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Several small groups of bandits had been
seen on the slopes of the hills overlooking
the road, sitting motionless on their
horses, watching the passing of the trucks.
At one place a man had been found beside
the road, shot dead by those who had
robbed him.
The spirits of the company had suffered
by the strain and uncertainty, combined
with the prospect of the hard night and
long journey ahead; the drivers did their
work in silence; the helpers had ceased
the songs with which, in the open places
where the horizon for miles around was
clear, they were accustomed to lighten
the tedium of the trip; the passengers,
weary of their uncertain seats in the rear
of the trucks, were complaining gloomily.
Sergeant Rouge for the first time had
put off his smile, and rode at his station,
midway of the line, in a mood of deep abstraction—affected,
no doubt, like the
others, by the depression which had setled
upon the caravan, and perhaps by
his own thoughts-of the uninviting night
to be spent in the miserable precincts of
Hassan Chelebi, toward which they were
slowly advancing.
It was then something happened. One
of the drivers, presumably because of the
general atmosphere of uneasiness, allowed
his thoughts to wander for a moment
when preparing to ascend a grade. By
mistake he shifted to the reverse gear;
then, as the car started backward, lost his
head. This, it may be remarked, is not
unusual in a native driver when his car
begins to slip backward on a grade. In
this case the truck ran away and backed
over the edge of a shallow gully, which
was about twenty feet from the road.
There were eight passengers in the truck,
and six of them were injured.
By the time they had been carried up
and laid on blankets on the ground, the
chief of the convoy, beside whose eyes already
were wrinkles of worry, arrived
from his place at the rear of the train and
took charge of affairs.
"The nearest hospital," he said, "is at
Sivas, and that," he added, after a moment's
reflection, "is about a hundred
and forty miles from here. If we take
them on the convoy, they will have to
spend the night at Hassan Chelebi, and
won't reach the hospital until to-morrow
A Spice of Danger 227
night at the earliest. Some of them may
die."
"There's one or two that looks to be
pretty bad off," said a raw-boned youth,
who hailed from Wisconsin.
"Yes," said the chief. "Therefore we
can't risk any delay. Some one will have
to take them through to Sivas. It's a
rush job and a night drive over the hills—
and you fellows know what that means.
Besides, there are the bandits. But if
nothing happens they can be at the hospital
before morning. Now—who wants
to do it?"
There was no response for a moment.
Then Sergeant Rouge grinned. "I do,"
he said.
And so it was arranged. A truck was
emptied of its freight; blankets were collected,
and soft bundles commandeered
from passengers; and thus beds were prepared
on which the injured might lie with
a degree of comfort. Sergeant Rouge
himself went over the motor and saw to
it that the water-cans were filled, an extra
quantity of gasoline obtained from
the supply car, and spare tires from the
trouble car.
When everybody was ready he took
his seat and beckoned to George, the interpreter,
to get in beside him. Much
against his will George obeyed. The
others crowded about him.
"Good luck, Rouge!" said the chief.
"Don't stop to shave!" said somebody
else, with rough humor. "Cut it!"
drawled the youth from Wisconsin. " Nobody
kids him any more while I'm
around."
"Same here," said another. "He's all
nerve, that baby!"
Sergeant Rouge grinned again, glanced
over his shoulder to see that the injured
were well bestowed, then shoved in his
gear. " So long!" he said.
The car starting with hardly a jerk,
gathered speed and ground its way up
the grade in a storm of dust.
They went then (said George) up one
hill and down another, mile upon mile,
with never a sight of other travellers on
the road, or of trees, or of human habitations;
but occasionally they saw men
on horseback watching them from the
heights above, and once, as they whirled
around a turn, they observed, ahead of