your faithful guide," he said, as he stood at the
+gangway of the steamer; "and as for you, Lawrence effendi, may the
+blessings spoken of by the patriarchs be with you in your goings out and
+comings in, and may the God of your fathers give you that greatest of
+his blessings, health."
+
+Lawrence did not speak, but clung to the faithful hand till the Turk
+descended into the boat; and he then stood gazing over the gangway till
+the grave, thickly-bearded countenance grew less and less and at last
+died from his sight.
+
+The little party landed at Trieste, where they parted from the Chumleys,
+who were going home; but Lawrence and his friends, after repairing the
+damages to their wardrobes, went by rail to Rome, and made that their
+home till the rigour of the English spring had passed away.
+
+It was one fine morning at the beginning of June, that a cab laden with
+luggage stopped at the old home in Guilford Street, where the door was
+opened by Mrs Dunn, who stared with astonishment at the sturdy youth
+who bounded up the steps into the hall, and then clasped her in his
+arms.
+
+"Why, my dear, dear boy!" she cried, "I had brought blankets down to
+wrap you in, and a warm bath ready, and asked cook's husband to be in
+waiting to carry you upstairs."
+
+"Why, nurse, I could carry you up," cried Lawrence merrily.  "How well
+you look!  Ah, Doctor Shorter."
+
+"Why, you wicked young impostor," cried the doctor; "here have I
+neglected two patients this afternoon on purpose to come and attend on
+you.  I came as soon as nurse Dunn told me she had received the telegram
+from Folkestone.  Bless my heart, how you have changed!"
+
+"Changed, sir?" cried Mr Burne, "I should think he has changed.  He has
+been giving up physic, and trusting to the law, sir.  See what we have
+done!"
+
+"Yes, doctor," said the professor, shaking hands warmly.  "I think you
+may give him up as cured."
+
+"Cured?  That he is!" cried the doctor.  "Well, live and learn.  I shall
+know what to do with my next patient, now."
+
+"And if here isn't Mrs Dunn crying with vexation, because she has no
+occasion to make gruel and mix mustard plaisters for the poor boy,"
+cried Mr Burne banteringly.
+
+"No, no, no, sir," said the old woman sobbing; "it is out of the
+thankfulness of my poor old heart at seeing my dear boy once more well
+and strong."
+
+The doctor took out his notebook, and made a memorandum as Lawrence
+flung his arms round the tender-hearted old woman's neck; the professor
+walked to the window; and Mr Burne whisked out the yellow handkerchief
+he had worn round his fez, and over which he had made his only joke,
+that he was so yellow and red, he looked like a fezzan, and blew his
+nose till the room echoed.  After which he was obliged to calm himself
+with a pinch of snuff.
+
+"Well, Lawrence," said the professor, after they had all dined together.
+"You remember what you said at Ansina?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"What do you say now?  Would you go through all those wearinesses and
+risks again if I asked you?"
+
+"Yes, sir, at any time, if Yussuf is to be our guide."
+
+"And so say I," cried Mr Burne, "if you would have such a cantankerous
+old man."
+
+"Ah, well," said the professor.  "I am not half satisfied.  We shall
+see."
+
+And so it was left.
+
+THE END.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's Yussuf the Guide, by George Manville Fenn
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK YUSSUF THE GUIDE ***
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