to them is not recorded, but that Sandanski
and his colleagues were approached by the Bulgarian agents cannot be
doubted. Certain it is that just before hostilities broke out the
blood feud between Ferdinand and Sandanski had been put aside, and
Sandanski, the slayer of Sarafoff, the outlawed bandit, walked
through the streets of Sofia unmolested. And when the war did
actually break out, Sandanski was leading some thousands of his
Macedonian comitajis against the Turks in the Razlog district, which
he conquered and turned over to the Bulgarian authorities when they
came there to establish a civil government.

The league, having been established, was now anxious to begin
operations as soon as possible, for the reason that beginning
hostilities against Turkey while she was still at war with Italy
would put the latter in the position of being their ally. But that
was just a position in which Italy, as an ally of Austria, did not
wish to find herself. So when it became evident that the Balkan
league had been formed and meant to take action, Italy and Turkey
both hastened to arrange terms of peace, the former to save herself
from an awkward situation, the latter so that she might give her
full attention to the new danger.

CHAPTER XIX

FIRST AND SECOND BALKAN WARS

The war finally broke out on September 30, 1912, precipitated by
Montenegro before the other members of the league were quite ready.
The wonderful victories of the Serbian and Bulgarian armies were the
surprise and wonder of the world at the time. The Bulgarians were
victorious at Lule Burges, and the Serbians at Kumanovo. The Greeks
advanced as far as Saloniki, while their fleet bottled up the ships
of the Turks in the Dardanelles. Finally the Bulgarians swept the
Turks in Thrace into Constantinople and were battering down the
gates of the capital itself. The Serbians marched an army over the
mountains to Durazzo on the Adriatic, and the Montenegrins took
Scutari. And by the following spring Turkey was suing for peace,
which was finally brought about by the Treaty of London on May 30,
1913.

But the very success of the Balkan allies opened up new dangers of
deep gravity. And now Austria, who had not quite dared to attack
Serbia during the hostilities, saw an opportunity whereby she might
defeat the league by opening up the dangers engendered by their very
success. Had it not been for her intrigues there would have been no
Second Balkan War. But s