neck and the seat of his trousers, swung him round, and pitched
him in. The man sat for a moment, bewildered, in the water, and then
climbed out uttering dreadful oaths; but as he came up Jan knocked him
into the water again.

Men in firemen's uniforms appeared from all sides, shouting--

"What are you doing? You mustn't. Who are you?"

"We know the governor," said Jo. The men were making gestures of
deference when the reprobate rushed from the river, aiming a whirling
blow at Jan which missed.

The men hurled themselves on him, but he grabbed Jan's coat to which he
clung, howling in unexpected English--

"Shake 'ands wi' y' ennemi." Suddenly everybody spoke English, and we
wondered into what sort of a fairy tale had we fallen.

It was lunch time so we did not stay for explanations, but hurried back
to the town with the weeping old Turk, gave him our small change, which
seemed to cure the pains in his feet, and hunted for the other hotel.

It was tucked away in a romantic back street. The bar room was tiny, but
it was very pleasant to sit round little tables under shady trees in the
courtyard.

"What have you for lunch?" we asked a solid-looking waiter boy.

"Nema Ruchak, bogami." We have no lunch. We looked at all the other
people absorbing meat and soup.

"Give us what you have."

"We have nothing, bogami."

"Have you soup?"

"Yes, bogami."

"And cheese?"

"Ima, ima, bogami."

"That will do for us."

He thereupon brought macaroni soup, boiled meat, roast meat, fried
potatoes, cheese, grapes, and coffee.

We never found out why in Montenegro they should make it a point of
honour to say they have nothing. It resembles the Chinese habit of
alluding to a "loathsome" wife and a "disgusting" daughter.

After lunch we visited our own hotel and found mine hostess waiting for
us with her short arms akimbo. She wanted the "beautiful large bedroom"
to which we had moved in the morning, finding it the same size as the
one below, but rather lighter. Its former occupant had arrived, and we
were to go back to the dungeon.

"That is not good," said Jo, and we flatly refused to go downstairs.

"If we leave this room we go altogether."

She again patted us and begged us to consider the matter closed. We
could stick to the room.

Certainly that dog fancier was right.

There was a very old monastery which we had passed as we rode into
Ipek.

Although we are more interested in the people of the present th