‘Not being a Field-Marshal or a Cabinet Minister, sergeant, I can’t tell you,’ replied Jack as he gazed over the ship’s side.
The sergeant snorted and walked off, and Jack gazed with admiration at the magnificent scenery. The sea was a deep-blue, the coast-line much indented, showing light-green herbage, luxuriance of trees and flowers, and rounded hills in the background. As they steamed along the blue channel of ever-varying width, they passed beautiful groupings of wood and dale, ravine and hillside, among which kiosks, bastions, tall mosques, noble mansions, and picturesque villages nestled.
The waters abounded in fish, porpoises and dolphins plashing and playing round the vessel as she cleaved her way against the rapid flood. Sword-fish occasionally made lightning-like raids at their prey, and hawks, kites, and sea-eagles flew skimming the surface of the water.
Night set in before they reached the entrance of the Black Sea. As they passed the forts the sentries yelled out strange challenges and burned blue lights, which were answered from the vessel. Then they ran into a drifting, clammy fog, which settled round them like a shroud and rendered everything as black as pitch, when, shivering after the heat of the day, Jack sought his berth.
In the morning the same haze hung over everything; but as the sun increased in power it lifted and soon a line of land, marked by a band of white clouds, came in sight. As the atmosphere got clearer, undulating folds of greensward, rising one above the other, and behind them hilly peaks, all covered with fine verdure, came in sight. The transport rounded a promontory on the left, passed an earthen fort, and entered a semicircular bay about a mile and a half in length and a couple of miles across, and there on its northern side lay Varna. It was a fine-looking place, showing up well against the hills behind it, a black-and-white coloured tower and the great lighthouse being the most conspicuous buildings.
In the bay lay British and Turkish men-of-war and Bulgarian and Armenian vessels. Small boats by the hundred, mostly containing either jolly Jack-tars or red-coated soldiers, darted here and there, and many and cheery were the salutations exchanged.
The transport went on and dropped anchor at the pier, when Jack saw that the town was surrounded by a stone wall ten feet high, painted white and loopholed, and that there were some detached batteries mounting heavy guns.
‘Rum sort of show,’ said Will to Jack. ‘Seems pretty strong.’
‘May be,’ replied Jack; ‘but what’s this coming?’
What had attracted his attention was a regular fleet of large, flat-bottomed boats, which were then approaching the transport. They were manned by British tars and marines, and it soon became evident that the boats were intended to disembark the cavalry. A rare job it was; but, however, it was at last accomplished successfully, and the ‘Death or Glory Boys’ assembled together on Bulgarian soil.