acrossasiaminoro00chiluoft

—
;
310 ACROSS ASIA MINOR ON FOOT
went to the village, unearthed the personators, and
compelled them to make restitution and add a twofold
portion from the stolen goods of other less fortunate
merchants. And then, as ignominious punishment
for the false use of honourable names, a beating
was administered.
But after a time the band flew too high. Their
importance was so great by now, that on one occasion
when a French Consul travelled from the coast to
Damascus, under Turkish escort, the Turkish authorities
deemed it wise to obtain from the band a safeconduct
for the party. Unfortunately, however, the
brigands mistook this party for another, and seized
and robbed the Consul after killing a zcq^tieh or two.
Having discovered their error, they made amends and
handsome apologies to the Consul, gave him a feast,
brought him on his way, and thought the matter well
ended. But his Government took the affair up with
the Porte and demanded satisfaction and punishment,
and pressed the demand with such insistence and
vigour that the brigands fell on evil days. They had
to disperse and go out of business, but even so were
hunted under pressure by the French Government
nor did they find any satisfactory solution of their
difficulties until, one after the other, the leaders were
reported to have been shot when fleeing
from justice.
But they probably kept whole skins, for at Kaisariyeh
I met a Canadian missionary who knew Black Ibrahim
well, and had seen him within the year somewhere in
that district, now broken in fortune, but still the
lordly swaggering Kurd of better days.
After Ighsan had disclosed his intimacy with these
brigands he was satisfied. He soon dropped the
grand manner and returned to the easier style in
which I had hitherto known him. But he had to
have another word. Looking at the floor, which by
this time was thoroughly dry, he said with a halfpleasant,
half-quarrelsome laugh
" Where is the mud now ? " That point made, we