Later on Jovan’s brother, whom he had killed near Dulcigno, came early one morning to Achmet and fired at him; but Achmet caught him, and again brought his prisoner alive into the town, where he received ten years’ imprisonment.  These deeds are all the more remarkable as he brought his captures alive and delivered them over to justice.  It is, firstly, not customary to take men alive; secondly, the feat is of extreme difficulty, for men fight to a finish in these lands.

Achmet is known to disappear periodically for several weeks, but of these affairs he would say nothing.  But the most striking and romantic episode of this marvellous man’s life has yet to be told.

Recently he was caught by his now arch enemies, the Turks, and imprisoned in the powerful fortress of Tusi, a few miles from Podgorica.  Not content with putting on the usual extremely heavy chains, they added to their prisoner a second set of fetters.  But friends smuggled into his possession a file, concealed in a loaf of bread.  He filed through his chains, and the day previous to his escape he noticed a lot of straw bedding lying at the foot of the fortress walls.  That night he completed the filing of the fetters, broke open the cell-door, and rushing through the sleeping soldiers he jumped the wall, landing without hurt on the pile of straw bedding below.  Though fired at and pursued, he escaped unhurt.

We heard many such stories, but the story of Achmet was certainly the best, and these men do not lie.  As the man took his leave, he gave us a pressing invitation to visit his fortress home in the mountains.

“I will slaughter my best lamb,” he added, as a special inducement.

There was another highly interesting personality living in Podgorica, an ex-Albanian chief and refugee from his country, named Sokol Baco.  This fine old fellow, standing well over six feet, looked fifty instead of his sixty-five years, and had an equally interesting past.  As a youth he had fought in many battles for the Turks, and was eventually selected with five other young men of high standing for the personal bodyguard of the Sultan.  While on leave, which he was spending in his Albanian home, the order came for the disarming of the whole of Albania.  Sokol’s tribe refused, as did most of these warlike clans, though Sokol advised obedience.  But his clan remained obdurate, and he was placed in the awkward predicament of being either considered a traitor by his countrymen or by his Sovereign.  Sokol threw in his lot with his clan, and led them in battle against a Turkish force; but though he fought like a lion, the clan were defeated, and he was forced to fly.  For many years Sokol lived in the Albanian mountains, half robber and wholly patriot; but the pursuit became too keen, and he came to Podgorica, where he entered the service of Prince Nicolas.  His new Prince he serves loyally, and is highly esteemed in Montenegro, where he will doubtless end his days.