so much since old Jim Hooker told the tale of "Cousin Sally
Dillard" when we were hunting ducks in Michigan and his wife's brother
had an apoplexy in the night and died of it.'

To the accompaniment of Blenkiron's chuckles I did what Peter had done
in the first minute, and fell asleep.

When I woke it was still dark. The wagon had stopped in a courtyard
which seemed to be shaded by great trees. The snow lay deeper here,
and by the feel of the air we had left the city and climbed to higher
ground. There were big buildings on one side, and on the other what
looked like the lift of a hill. No lights were shown, the place was in
profound gloom, but I felt the presence near me of others besides
Hussin and the driver.

We were hurried, Blenkiron only half awake, into an outbuilding, and
then down some steps to a roomy cellar. There Hussin lit a lantern,
which showed what had once been a storehouse for fruit. Old husks still
strewed the floor and the place smelt of apples. Straw had been piled
in corners for beds, and there was a rude table and a divan of boards
covered with sheepskins.

'Where are we?' I asked Hussin.

'In the house of the Master,' he said. 'You will be safe here, but you
must keep still till the Master comes.'

'Is the Frankish lady here?' I asked.

Hussin nodded, and from a wallet brought out some food--raisins and
cold meat and a loaf of bread. We fell on it like vultures, and as we
ate Hussin disappeared. I noticed that he locked the door behind him.

As soon as the meal was ended the others returned to their interrupted
sleep. But I was wakeful now and my mind was sharp-set on many things.
I got Blenkiron's electric torch and lay down on the divan to study
Stumm's map.

The first glance showed me that I had lit on a treasure. It was the
staff map of the Erzerum defences, showing the forts and the field
trenches, with little notes scribbled in Stumm's neat small
handwriting. I got out the big map which I had taken from Blenkiron,
and made out the general lie of the land. I saw the horseshoe of Deve
Boyun to the east which the Russian guns were battering. Stumm's was
just like the kind of squared artillery map we used in France, 1 in
10,000, with spidery red lines showing the trenches, but with the
difference that it was the Turkish trenches that were shown in detail
and the Russian only roughly indicated. The thing was really a
confidential plan of the whole Erzerum _enceinte_, an