128 SAVAGE SVANETIA. 



Svanetia. But then there were no sportsmen 

 amongst my questioners. 



When the prince's mother died, and he 

 wanted meat to feast the funeral party, he 

 had chosen our friend of the red shirt and 

 two others, and sent them into the mountains 

 to sLay tiir and chamois for his guests, and in 

 due course they had come back bringing three 

 tur with them. These men he now assigned 

 to us, and promised that the day after the 

 morrow they should conduct us to a place 

 where tur were plenty, and whence we should, 

 bring back at least a couple of the heads we 

 were seeking. This sounded well, but the 

 sportsmen's tongues seemed to me too fluent 

 to belong to men of the right sort, and I was 

 not mistaken. 



Whilst we sat talking and smoking in the 

 balcony the crowd outside acted as the chorus 

 in a Greek play, and from time to time com- 

 mented on or confirmed every remark the 

 prince made. 



