months ago.”  Not a serious case amongst them, and we had heard that the badly equipped hospitals at Krusevatz were crowded with the most frightful cases.  We were furious.  A lot more wounded came to the “State” cafe.  None seriously hurt, and after examination one man had no wound to show at all, nor shock, nor anything.  He had simply run away.  There were several hand cases, some blackened with powder, proving that the poor devils had shot themselves to get out of it.  One man would not have his hair cut because he said that he was in mourning for his brother, and his hat was decorated with a crown of black lace.  At the same time some serious cases came to the main hospital; one man seemed to have been shot the whole length of his body, the bullet entering at the shoulder and emerging behind the hip.  A small boy sat scratching.  Jo said to him, “Why dost thou scratch?” He answered with a shout of fatuous content, “I have lice, I have lice,” and scratched once more.

The disinfector was working overtime, clothes were poured upon us from all the other hospitals.  Another alarm that wounded were coming, but they never came.  In their place an English clergyman arrived from Krag.  News came of the fall of Uskub, and that Lady Paget had been captured with all her staff.  Next day the wounded came, many more than had been expected.  Jan got rather strong signs of inflammatory rheumatism threatening, so he went to bed for a couple of days with salicylate.

The Serbian authorities were beginning to lose their heads.  In the morning they said that the “State” was to be made into a hospital for officers, and chased all the patients out; in the afternoon they decided that it was not, and chased back the patients—­who had been divided amongst the other hospitals.  Thus they kept us busy and accomplished nothing.  In the evening another batch of wounded came in.

Nearly all the reports of the previous week were now confessed to be lies.  A Serbian minister had been dying in the town, and the good stories were made up to keep him cheerful.  Now he was dead the truth leaked out.  The Austrians and Germans were advancing on every side, the Serbs making no resistance since Belgrade.  The Bulgars had occupied the whole of the line south of Nish.  The French and English were advancing with extreme difficulty.  The Farmers’ unit trailed into the town, no conveyance having been arranged for them from the station.  The Scottish women were already here, having come in the night; they had to sleep twelve or fifteen in a room.  Next day a small contingent of the wounded Allies arrived.

Sir Ralph Paget arrived in a whirl.  Leaders of units appeared from all sides, and a hurried conference was held.

Mr. Berry called a meeting at two.  He said Paget had announced that the game was up; that all members of units should have the option of going home, and that he (Paget) was going to Kralievo to see about transports.  Jan got to work on the map, and decided that the best route out would be one to Novi Bazar, and thence by tracks to Berane.  There were villages marked in the mountains which did not seem so high as those by Ipek, also the road, if there were one, would be at least two days shorter.