My travelling companions.

     It was half past nine when I woke up. I like having coffee in the mornings, as it keeps me awake for the rest of the day, so I rushed into the dining-car. I ordered it and had a look around. Sitting at another table was a tall, dark woman with delicate skin. She was thin, and was wearing a dark travelling dress made of some thin material. Probably because the train was terribly overheated because of the cold outside. As I was busy staring at Miss Debenham and sipping coffee a tall man, lean of figure and brown skin walked into the dining-car. It was the Colonel from India I figured. The two of them had breakfast together, but they didn't talk very much. They shared a table at lunch as well, but they didn't stay as quiet as during breakfast. They discovered they had mutual friends an so their conversation went on.

     We arrived at Konya about half past eleven, so I decided to go out on the platform to stretch my legs. I wrapped myself up in a few coats, put my boots on and marched outside. It was terribly freezing! I heard some voices coming. I passed the engine and stopped in a place, where I could hear everything clearly. It was Colonel Arbuthnot speaking

" Mary - "

But she had interrupted him.

" Not now. Not now. When it's all over. When it's behind us - then - "

There was something strange about it all... I could hardly recognize the cool and efficient voice of Miss Debenham... What is this all about I wonder ?

     The next day they barely exchanged a word or two. Perhaps they were arguing about something? Miss Debenham looked anxious and under her eyes, there were dark circles. It was about half past two in the afternoon when the train stopped. I stuck my head out the window to see what was going on outside. There was a crowd of men pointing at something underneath the dining-car. The conductor was passing the door of my compartment, so I jumped out to ask him what has occurred. He explained to me that something caught fire under the dining-car, but they were already working on putting the fire out. Then, Miss Debenham showed up. The conductor explained the situation to her, but she seemed pretty annoyed. She was worried about the delay, and not being able to catch the Orient Express. She didn't want to miss the connection, she said. It seemed pretty strange to me, as the Orient Express was leaving Stamboul everyday. 

     After all, we caught up some time during the journey and were only 5 minutes late in Haydapassar.

Next, I took a boat crossing the Bosphorus, but I did not like it at all, as the Bosphours was rough, and I was separated from my travelling companions. I'm pretty sure I will not see them ever again. When I arrived at the Galata Bridge I drove on straight to the Tokatlian Hotel.