He took me out through the hall, now thronged with soldiers, to the front of the house, where a small troop of horsemen were drawn up; and then, halting at a spot where the light of a lamp fell full upon his face, he looked at me with a peculiar expression in his eyes which I did not understand, and said in an unnecessarily harsh, strident tone:
“You have played us too many tricks for me to dare to take your parole not to escape, sir; and if you are treated with indignity you have yourself to blame for it. Bind the prisoner’s hands behind him!” he said roughly to a couple of men near; and a murmur of approval came from the troopers standing around, mingled with a good deal of strong Russian.
“I protest against the outrage!” I shouted, and commenced to struggle. It was useless, of course, and I was held, and my hands fastened behind me. “Where am I being taken? I demand to know.”
“I’ll demand you,” said Wolasky, in a voice of passion; and, seizing me, he pushed me forward to where a horse stood riderless.
“Excuse this farce,” he whispered; “but it is necessary;” and he covered the whisper with a loud imprecation and abuse of me. I was so astonished that I forgot to resist. “Struggle,” he whispered again; and then I set to work to play my part with a will, and fought and struggled so desperately as they were forcing me to mount, that the Captain appeared to lose his temper, and struck at me, taking care, however, that the blow spent itself in the air.
“Watch him,” he ordered, “and at the least sign of treachery, shoot him like a dog. It doesn’t matter whether he reaches Tirnova alive or dead, so long as he does reach there;” and again some of the soldiers clustered about, laughed and oathed in evident glee.
I rode between two troopers, whose horses were fastened to mine by light chains attached to the bits, while each man held a rein; and, as we started in this alarming fashion, some ruffian shouted after us to keep the “damned English dog safe on the chain.” “Tie his legs under the horse’s belly, and he’ll keep on, dead or alive,” cried another; and a burst of ribald laughter followed, in which those about me joined.
In this fashion we rode through Liublian, struck off to the right, and soon after began the ascent of a steep hilly country, which made the travelling very slow. We moved at no more than a walking pace all the time, making, as I judged, about four miles an hour; but we kept on all through the night, and did not halt until the sun was up, and we reached a small village, where we dismounted and had breakfast.
I was overpowered with fatigue, and so soon as I had eaten the food brought to me I fell into a deep sleep. In about three hours I was awakened and the march resumed. The sun was overpowering, and towards midday a halt was called under some trees. Here again I slept, and when, in the late afternoon, I awoke, I was vastly refreshed, and began to think about the chances of escape.
I had been treated all the time with the sternest measures. The Captain did not come near me; and, when we halted, my legs were bound before my hands were liberated for me to take any food. The country was of course entirely strange, and when I asked a question of the men on either side of me they ordered me with an oath to be silent.