We cooked the dinner, had a smoke,
a short rest, and then _en avant_--always through the forest.
Later in the afternoon, emerging from the wood, we came upon a grassy
plateau which commanded a glorious view of the Transylvanian side of the
Carpathians. I was glad to see the familiar valley of Gyergyo away
westward, with its numerous villages and green pasturage. The same
physical peculiarity pervades the whole of Hungary. Whenever you get a
vale of any extent, it is as flat as if it were a bit of the great
plain. Everywhere you have the impression that formerly the waters of a
lake must have covered the level verdure of the valley. As soon as I
caught sight of St Miklos I dismissed my guide, for his services were no
longer required, and I could get on quicker without him. I had still a
long distance to go, for I was not far below the summit. I was extremely
anxious to get into safe quarters before dark, so I made the best of the
way, leading my horse down the steep bits, and mounting again for a
short trot where it was possible.
On arriving at the house of my Armenian friends at St Miklos, happily
before sundown, I was greatly disappointed to find that there would be
no bear-hunt the next day. Those detestable robbers had turned up again,
and the people who were to have formed part of the sporting expedition
were obliged to go robber-hunting, a sport not much to their taste I
fancy.
It appeared that the fellows had entered an out-of-the-way inn, or
rather wine-shop, and boldly ordered the owner to procure for them a
certain amount of gunpowder, which they required should be ready for
them the next day, and failing to carry out their orders, they
threatened to shoot him.
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