Behind Mt. Baldy (26 page)

“The Kosarian soldiers rushed to
the Prince’s aid and drove the Turks back. The Turkish general, Ahmed the Fat,
was killed. Panic seized them and they fled. By then the Archbishop had died
from lack of blood but his dead body still held the flag aloft.”

Stephen spoke up, “Strewth! What
a gory tale.”

“Yes, isn’t it? There’s more to
follow,” said Inspector Sharpe. He went on, “Archbishop Joris was canonized as
a Saint. His thigh bone became a holy relic. It was preserved in a case made of
gold and glass and was placed on the altar of the Cathedral in Dragavia. That’s
the capital city.”

“Sir, Sir!” Roger called
excitedly. “That’s what the men are looking for: the thigh bone of St Joris!”

Inspector Shape smiled.
“Maybe Roger.
But listen, there’s more. Ten years later the
Turks tried again but were again defeated in a battle at the Pass of Monastria
by Prince Michael Dragabog, who carried the thigh bone of St Joris into
battle.”

“Dragabog!”
chortled
Stephen.

“Then, in 1491 the Turks, led by
Abdul the Damned, invaded. Prince Constantine assembled his army but, before
the detachment bringing the thigh bone from the capital could find a way to
cross the flooded Draga River, the Turks attacked. The Kosarians were
defeated.”

“The country became a Turkish
province. The Turks searched long and hard for the thigh bone but never found
it. It was hidden by hermit monks in the caves of the Vulture’s Peak.”

“For over 300 years Kosaria
suffered under Turkish misrule and oppression. It was not until the war between
Austria and Turkey in 1788 that they rose in revolt. The Turks put down the
revolt with great cruelty. Many Kosarians believed that their failure was due
to not having the sacred thigh bone.”

“The country remained quiet until
1804 when the neighbouring Serbs began to rebel against the Turks. Most
Kosarians were afraid to rise in revolt but a bandit chief, Black George
Dragavitch, managed to make himself ruler of one valley in the Black Durmitor
Mountains. His strength grew only slowly and was only a few hundred men.”

“In 1821 the Greeks to the South
also rose against the Turks. The Turks withdrew many of their troops from
Kosaria. Black George decided the hour had come and rallied the peasants to his
banner. They attacked the Vulture’s Tower, which commands the main road in from
the North but they were betrayed and suffered a terrible defeat.”

Inspector Sharpe paused to take a
sip of coffee then turned the page. The boys sat silent. He read on, “Black
George fled to the rugged slopes of the Dragavista Mountains with a handful of
survivors. They were given refuge by the Monastery of the Black Monks. One of
the Monks, Friar Silios,”

“Silios!”
Graham laughed.

“Siliarse,” Stephen quipped.

Inspector Sharpe raised an
eyebrow and frowned before going on. “Father Silios revealed to Black George
that the Thigh Bone of St Joris was hidden in a locked room behind the Altar.
Black George demanded the relic but the Patriarch Nicodemus refused, saying
prayer was the only way.”

“In a fit of rage Black George
struck the Patriarch, killing him. He then had the Altar demolished and the
door broken open. He found the Thigh Bone but most of his men refused to follow
him, terrified that such sacrilege would turn God’s hand against them.”

“It seems that this was the case
for soon after that the remnants of the band were almost wiped out in a Turkish
ambush. Only Black George and two others escaped and while they were hiding one
of them, Driblos Nurkovitch.”

The boys all snickered over the
name ‘Driblos’ but said nothing to interrupt the Inspector who read on;
“betrayed him to the Turks. The Turks captured both Black George and the Sacred
Thigh Bone. Black George was executed in the traditional Turkish manner by
impalement and left for the crows to peck out his eyes.”

Roger put up his hand “What’s
impalement sir?” he asked.

Inspector Sharpe looked a bit
uncomfortable. “Well, er, it’s, er
..”

Stephen spoke up. “They shoved a
sharp stick up his bum Roger.”

“Yes, well, not quite, but that’s
the general idea,” Inspector Sharpe said.  “Anyhow, where was I? Ah yes,
the loss of the Thigh Bone was a shattering blow to the hopes of the Kosarians.
But not all gave up. It fell to the 17 year old son of Black George, the
handsome Peter Dragavitch to avenge his father. In a daring raid
he ..
oh
, er.  I’ll just leave
that bit
out ..
er
, he –“

“Oh Sir!
  We aren’t little kids. Is
that a juicy bit?” Stephen asked.

Inspector Sharpe eyed him coldly.
“If you mean does it involve women. Yes it does. He er - became friends with the
slave girl Fatima who let them in to the Black Tower.”

“Black Tower,” Peter said. “These
guys certainly like black.”

Inspector Sharpe sat up and said
irritably, “If you aren’t interested you can go to bed. It’s getting on for
eleven.”

“Oh no Sir.
Please go on. Shut up you
blokes,” Roger called. Normally he found history boring but this was
fascinating.

“Alright.
Peter got into the Black Tower,
which was the Turkish stronghold overlooking the Capital. Here’s a photo of
it.” He held the book for them to see. “He killed the governor, Osman Pasha,
and recaptured the Thigh Bone.”

“The Turkish reaction was so
barbaric and ferocious that the civilized nations of Europe were moved to
protest. Despite the suffering Peter became the Hero of the Kosarian people. He
fled to the Black Mountains in Western Kosaria and began a guerrilla war.”

“This went on for thirty years.
During that time Peter was able to drive the Turks from the whole mountain
range. He was helped in this by a rival guerrilla group in the Dragavista
Mountains on the east side of the capital. This group was led by Paul
Grabovitch. Both leaders claimed to be the rightful Prince of Kosaria, although
they were little more than bandit chiefs.”

“Peter was the stronger and more
popular. During the Crimean War he managed to free more of the country and
declared himself to be ‘King’.  No other country recognized this claim but
many Kosarians did.”

“In 1858 Peter I died. His son
was crowned Peter II by the Patriarch of the church but still no nation
recognized this. A three-sided struggle against the Turks and the Grabovitch
clan dragged on. It was a dirty little war of ambush, murder and betrayal.”

Inspector Sharpe paused for a
moment. Roger had a flood of stark memories. 
‘Ambush,
murder and betrayal!’

Graham spoke. “Well, we’ve seen
that at first hand. The murder bit anyway,” he said.

“Go on please Sir,” Stephen
asked.

Inspector Sharpe read on: “Yes.
In 1874 the Bulgars rose in revolt against the Turks. Serbia and Montenegro
also declared war on Turkey. A Serbian army appeared on the northern border;
Serbia claiming that Kosaria was rightfully part of their territory. To unite
the people to oppose this extra threat Peter made an alliance with Paul
Grabovitch. To seal the alliance he had his son Peter III marry Paul’s daughter
Olga.”

“With the forces of the two
factions united they were able to block the Serbian Army at the Vulture’s Pass.
Then in 1877, on that same plain of the Black Crows, they utterly defeated the
Turkish army. The Turks were driven from the entire country. The Kosarians
ascribed the victory to the Thigh Bone of St Joris which the King had carried
throughout the campaign. Other historians suggest the real reason was that the
Turks had withdrawn most of their troops to face a Russian army in Bulgaria.”

Graham gestured across to Peter.
“Pete’s Great Grandad. The family have always been troublemakers.”

Peter laughed and turned to
Inspector Sharpe. “What Graham means is that I come from a long line of
fighters for freedom,” he replied.

“Yes, I’m sure. I’ll go on. In
the peace treaty which ended the war Turkey conceded the independence of
Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro and Kosaria. The last Turkish troops withdrew in
1878. Peter II was now recognized as the King by the Great Powers.”

“In 1893 Peter II died and the 18
year old Peter III came to the throne. He was a good king and very progressive.
He introduced a Parliament with limited powers. He also had the first railway
built. This work was done by German engineers and with German government aid.
German technicians settled in Kosaria to run the railways.”

“However, a proposal to introduce
a written Constitution and a proper parliament precipitated a crisis. This move
was opposed by conservative elements whose leader was Duke Paul Grabovitch,
grandson of ‘Prince’ Paul and brother of Queen Olga. He was the colonel of the
Iron Guards Regiment. On the night of 17 June 1895 Paul led a coup. His
regiment attacked the palace. The Kings Guard was wiped out and the King
murdered.”

“However Queen Olga refused to support
her brother. At the time she was expecting and Paul ordered her shot so that no
rightful heir could be born. His younger brother, Alexander, refused to allow
this and he was supported by the Archbishop Constantine who arrived at the
Palace.”

“Queen Olga was allowed to leave
with the Archbishop. They at once boarded a train and left the country. Too
late Duke Paul discovered that the Thigh Bone of St Joris had vanished from the
Cathedral. He suspected the Archbishop had taken it but his agents were unable
to locate the Queen. When the Archbishop returned he was tortured but made no
statement.”

“Paul declared himself King. He
began to rule the country with an iron hand. All possible opponents were
arrested and many just vanished. Taxes were increased. The army was built up
with German weapons and German Instructors.”

“Meanwhile Queen Olga gave birth
to a son, named Peter (the fourth). Paul next made a secret deal with Greece.
In 1897 he led his country into a war with Turkey, hoping to gain half of Macedonia.
The Greeks simultaneously attacked the Turks from the South. The Turks defeated
both attacks then counter-attacked. Only the intervention of the Great Powers
saved Kosaria from another Turkish invasion.”

“Paul denied the defeat was due
to his poor tactics and leadership and said it was because Queen Olga (and her
son, Prince Peter) who was living in Paris, was withholding the Sacred Thigh
Bone just when the country needed it most.”

“King Paul’s unpopularity grew
when he again increased taxes. There was much official corruption and his
family and friends were given top government jobs. He became even more
unpopular when he took ... oh.  Perhaps I shouldn’t read this,” Inspector
Sharpe paused.

“Oh Sir!”
Stephen said. “How can we
understand if you leave bits out? It might be the vital clue.”

Inspector Sharpe made a wry face.
“I doubt it. It’s just sordid. King Paul took a mistress, an Austrian actress
named Magda, who was already notorious for immoral behaviour. This adulterous
behaviour scandalised the majority of the ordinary people as Paul was married
to a Hungarian Countess, Queen Draga, who was expecting another baby.”

“Queen Draga and her ten year old
son the Archduke Paul were sent away and the actress installed in the Palace. Queen
Draga went into exile in Budapest with her son. Back in Kosaria matters got
steadily worse until, in 1903 there was another murderous Coup. This was led by
General Radomir Ritnik, the army Commander. During the coup King Paul and his
mistress were shot and their bodies mutilated.”

“Nice people!” Peter commented.

“Yes, we’ve seen that,” Inspector
Sharpe commented. He went on. “General Ritnik invited the 18 year old Prince
Peter to return as King. He did so and was crowned King Peter IV. During the
ceremony the Thigh Bone of St Joris was brought in by an honour guard of
Officers of the White Eagle Regiment, and restored to it its place in the
Cathedral.”

Graham interjected. “This bloody
bone gets around.”

Inspector Sharpe frowned and read
on, “Peter was a good king and did much to improve the country. He reduced
taxes, cleaned out the corrupt officials, sent away the German officers and
reduced the army. In particular he disbanded the Iron Guard Regiment and made
the White Eagle Regiment the Royal Guard.”

“Unfortunately for Kosaria it had
troublesome neighbours. When the First Balkan War broke out in 1912 she was
attacked from all sides. Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia and Montenegro had all made a
secret treaty to attack Turkey but in the process they all tried to grab a bit
of Kosaria. Attacked on four fronts the Kosarians fought bravely but were
forced back. After desperate fighting the Serbs, Montenegrins and Greeks were
halted but a Bulgarian Division reached the outskirts of the Capital. Only a
heroic counter-attack by the Royal Guard, led in person by King Peter carrying
the Sacred Thigh Bone, managed to hold them.”

“Then circumstances turned their
way. After a short and uneasy truce the Second Balkan War broke out in 1913. In
this all of the former allies fought each other as well as Turkey. Even Romania
joined in to attack Bulgaria. The Kosarians took the opportunity to mount a
counter-offensive. By brilliant generalship Ritnik was able to drive all of the
invading armies from Kosarian soil, but at heavy cost.”