348 SAVAGE SVANETIA. 



As the days crept on, and the bad weather 

 still kept us storm- stayed at Sukhoum, even 

 the cordial kindness of our military friends 

 failed to console us for our prolonged stay 

 amongst them. All hope of a visit to Golo- 

 vinsky vanished, and both Frank and myself 

 became decidedly nervous about our health. 



At last, one day, we heard from the 

 telegraphists that a steamer would really call 

 at Sukhoum next morning, and though the 

 hour of its departure from that port was 3 a.m., 

 we were down on the shingle in the grey 

 light with our packages around us, in time to 

 catch the boat. jNot until we had got our- 

 selves and our belongings on board, and said 

 good-bye to Platon, did we experience any 

 feeling cf security, convinced that now we 

 were once more within a measurable distance 

 of railways and other connecting links which 

 join the civilised world to the Caucasus. 



From that moment until our arrival in 



