then came away and left them. After the feat was performed, we
appeared in the morning among our fellow-travellers, exceedingly busy in
getting ready for our journey; nor could any man suppose that we had been
anywhere but in our beds.

But the affair did not end so; the next day came a great number of the
country people to the town gates, and in a most outrageous manner
demanded satisfaction of the Russian governor for the insulting their
priests and burning their great Cham Chi-Thaungu. The people of
Nertsinkay were at first in a great consternation, for they said the
Tartars were already no less than thirty thousand strong. The Russian
governor sent out messengers to appease them, assuring them that he knew
nothing of it, and that there had not a soul in his garrison been abroad,
so that it could not be from anybody there: but if they could let him
know who did it, they should be exemplarily punished. They returned
haughtily, that all the country reverenced the great Cham Chi-Thaungu,
who dwelt in the sun, and no mortal would have dared to offer violence to
his image but some Christian miscreant; and they therefore resolved to
denounce war against him and all the Russians, who, they said, were
miscreants and Christians.

The governor, unwilling to make a breach, or to have any cause of war
alleged to be given by him, the Czar having strictly charged him to treat
the conquered country with gentleness, gave them all the good words he
could. At last he told them there was a caravan gone towards Russia that
morning, and perhaps it was some of them who had done them this injury;
and that if they would be satisfied with that, he would send after them
to inquire into it. This seemed to appease them a little; and
accordingly the governor sent after us, and gave us a particular account
how the thing was; intimating withal, that if any in our caravan had done
it they should make their escape; but that whether we had done it or no,
we should make all the haste forward that was possible: and that, in the
meantime, he would keep them in play as long as he could.

This was very friendly in the governor; however, when it came to the
caravan, there was nobody knew anything of the matter; and as for us that
were guilty, we were least of all suspected. However, the captain of the
caravan for the time took the hint that the governor gave us, and we
travelled two days and two nights without any considerable stop, and then
we la