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CHAPTER XXVI.
Turkish officers at Ulu Kishla—Turkish officers and men— Loulon Castle
— " The Bulwark of Tarsus " — The Bagdad Eailway again —The
wine-shop at Tahkta Keupru—Snowed up once more— "Sportmen"
arrive—A struggle— Circassian bilkers—A highwayman—A night
alarm—Arrival at Dubekji Khan.
The Turkish officers with whom I
shared my room at
Ulu Kishla were a slightly-built, grizzled major in
khaki, and a younger naval officer in blue and gold.
This man was of uncertain rank and un-naval appearance
judged by any standards familiar to me. He
was short and stout and dark, had black moustachios,
and arrived from the train in red slippers notwithstanding
the snow.
In the close quarters of a room, little more than
twelve feet square, we were not long in coming to
some degree of familiarity. We exchanged cigarettes,
drink, and food, and after I had ordered a mangcd
(a brazier of live charcoal), the officers insisted that
two more should be ordered by them when needed ;
but beyond these slight courtesies we made no headway
for twenty-four hours. Constraint amounting
to awkwardness was upon my companions, who lay
silent on their beds or speaking to each other in low
voices. I knew the cause, but could take no step to
set them more at ease. Like all Turkish officers at
this time, they felt themselves dishonoured by the
course of the Italian War, and to be confined in close
quarters with a foreigner who might be unsympathetic