It was arranged between Giorgio and his friends that all should meet at the bridge, and the marching party soon disappeared among the hills. As the boat floated down with the stream, the Bucklands and Giorgio ate and drank ravenously of the food they had with them.
“This is like heaven,” said George, as he leant back, “after the strain of the last few hours. D’you mind if I go to sleep, old man?”
“Not I. You must want sleep badly. I’ll see that we don’t run aground and jog you when we come to the bridge.”
It was more than two hours before they came to the bridge, and they had waited another hour before Giulika and his party arrived. The meeting was hilarious. The Albanians appeared to take it all as a great joke, and the fact of having got the better of an Austrian and a Moslem from Elbasan afforded them vast satisfaction and amusement. Giulika regretted that, being so far from home, he could not give a feast to celebrate their triumph, but assured the Englishmen that if they would honour him with a visit at some future time he would assemble all his kinsfolk and hold high revel.
“Will you give Giorgio a tip?” asked George, as the man stepped on to the bank to join his friends.
“He would be terribly insulted,” said Maurice. “Whatever we do for him and his people must be done delicately. I’ll see to that when we get to Sofia.”
He thanked Giulika warmly for his hospitality and kindnesses, and promised to accept his invitation some day. Then they parted with mutual congratulations and compliments, the Albanians to face the long march across the hills, the Englishmen to continue their voyage down the river.
Chapter XV
THE END OF THE CRUISE
It was now late in the afternoon. The Bucklands were both on the verge of exhaustion after the fatigue and the excitements they had undergone, and since it was impossible to reach Prizren before dark, they decided to float down the stream for a short distance until they came to some secluded spot where they might rest. In little more than an hour they reached a cove in the left bank where they could lie up without the risk of being seen, except from some passing boat, and since they had as yet neither passed nor met a vessel of any kind, it seemed likely enough that nothing would disturb them.