owner no compensation: evidently the corporal's
influence was turning us into scoundrels.

At last the broken bridge. Only a shallow stream across which our carts
splashed joyfully. On the other side was a small church with a beautiful
blue tower. And soon we were in the outskirts of Novi Bazar, the most
ordinary town of the Sanjak, combining the dull parts of Plevlie with
the dull parts of Ipek. There was a stream down the middle of the road,
in which some of the inhabitants were washing, while one sat on his
haunches holding up a small looking-glass with one hand and shaving
himself.

We bustled off to the mayor's office. Found him as usual in a back
street in a shabby office up shaky wooden stairs. The mayor knew nothing
of any road to Berane; so baffled, we again found the street. We went
to the shabby Turkish shops of the bazaar and inquired.

"Certainly," said the shopkeepers, "a good path to Berane, and not high.
No; not so high as that by Ipek."

We returned to the mayor's office. He seemed little inclined to consent,
and demanded to see our pass. Jo again made her little--but so
useful--speech. The mayor called in an Albanian. After a long
consultation the mayor said that he had no horses.

"Then we will take our carriage horses," said we.

"There are no roads for carriages," said the mayor.

"Then we will take the horses without the carriages."

The mayor called in two more men: they considered the pass once more.

"You may have the carriages two days more," he decided at last. "Go to
Tutigne. As far as that the carriages will travel. There are many horses
there, and you can get pack ponies."

Coming out we ran into Colonel Stajitch of Valievo. The colonel is a
Serbian gentleman, fine figure, beautiful face, and white hair and
moustaches. He greeted us, asked us our news. We told him of our
projected journey. He became thoughtful and after a while said good-bye.
We took our convoy through the town to a field on the outskirts where
we pitched the camp.

We borrowed the corporal's axe and hewed for some time in a thorn hedge,
without getting much profit but many prickles, and finally decided to
take a paling from a Turkish cemetery, for there was no one about.

Soon we had a jolly fire, and Cutting and Whatmough got to work on the
food. Dr. Holmes turned up. He had arrived the day before and had found
lodgings in an inn. West's arm was still inflamed and very painful. The
doctor looked at it and s