The Balkans were in future to be to me a Sphinx--an asker of
ceaseless riddles each of which led to one yet more complicated;
riddles which it took long to solve.

The riddle of my strange reception in Serbia was not explained until
four years afterwards. And the tale fits in rightly here.

It was Militchevitch who told me--he who had signed my passport in
the spring of 1902. I did not see him again till 1907. "I have been
reading your book," he said. "I wondered if you had noticed what
happened. I see you did at once."

"Noticed what!" I asked.

"That from the time you left Pirot you were differently treated." He
laughed. "Now it is all over long ago you may as well know. You have
no idea the excitement you caused. The Serbian Government spent a
small fortune in cypher telegrams about you." And he told this
astonishing tale: Among the banished members of the Karageorgevitch
family was a certain woman who came to England and studied at an
English college. She wore her hair short. When therefore I arrived
at Belgrade, as ignorant as any babe of the dark undercurrent of
politics, the Serbian police at once leapt to the conclusion that I
was the lady in question come on a political errand. My passport
bothered them as they could find no flaw in it. It was arranged to
keep me under supervision and Militchevitch was at once telegraphed
to. What did he know about the so-called Englishwoman whose passport
he had signed? He could only reply "Nothing." Followed an angry
telegram asking what business he had to sign the passports of people
of whom he knew nothing, and that in fact he had let one of the
Karageorgevitch gang get into the country, who was about to be
arrested. Much alarmed, he replied that he was under the impression
I was certainly English, and that it would be rash in the highest
degree to arrest me without further evidence. They then did all they
could to prevent my tour, short of forbidding it. My imperturbable
persistence thwarted them. Telegrams flew backwards and forwards.
London to Belgrade, Belgrade to London. Militchevitch was ordered to
make enquiries about me of the police, who knew nothing at all about
me, which surprised him. He ascertained, however, that persons of my
name actually lived at the address I had given and were locally of
good repute. He implored that my arrest--which was imminent--should
be delayed lest international complications ensued. Why the Serb
authorities did not impart th