Snow-capped mountains barred the way before us, and the river, its banks set fast with ice and hoar-frost, glittered in the distance, and reflected the rays of a midday sun. Large stacks of wood had been piled up near the stream. The timber had been cut in the forests above the town, and been floated down the river to Tokat. It is chiefly used for smelting copper, the Government having some smelting works in the neighbourhood. According to my informant, they were established thirty years ago by a German; after his decease they had been bought by the Turkish authorities. The Caimacan thought that he had accompanied the battalion far enough. Drawing a little on one side, we let the soldiers pass us. The standard-bearer waved his flag, the old major saluted by lowering the point of his sword as he rode past, and with the words, "Go in safety, God be with you. We shall meet in Erzeroum," we parted. CHAPTER XXIV. Osman Bey—A Circassian feud—Will there be a rising in the Caucasus?—If England were to help us—A wonderful servant—Mohammed—His Captain—An Armenian doctor—Business is flat—The Christian population to be armed—Visitors asking favours—Your reward will be in heaven—A subscription—Promotion through favouritism—A sad story—A cruel father—A servant arrested for debt—Failure of justice. Soon afterwards I met Osman Bey, my acquaintance of the previous day. He was on the point of leaving for a Circassian hamlet in the neighbourhood. It appeared that a feud had arisen between the people of this village and another one in its vicinity; the Bey was going there to calm, if possible, the angry feelings of the inhabitants. He remarked that in the event of war breaking out between Turkey and Russia he should go to the Caucasus. "Will there be a great rising in that country?" I inquired. "It is very doubtful," was the answer; "our people have risen several times;[17] no foreign power has assisted us, and the result is that we have been decimated by our enemy. My countrymen are afraid of doing anything, unless they feel certain that they will be aided in their attempt. If England were to help us," he continued, "and could only capture one Russian port on the Black Sea, the Circassians would have confidence, and there would be a rising throughout the length and breadth of our land." On returning to my house I found the Zaptieh who had been defrauded by my late servant. He was awaiting me with a candidate for Osman's place. "Effendi, I have brought you a wonderful fellow," said the gendarme; "if you send him with a message, he will fly; he will guard your purse more carefully than his own." It appeared that the wonderful man's name was Mohammed; he was a redif soldier. His battalion would march in the course of a week or so to Erzeroum. To avoid going with the troops he proposed that he should engage himself as my servant until we reached that town, and then he could join his battalion.