My only comfort is that we are in the hands of God.  Only for that faith it would be easier to die than to live, and so be quit of all the trouble.  Mr. Morris and Dr. Seward were off on their long ride before we started.  They are to keep up the right bank, far enough off to get on higher lands where they can see a good stretch of river and avoid the following of its curves.  They have, for the first stages, two men to ride and lead their spare horses, four in all, so as not to excite curiosity.  When they dismiss the men, which shall be shortly, they shall themselves look after the horses.  It may be necessary for us to join forces.  If so they can mount our whole party.  One of the saddles has a moveable horn, and can be easily adapted for Mina, if required.

It is a wild adventure we are on.  Here, as we are rushing along through the darkness, with the cold from the river seeming to rise up and strike us, with all the mysterious voices of the night around us, it all comes home.  We seem to be drifting into unknown places and unknown ways.  Into a whole world of dark and dreadful things.  Godalming is shutting the furnace door . . .

31 October.—­Still hurrying along.  The day has come, and Godalming is sleeping.  I am on watch.  The morning is bitterly cold, the furnace heat is grateful, though we have heavy fur coats.  As yet we have passed only a few open boats, but none of them had on board any box or package of anything like the size of the one we seek.  The men were scared every time we turned our electric lamp on them, and fell on their knees and prayed.

1 November, evening.—­No news all day.  We have found nothing of the kind we seek.  We have now passed into the Bistritza, and if we are wrong in our surmise our chance is gone.  We have overhauled every boat, big and little.  Early this morning, one crew took us for a Government boat, and treated us accordingly.  We saw in this a way of smoothing matters, so at Fundu, where the Bistritza runs into the Sereth, we got a Roumanian flag which we now fly conspicuously.  With every boat which we have overhauled since then this trick has succeeded.  We have had every deference shown to us, and not once any objection to whatever we chose to ask or do.  Some of the Slovaks tell us that a big boat passed them, going at more than usual speed as she had a double crew on board.  This was before they came to Fundu, so they could not tell us whether the boat turned into the Bistritza or continued on up the Sereth.  At Fundu we could not hear of any such boat, so she must have passed there in the night.  I am feeling very sleepy.  The cold is perhaps beginning to tell upon me, and nature must have rest some time.  Godalming insists that he shall keep the first watch.  God bless him for all his goodness to poor dear Mina and me.