OF THE OLD WORLD. 385 



and three horses belonging to the Bey's people were 

 missing, and it was suspected that a predatory party 

 of Kabardines, known to be lurking in the neighbour- 

 hood, were the culprits, and had paid us a visit in 

 the night. 



The loss of a good baggage-animal is, at any time, 

 a serious inconvenience when travelling ; but in a 

 wild and desolate country, like that of the eastern 

 coast of the Black Sea, it is almost an irremediable 

 misfortune, so I jumped up immediately to consult 

 with the Bey as to the best measures to take for the 

 recovery of the stolen property. I found him still 

 encased in sheepskins, but puffing furiously at his 

 chibouk, and giving vent to his indignation in a long 

 string of curses, loud and deep, against the marauders, 

 whom he designated as " vile dogs of Kaffirs (un- 

 believers) of unchaste parentage," &c. 



When I coidd get in a word, I advised him to 

 send some of his people to follow up the trail as 

 soon as it became light enough to see the marks left 

 by the horses' feet ; but he, with true Mussulman 

 apathy, declared that a pursuit would be useless, as 

 the plunderers had got too long a start. 



Of this I did not feel at all sure, knowing the 

 extreme difficulty of getting over the ground in the 

 dark, in a wooded country ; so I determined to give 

 chase with my own people, accompanied by the 

 herdsman who had shown us the bear's lair the day 

 before, and a couple of young men of the tribe, wiio 

 professed not only to know the country well, but 



2 B 



