ON THE HILLS
We made a breakfast from condensed milk and a small ration of biscuit
and some cheese. We dared not make a fire, as people were working on the
crops not very far away. After this we took it in turns to keep watch at
the top edge of the wood. From this point a fine view could be had
across the ridges back towards Kastamuni, although the town itself was
hidden in the valley. One track was clearly visible and it was along
this we expected to see signs of pursuit, if any; but there was nothing
to be seen. The morning was perfect, and the country spread away in the
sunshine back towards our old haunts. We appeared to have made at the
very least ten miles from Kastamuni as the crow flies, but actually had
marched much further owing to the detour round the town and our
cross-country up and down route since. Towards the east more and higher
hills could be seen, but we had to be careful of reconnoitring, as
there were flocks of sheep on the slopes not far away. All of us had
sundry adjustments to make in our kit, which we felt we must lighten to
enable us to make better going. My own costume consisted of an old and
thin British warm over either a thin shirt or vest with old riding
breeches and puttees. The others had regulation tunics, and Sweet was
highly respectable, his uniform being nearly new. In the event of our
posing as Germans we decided he must be the Herr Hauptmann, as in
addition to his better clothes he knew more Turkish than the rest of us.
[Illustration: MAP (SLIGHTLY REDUCED) USED ON JOURNEY TO BLACK SEA
_(From Sir Henry Sykes "History of Persia")_]
I set about a ruthless lightening of my coat by ripping out the lining,
cutting off the turned-back cuffs and all other small portions that
could be spared. We found it difficult to sleep, but felt good for
another effort as soon as it began to get dark. About three o'clock, we
relinquished our observation post, as all seemed quiet, and made another
meal. Hardly had we finished before a dog appeared at the edge of the
wood, and started barking as only Turkish dogs seem able to. A few
moments later the expected boy also turned up and stared down upon us
after quieting the dog. We thought this meant the village being roused
at once, and deputed Sweet to go and spin a big yarn of some sort to
the boy. He had scarcely got up before the boy vanished. The only thing
to do now was to pack up and be off at once. This did not take long, as
we had purposely remained ready to move at short notice. I abandoned in
a bush my rope sole shoes which I had carried so far, and did not regret
it, as they were some weight and very slippery to walk in. After
creeping along, just inside the wood at the top of the slope, for a
short distance, we found we were getting near a farm and could not go
further before dark. We could not see the boy, but one or two sheep-dogs
were visible not far off and matters did not look at all hopeful.
However, no hue and cry followed, and very likely the boy had been as
frightened of us as we of him, or he may have thought we were merely out
from Kastamuni for a walk--although we had never been nearly so far
before.
After waiting an hour at the edge of the wood, we saw the sheep
approaching and knew they must be returning towards the farm. We got
down the slope back into the wood and as much as possible off their
line. There was a little more cover here, but still it was rather thin,
and we could easily have been spotted by anyone looking for us. By and
by the sheep trooped past, but no dog came near us and once more we
breathed freely. To improve our prospects, it now began to cloud over
and we had some rain. A dark cloudy night for cross-country tramping was
anything but what we required; fortunately, it cleared later on,
although even then it was black enough until the moon got up. Before
starting again, the question of weight of kit had to be tackled and,
although loath to part with any of our food, we decided to discard about
two to three pounds each. For this sacrifice most of our cheese and meat
was condemned. It seemed likely that the former would not remain good
for very long, so that it was not much loss.
We decided to make a start before it got dark, and halt for food when we
reached the river which we judged must run in the deep valley we were
about to enter. Accordingly, we left the wood at 7.30 and set off across
the corn-fields. A very steep and stony descent followed, and by the
time we struck a road along the valley it was quite dark. We followed
this road a short distance until we saw a light in a house a little way
ahead. We then turned off and went straight down to the stream, where we
proceeded to drink at length and then bathe. During this bathe in the
dark, I lost my soap, which was a great calamity, and Tip his knife. We
dared not strike a light and had to be content to go on without. After a
light meal, we went on up-stream. There appeared to be a ceremony of
some sort going on at the house with a light, as there was a beating of
drums. We crossed the stream a little higher up, taking off our boots
and socks for the purpose. Luckily on the other bank we struck a track
leading up the further side of the valley, which was very steep at this
point. After climbing slowly up through brushwood in the dark for an
hour, we came to more open country. Here there were farms, but we
managed to avoid them successfully. The night had cleared sufficiently
for us to see the stars, and we were steering a course about due east. A
little further on, we got into a thick copse and had great difficulty in
finding any track. Eventually, we emerged on to a road running along the
ridge beyond which lay the next valley. After a short halt, we got under
way once more and made a good distance down the road and along a path we
found running down to the next valley.
We had to pass close through a farm and several houses, but luckily
there were no dogs. After reaching the next stream and ascending it
some way, we crossed over and found ourselves in a maize-field. We
gathered some cobs, which were not yet ripe but would do to cook. A few
yards further we saw a light in what appeared to be a sheep-pen. This we
found was the usual custom in the country. All flocks are collected near
the farm at night and a shepherd with a big resin torch sits up on
guard. It was now just beginning to get light in the east, so we turned
up the hill, and after a long and tiring climb found a tolerably safe
hiding-place in a pine wood, poor K. was very done up and the rest of us
not much better, except Sweet, who, physically, was the toughest of us
all. For nine hours we had been on the move, but we could not have done
more than eight miles in a straight line--though at the time we thought
it was much more. We lay down, and got two or three hours' sleep before
preparing our next meal. We decided we would risk making a fire, and
after hunting about for the most concealed spot boiled water in our
canteens and made cocoa. This with a ration of biscuit formed our meal;
in addition, we used to allow ourselves a very small bit of chocolate
and a little Horlick's milk. The latter by this time had coagulated into
one sticky lump, necessitating hard work with the point of a knife
before a fragment could be broken off. Luckily, the fire burned without
much smoke, and what little there was we endeavoured to mitigate by
fanning it in different directions. Not long after breakfast, we heard
two horsemen trotting along a road through the wood and apparently quite
close. We thought they were probably gendarmes looking for us; but they
passed on and did not pause to make investigations in our neighbourhood.
Another visitor also arrived, this being a man who was chopping wood,
and worked round our knoll for some distance, but never came within
sight. Nothing further happened, and we spent a quiet day under the
trees. The weather was perfect, and had we had a little more to eat we
should have enjoyed it immensely. At five o'clock we made a stew of the
maize with a little Oxo; and an hour later, after clearing up all traces
of our activities, set off eastwards through the wood.
We soon reached the edge of the wood, and found ourselves looking
southwards across a valley to a high range of hills. On the lower slopes
were several villages; but it was doubtful if people could see us,
especially as our khaki was an excellent camouflage for this country: in
fact, this had been a great recommendation to the proposal for marching
in uniform. However, we endeavoured to keep out of sight; and after
travelling across the high ground for a mile reached a spot whence we
could see the country eastwards and choose out our route for the coming
night. The main valley had turned somewhat, and now ran eastwards
through a rocky gorge which opened out beyond to a much greater width.
This seemed to be our best line, and we thought there would surely be a
track leading up the valley along the stream. At all events, our water
was finished, and it was urgent to fill up our bottles again as soon as
we could reach the river. We set off accordingly, but had not gone far
before some one reported a man coming up the road; we hid for some time,
and when all was clear went on again, only to find we were descending to
a field where women were still working, getting in the harvest. This
necessitated another wait; but as darkness was approaching the women
soon left the field. In order to help out our scanty stock of food and
make it go as far as possible, we were always on the look-out for any
food we could pick up in the fields, and decided to take toll of this
corn-field. The wheat was ripe and in a few minutes we all had a good
pocketful, meaning to make a really substantial meal of wheat porridge
next morning. By the time we reached a path near the bottom of the
valley it was quite dark. This track seemed to lead downwards towards
the river, and we followed it, expecting to get to the water any minute,
but by and by it began to ascend again and then to get rougher and
harder to find. This was very trying, as we all now wanted water badly,
and so we finally decided to try a rocky gully leading steeply
downwards. Sweet led the way, but, being too eager to get down, or
through bad luck, slipped and hurt his leg in falling over a rock. It
was very dark in the gully, and two candle ends which Sweet had brought
proved invaluable. After climbing and crawling down some way over rocks,
we were finally brought up by a sheer precipice falling 200 feet to the
river. Tired and disgusted, we sat down to rest, and had to make up our
minds to climb out the way we had come, and then either to go back
down-stream or climb right to the top of the valley and advance and get
down again higher up where the valley opened out. The latter course was
adopted and, Tip giving us a good lead, we slowly and, in Sweet's case,
painfully scrambled back. K. also had a bad time, as he was
short-sighted and in such a dark spot it was no easy matter to get
along.