“Stoyan ze Voivoda say, ‘Here, girl!’” explained Milosch, and Zoe hesitated. The chief held out a piece of her own chocolate, with an attempt at a smile, and after a struggle with herself, she advanced and accepted it. It was better than the black bread and hard cheese.
“Lo, ze munificence of our autocrat!” exclaimed Milosch, striking an attitude of reverential admiration. “He provide his guests with sweetmeats!”
“Oh, stow that, Milosch!” entreated Maurice; “it’s getting stale. Considering that the things are our own, it would be in better taste to say nothing about them.”
Milosch smiled uncomfortably, and joined Stoyan for a murmured confabulation, returning quickly to the prisoners, who were mitigating their hard fare with minute fragments of the chocolate.
“Ze Voivoda say he not tie your hands to-day if you plight your gentlemanly faith to try not to escape,” he said to Maurice and Wylie. “We going into mountains, where ze women most walk, and zey need your help.”
“To try not to escape?” said Zoe. “Oh, he means not to try to escape. You can promise that, can’t you?”
“No, no,” said Eirene eagerly. “It is a deception, a snare—I am sure of it. Doubtless the way is easy, and lies through villages, where it would cause suspicion if you were seen to be fettered, and the brigands think they will make us appear as tourists guided by them. Surely you won’t cripple yourselves by such a promise?”
“It does seem rather insane,” agreed Maurice. “What do you say, Wylie? We should feel pretty small if we found we had debarred ourselves from accepting a good chance of escape.”
“I confess I don’t quite see how we are to escape with two ladies through a country which we don’t know and the brigands do,” said Wylie. “Even Miss Smith’s Henty heroes would have found it a large order. But don’t think I want to back out of any unpleasantness that’s going.”
“Well, let us split the difference,” said Maurice, “and refuse to give our parole until we see the sort of way they take us. If it is very bad for the girls, we can still ask to be undone.”