"They must be a poor lot then, sir. I have always heard that one Englishman could lick two Frenchmen, and I believed it; but I'll be blessed if I could not lick half-a-dozen Roossians, if they have no more in them than these 'ere dirty Turks."
We left Bei Bazar at daybreak. Osman, as usual, did not take the trouble to lead one of the baggage-horses, but drove the animal before him. Presently we passed through a narrow passage. On each side were two walls; the pack-saddle struck against one them, and Radford's bag, containing the article which he prized perhaps most in the world, some pig tobacco, was torn open.
"I never seed such a fellow as that Osman," exclaimed my indignant servant, "he is always a telling of us as how he is industrious, and if there is a ha'porth of work to do he will borrow a penny and give it to some chap to do the job for him. I believe, sir, as how that fellow is a cheating the horses of their forage. He told me that he fed them in the morning before I was up. He is a liar he is. I was dressed a long time before him, and when he did show himself, he was busy the whole time a praying and a doing something with a little gallipot he carries in his saddle-bags. I don't believe the horses have had a feed of corn this twenty-four hours."
I began myself to be a little sceptical about Osman's honesty. I was paying as much for the forage of the five horses as if I had been in England. The poor brutes were getting thinner every day. I determined to stop at a farmhouse and buy some barley. On giving this to the horses, they ate it ravenously, thus confirming my suspicions.
"Osman, you did not feed the horses this morning!" I exclaimed.
"Feed them, Effendi! I fed all of them!"
"But see how hungry they are, they have eaten all the barley you have just given them."
"Yes, sir, they are wonderful horses. They are always hungry. It is a good sign in a horse to be always hungry."
I was not to be taken in by this remark, and so desired Radford in future to see the horses fed. At the same time I resolved to keep a sharp look-out on Osman. It was true that a considerable portion of his time was spent in praying; however, I began to be of my English servant's opinion, that when the Turk was not engaged in prayer, he was either planning or executing a theft, and that all these devotions were performed merely with the view of throwing me off my guard.
We crossed the Tchechmet; it is a tributary of the Sakaria river, and about thirty yards wide. There was a wooden bridge over the stream, but without any parapets; the height from the water being about twelve feet. This river is fordable in many places, the banks are not precipitous, and the bottom is firm.