138 ACROSS MONGOLIAN PLAINS 



At the entrance to the main street of Urga below 

 the Lama City I saw the black Mongol who had started 

 all the trouble. I jumped to the ground, seized him 

 by the collar and one leg, and attempted to throw him 

 into the cart for I had a little matter to settle with 

 him which could best be done to my satisfaction where 

 we were without spectators. 



At the same instant a burly policeman, wearing a 

 saber fully five feet long, seized my horse by the bridle. 

 At the black Mongol's instigation (who, I discovered, 

 was himself a policeman) he had been waiting to arrest 

 us when we came into the city. Since it was impos- 

 sible to learn what had caused the trouble, Yvette rode 

 to Andersen, Meyer's compound to bring back Mr. 

 Olufsen and his interpreter. She found the whole 

 courtyard swarming with excited Mongol soldiers. A 

 few moments later Olufsen arrived, and we were al- 

 lowed to return to his house on parole. Then he vis- 

 ited the Foreign Minister, who telephoned the police 

 that we were not to be molested further. 



We could never satisfactorily determine what it was 

 all about for every one had a different story. The 

 most plausible explanation was as follows. Russians 

 had been rather persona non grata in Urga since the 

 collapse of the empire, and the Mongols were ready 

 to annoy them whenever it was possible to do so and 

 "get away with it." All foreigners are supposed to be 

 Russians by the average native and, when the black 

 Mongol discovered us using a strange machine, he 

 thought it an excellent opportunity to "show off" be- 



