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.