riendship. The memories of the bitter summer of
1913, when the allies who had been fighting the Turks, side by side,
turned against one another in one of the bloodiest and sharpest wars in
history, were all too fresh. The Bulgarians scowled at the sight of the
Servian uniforms; they subjected the two scouts to a close scrutiny when
they crossed the line, but their papers were in order and they were
allowed to proceed.

Now, however, there seemed to be something sinister in the very air.
Scowling faces met them wherever they came upon peasants or soldiers,
and soldiers seemed almost unduly numerous. Then after a few hours of
riding, they saw no more soldiers. In their places, however, they
encountered bands of men in the national Bulgarian costume, rough,
hard-faced men with modern rifles, who seemed to be riding aimlessly.
Stepan ground his teeth at the sight of them.

"They're not soldiers, oh, no!" he said. "You see they're not in
uniform. But do you notice how they sit their horses, and how they ride
in files? Undisciplined men never did that! Those bands are the ones
that cross over, raiding our borderlands. But what can we do? We have
enough without fighting Bulgaria, too, so we have to accept apologies
the Sofia government makes. If possible we want Bulgaria on our side.
But--! The treacherous dogs!"

"Don't get so excited, Stepan," advised Dick. "I believe you hate them
more than you do the Austrians!"

"I'll be glad when we cross over into Greece," grumbled Stephan. "The
Greeks are our allies and our friends. The only reason they have not
come to our aid is that they must watch Bulgaria. That helps us, of
course--Bulgaria dares not move while Greece is ready."

It was late in the afternoon when they first noticed that they were no
longer traveling alone. Two Bulgarian merchants--so Stepan said, judging
from their appearance--passed them, riding wiry little horses; a little
later they overtook them, and after that the two Bulgarians stayed about
a hundred yards behind them, no matter how often they altered their
pace.

"I don't like their looks," said Stepan. "I wish we didn't have to sleep
to-night on Bulgarian soil. Their inns--Dick, why should we sleep in an
inn? Let us buy provisions and spend the night out of doors! It will be
cold, but we have faced worse hardships than that together!"

"I'm game!" laughed Dick. "Any inn we find on this road is sure to be
dirty, anyhow. It'll be a last adventure to