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.