Not a Vampire; not a poor harassed creature doomed to terrible woe, but a
splendid woman, brave beyond belief, patriotic in a way which has but few
peers even in the wide history of bravery! I began to understand the
true meaning of the strange occurrences that have come into my life. Even the origin and purpose of that first strange visit to my room became
clear. No wonder that the girl could move about the Castle in so
mysterious a manner. She had lived there all her life, and was familiar
with the secret ways of entrance and exit. I had always believed that
the place must have been honeycombed with secret passages. No wonder
that she could find a way to the battlements, mysterious to everybody
else. No wonder that she could meet me at the Flagstaff when she so
desired. To say that I was in a tumult would be to but faintly express my
condition. I was rapt into a heaven of delight which had no measure in
all my adventurous life--the lifting of the veil which showed that my
wife--mine--won in all sincerity in the very teeth of appalling
difficulties and dangers--was no Vampire, no corpse, no ghost or phantom,
but a real woman of flesh and blood, of affection, and love, and passion. Now at last would my love be crowned indeed when, having rescued her from
the marauders, I should bear her to my own home, where she would live and
reign in peace and comfort and honour, and in love and wifely happiness
if I could achieve such a blessing for her--and for myself. But here a dreadful thought flashed across me, which in an instant turned
my joy to despair, my throbbing heart to ice:

"As she is a real woman, she is in greater danger than ever in the hands
of Turkish ruffians. To them a woman is in any case no more than a
sheep; and if they cannot bring her to the harem of the Sultan, they may
deem it the next wisest step to kill her. In that way, too, they might
find a better chance of escape. Once rid of her the party could
separate, and there might be a chance of some of them finding escape as
individuals that would not exist for a party. But even if they did not
kill her, to escape with her would be to condemn her to the worst fate of
all the harem of the Turk! Lifelong misery and despair--however long
that life might be--must be the lot of a Christian woman doomed to such a
lot. And to her, just happily wedded, and after she had served her
country in such a noble way as she had done, that dreadful life of
shameful slavery would be a misery beyond belief. "She must be rescued--and quickly! The marauders must be caught soon,
and suddenly, so that they may have neither time nor opportunity to harm
her, as they would be certain to do if they have warning of immediate
danger. "On! on!" And "on" it was all through that terrible night as well as we could
through the forest. It was a race between the mountaineers and myself as to who should be
first. I understood now the feeling that animated them, and which
singled them out even from amongst their fiery comrades, when the danger
of the Voivodin became known. These men were no mean contestants even in
such a race, and, strong as I am, it took my utmost effort to keep ahead
of them. They were keen as leopards, and as swift. Their lives had been
spent among the mountains, and their hearts and souls on were in the
chase. I doubt not that if the death of any one of us could have through
any means effected my wife's release, we should, if necessary, have
fought amongst ourselves for the honour. From the nature of the work before us our party had to keep to the top of
the hills. We had not only to keep observation on the flying party whom
we followed, and to prevent them making discovery of us, but we had to be
always in a position to receive and answer signals made to us from the
Castle, or sent to us from other eminences. _Letter from Petrof Vlastimir_, _Archimandrite of Spazac_, _to the Lady
Janet MacKelpie_, _of Vissarion_. _Written July_ 8, 1907. GREAT LADY,

    I am asked to write by the Vladika, and have permission of the
    Archbishop. I have the honour of transmitting to you the record of
    the pursuit of the Turkish spies who carried off the Voivodin Teuta,
    of the noble House of Vissarion. The pursuit was undertaken by the
    Gospodar Rupert, who asked that I would come with his party, since
    what he was so good as to call my "great knowledge of the country and
    its people" might serve much. It is true that I have had much
    knowledge of the Land of the Blue Mountains and its people, amongst
    which and whom my whole life has been passed. But in such a cause no
    reason was required. There was not a man in the Blue Mountains who
    would not have given his life for the Voivodin Teuta, and when they
    heard that she had not been dead, as they thought, but only in a
    trance, and that it was she whom the marauders had carried off, they
    were in a frenzy. So why should I--to whom has been given the great
    trust of the Monastery of Spazac--hesitate at such a time? For
    myself, I wanted to hurry on, and to come at once to the fight with
    my country's foes; and well I knew that the Gospodar Rupert, with a
    lion's heart meet for his giant body, would press on with a matchless
    speed. We of the Blue Mountains do not lag when our foes are in
    front of us; most of all do we of the Eastern Church press on when
    the Crescent wars against the Cross! We took with us no gear or hamper of any kind; no coverings except
    what we stood in; no food--nothing but our handjars and our rifles,
    with a sufficiency of ammunition. Before starting, the Gospodar gave
    hurried orders by signal from the Castle to have food and ammunition
    sent to us (as we might signal) by the nearest hamlet. It was high noon when we started, only ten strong--for our leader
    would take none but approved runners who could shoot straight and use
    the handjar as it should be used. So as we went light, we expected
    to go fast. By this time we knew from the reports signalled to
    Vissarion that the enemies were chosen men of no despicable prowess. The Keeper of the Green Flag of Islam is well served, and as though
    the Turk is an infidel and a dog, he is sometimes brave and strong. Indeed, except when he passes the confines of the Blue Mountains, he
    has been known to do stirring deeds. But as none who have dared to
    wander in amongst our hills ever return to their own land, we may not
    know of how they speak at home of their battles here. Still, these
    men were evidently not to be despised; and our Gospodar, who is a
    wise man as well as a valiant, warned us to be prudent, and not to
    despise our foes over much. We did as he counselled, and in proof we
    only took ten men, as we had only twenty against us. But then there
    was at stake much beyond life, and we took no risks.