movables, and after that we four
squeezed into what room was left. The seat was low, one's chin and knees
were in dangerous proximity, and a less ideal position for travelling
some thirty-five miles could not be imagined. The widow's portmanteau,
all knobs and locks, was arranged to coincide with Jo's spine. The
tattered maid was loaded with five packages on her knees which she could
not control, so we looked as cheerful as we could and said to ourselves,
"Anyway it will do in the book."

At the start Jan was rather grateful for the squash, for the air was
chilly; soon the damp, exposed parts of his clothing cooled to freezing
point, and it was lucky that they were not more extensive.

As we rolled over the craters and crests of the--what had once
been--stone-paved streets, the driver halted, here to buy a large loaf
of bread, there to purchase smelly cheese, and finally to pick up a
gold-laced officer, whom we took to be the post-guard. The driver, who
sat back to back with Jan, grumbled at him because he took up too much
room. But Jan replied that it was his own fault for not making the
carriage bigger, and that his knees were not telescopic. We received the
post of Montenegro, for this was the only road out; it consisted of
three letters and a circular, so we judged that Montenegrin censorship
was pretty strict.

The road was flat, the surrounding country covered with little scrubby
oak bushes, in and out of which ran innumerable black pigs who had long
cross pieces bound to their necks to prevent them from pushing through
hedges into the few maize fields. As the miles passed Jan slowly began
to dry, his temperature went up and his temper became better. The widow,
we discovered, was the relict of a Greek doctor who had died of typhus
in Plevlie, and she was returning to her native land.

Presently we came to a small inn, a hut like all others, and the driver
commanded us to get out. By this time we were accustomed to the sight of
nobles kissing market women relatives, and it did not surprise us to see
the officer embrace the rather dirty hostess of the inn and kiss all the
children; but when he took his place behind the bar and began to serve
the coffee!... It was a minute before we realized that he had not been
guarding the three letters and the circular, but merely was returning
home.

At the Montenegrin frontier, which was some hours on, a soldier asked us
for a lift, as though he could not see that we were