When all were seated, he rose and said:

    "My Lord Archbishop, Vladika, and Lords of the Council all, I have
    dared to summon you in this way because time presses, and the life of
    one you all love--the Voivode Vissarion--is at stake. This audacious
    attempt of the Turk is the old aggression under a new form. It is a
    new and more daring step than ever to try to capture your chief and
    his daughter, the Voivodin, whom you love. Happily, the latter part
    of the scheme is frustrated. The Voivodin is safe and amongst us. But the Voivode is held prisoner--if, indeed, he be still alive. He
    must be somewhere near Ilsin--but where exactly we know not as yet. We have an expedition ready to start the moment we receive your
    sanction--your commands. We shall obey your wishes with our lives. But as the matter is instant, I would venture to ask one question,
    and one only: 'Shall we rescue the Voivode at any cost that may
    present itself?' I ask this, for the matter has now become an
    international one, and, if our enemies are as earnest as we are, the
    issue is war!" Having so spoken, and with a dignity and force which is
    inexpressible, he withdrew; and the Council, having appointed a
    scribe--the monk Cristoferos, whom I had suggested--began its work. The Archbishop spoke:

    "Lords of the Council of the Blue Mountains, I venture to ask you
    that the answer to the Gospodar Rupert be an instant 'Yes!' together
    with thanks and honour to that gallant Englisher, who has made our
    cause his own, and who has so valiantly rescued our beloved Voivodin
    from the ruthless hands of our enemies." Forthwith the oldest member
    of the Council--Nicolos of Volok--rose, and, after throwing a
    searching look round the faces of all, and seeing grave nods of
    assent--for not a word was spoken--said to him who held the door:
    "Summon the Gospodar Rupert forthwith!" When Rupert entered, he
    spoke to him:

    "Gospodar Rupert, the Council of the Blue Mountains has only one
    answer to give: Proceed! Rescue the Voivode Vissarion, whatever the
    cost may be! You hold henceforth in your hand the handjar of our
    nation, as already, for what you have done in your valiant rescue of
    our beloved Voivodin, your breast holds the heart of our people. Proceed at once! We give you, I fear, little time; but we know that
    such is your own wish. Later, we shall issue formal authorization,
    so that if war may ensue, our allies may understand that you have
    acted for the nation, and also such letters credential as may be
    required by you in this exceptional service. These shall follow you
    within an hour. For our enemies we take no account. See, we draw
    the handjar that we offer you." As one man all in the hall drew
    their handjars, which flashed as a blaze of lightning. There did not seem to be an instant's delay. The Council broke up,
    and its members, mingling with the people without, took active part
    in the preparations. Not many minutes had elapsed when the yacht,
    manned and armed and stored as arranged, was rushing out of the
    creek. On the bridge, beside Captain Rooke, stood the Gospodar
    Rupert and the still-shrouded form of the Voivodin Teuta. I myself
    was on the lower deck with the soldiers, explaining to certain of
    them the special duties which they might be called on to fulfil. I
    held the list which the Gospodar Rupert had prepared whilst we were
    waiting for the yacht to arrive from Gadaar. PETROF VLASTIMIR. FROM RUPERT'S JOURNAL--_Continued_. _July_ 9, 1907. We went at a terrific pace down the coast, keeping well inshore so as to
avoid, if possible, being seen from the south. Just north of Ilsin a
rocky headland juts out, and that was our cover. On the north of the
peninsula is a small land-locked bay, with deep water. It is large
enough to take the yacht, though a much larger vessel could not safely
enter. We ran in, and anchored close to the shore, which has a rocky
frontage--a natural shelf of rock, which is practically the same as a
quay. Here we met the men who had come from Ilsin and the neighbourhood
in answer to our signalling earlier in the day. They gave us the latest
information regarding the kidnapping of the Voivode, and informed us that
every man in that section of the country was simply aflame about it. They assured us that we could rely on them, not merely to fight to the
death, but to keep silence absolutely. Whilst the seamen, under the
direction of Rooke, took the aeroplane on shore and found a suitable
place for it, where it was hidden from casual view, but from which it
could be easily launched, the Vladika and I--and, of course, my
wife--were hearing such details as were known of the disappearance of her
father. It seems that he travelled secretly in order to avoid just such a
possibility as has happened. No one knew of his coming till he came to
Fiume, whence he sent a guarded message to the Archbishop, which the
latter alone would understand. But this Turkish agents were evidently on
his track all the time, and doubtless the Bureau of Spies was kept well
advised. He landed at Ilsin from a coasting steamer from Ragusa to the
Levant. For two days before his coming there had been quite an unusual number of
arrivals at the little port, at which arrivals are rare. And it turned
out that the little hotel--the only fairly good one in Ilsin--was almost
filled up. Indeed, only one room was left, which the Voivode took for
the night. The innkeeper did not know the Voivode in his disguise, but
suspected who it was from the description. He dined quietly, and went to
bed. His room was at the back, on the ground-floor, looking out on the
bank of the little River Silva, which here runs into the harbour. No
disturbance was heard in the night. Late in the morning, when the
elderly stranger had not made his appearance, inquiry was made at his
door. He did not answer, so presently the landlord forced the door, and
found the room empty. His luggage was seemingly intact, only the clothes
which he had worn were gone. A strange thing was that, though the bed
had been slept in and his clothes were gone, his night-clothes were not
to be found, from which it was argued by the local authorities, when they
came to make inquiry, that he had gone or been taken from the room in his
night-gear, and that his clothes had been taken with him. There was
evidently some grim suspicion on the part of the authorities, for they
had commanded absolute silence on all in the house. When they came to
make inquiry as to the other guests, it was found that one and all had
gone in the course of the morning, after paying their bills. None of
them had any heavy luggage, and there was nothing remaining by which they
might be traced or which would afford any clue to their identity.