“I drew my gun but I was afraid to fire for fear of hitting the Colonel.  I thought I would rap the big man over the head with the butt of the weapon.  I ventured a trifle too close and he nailed me, too.  He shook me so hard that I dropped my gun.  Anderson hadn’t been able to get at his.  Then Ivan relieved him of it, and still holding us each by an arm, he brought us here.

“When he shoved us under the rock ahead of him, we decided to jump him if he came in.  We jumped him.  It didn’t do much good, did it, Colonel?”

Chester turned to Colonel Anderson with a smile.

“Not much,” was the Colonel’s dry response.

Ivan grinned sheepishly.

“I didn’t mean to hurt you too much,” he said.  “You see, sometimes I don’t realize my own strength.  I guess maybe I squeezed your arms too hard.”

“Well, now tell us about yourself, Hal,” said Chester, “and who is this little fellow who hangs so close to Stubbs?”

“This little fellow,” returned Hal, “has appointed himself Stubbs’ best friend.  Stubbs overcame him in fair fight this afternoon and he thinks Stubbs is a great man.”

“Well, what’s the matter?” Stubbs broke in.  “Don’t you?”

“Of course,” Hal hastened to assure him.

Stubbs subsided grumbling.

“The question now is,” Colonel Edwards declared, “what are we going to do?  There is no use staying here longer than we can possibly help.  We had better be moving.”

“Hold on,” shouted Ivan, jumping suddenly to his feet.  “Tell me what it is you are going to do?  Perhaps I may lend a hand.  I know something of these mountains.”

Colonel Edwards glanced at Hal.  The boy nodded.

“Might be a good idea,” he said.

Then Colonel Edwards explained.  Ivan heard him patiently.

“Well,” he said at length, “nothing would please me more than to join this expedition.”  He spoke to Hal.  “You have told me of the service rendered the Czar by my brother Alexis.  I am ashamed that I have been idling here in these mountains while my country needs me.  I shall try and make up for it in the future.  Now, I believe I can tell you what you want to know.”

“Then,” asked Colonel Edwards, “is there a strong Austrian sentiment among the Albanians?”

“Until a month ago there was little Austrian sentiment,” returned Ivan, “But recently there has been a change, and the change I lay at the door of a single man.”

“An Albanian?”

“It is even worse than that.  The man is a Montenegrin.  And still worse.  He bears the same name as the king of Montenegro, Nicolas.  He has, most likely, another name, but I do not know it.”

“But why should a Montenegrin seek to raise the enmity of the Albanians against his own people?” Chester demanded.

“There is but one reason—­gold,” said Ivan simply.

“And his methods?” inquired Colonel Anderson.