ithout any tidings of the absentees. Saturday
morning came, and brought a throng of mountain women to market,
unaccompanied, for the first time, by their husbands. Spira was there,
and delighted to see me, but even to her I could not hint my troubles,
as the good understanding then existing between Austria and England and
the Turks, was a very sore subject to a Montenegrin. So I replied but
vaguely to her inquiries after my lord and master, and begged to know
why _hers_ had not made his appearance as usual.

"Oh, your Excellency, he is much better employed," she replied, "than
coming down here to buy salt; have you not heard? has nobody told you
the new outrage committed by those Turkish dogs? our deadly foe, the
Pasha of Scutari, without notice or warning, has attacked our Bishop's
island fort of Lessandro, at the head of the Scutari lake, and taken it;
ten of our men have been killed, my father's brother's son amongst them,
and ten taken prisoners. The Bishop is mad about it, and Basil and all
the picked men are flocking to him. The Pasha himself is at Lessandro,"
added Spira, "may a bullet from our Vladika's rifle whiz through his
brain shortly! But what ails your Excellency? you shiver like our
silver aspen leaves."

I did indeed feel great disquiet at the thought of the wild work my
husband might be witnessing, and finding Spira's conversation too
warlike to suit my taste, walked homewards slowly, bidding her follow
with the marketings. In our sitting-room I found Mr Popham!

He came up and took my two hands in his, as if he had been the friend of
a lifetime, instead of the acquaintance of an evening.

"I think, I hope he is safe," he said, looking very white.

"How safe?" I asked; "tell me _all_, Mr Popham, if you please."

"I will," he answered; "it is a flesh-wound in the shoulder, nothing of
consequence, on my honour; he bade me tell you so, with his love."

"Am I to understand that you have left Mr Englefield wounded?" I
asked; it never struck me, in my consternation, that I had worded the
question harshly, till I saw Mr Popham's look of deep distress. There
was not the least anger in the crimson glow that suffused his face, nor
in his voice as he huskily answered: "I deserve this for my cruel
ingratitude towards him at Ragusa, but, on my honour, Mrs Englefield, I
am not to blame for leaving him now, nor shall I know rest till I am
again at his side."

"Thank you, thank you," I answered; "we