"I cannot get on with my cooking, sir," was the reply. "They will come and shove out their dirty tongues just over my cooking-pot. Some of the people who have got nasty diseases and sore legs insist upon showing them to me. Quite turns me hup, that it does. I had two boxes of hantibilious—I have given them all away. If I had only a pair of champagne nippers, sir, I would draw the rascals' teeth, perhaps that would take away their taste for my doctoring. Do you think it would do any harm if I were to bleed one or two of them, sir ?"
"Could you stop the bleeding after the operation?" I inquired.
"That, sir, is just what was passing in my mind. If I thought as how I could, I would have taken a little blood from each of them in turn. It would have cooled them down a little, and they would not have been so anxious for my company in future."
On reaching a village about three hours' distance from our sleeping quarters, we heard that the short road over the mountains to Van was blocked by the snow, and that it would be absolutely necessary to go by Khoi, and by a circuitous route which I had hoped to avoid.
I did not believe the statement, and ordered the guide to take the mountain track. The man reluctantly consented. Higher and higher we ascended the steep which divided us from the capital of Armenia. The snow at each moment became more deep. At last the guide halted, and distinctly refused to advance.
"I shall lose my life," he said. "You can do what you like with your own, but I have children for whom to provide."
The Usebashe interfered.
"The fellow is telling the truth about the road," he said. "I too, like yourself, thought that he was deceiving us. We had better go to Khoi."
There was nothing to be done but turn round and continue towards that town. It was about fifty miles distant from us. We halted for the night at a Kurdish village called Melhamee. Here the inhabitants received us very discourteously. If it had not been for the Usebashe, who reminded them of the laws of hospitality which are prescribed by their religion, I much doubt whether we should have obtained a resting-place. They had learnt that I was an Englishman, and were under the impression that they would be pleasing the Russians if they threw difficulties in our way.
"We know who you are," said a Kurd, "and the people in Erivan know who you are too. The Russians are our friends," he continued.