CHAPTER XXIII

A RIDE TOWARDS OSTROLENKA

During the time I was in what I suppose I may call the Camp of Makow, the troops stationed there had no fighting; and I do not think much went on in the neighbourhood, though every day or two I heard the distant booming of artillery, and sometimes the rattle of rifle-firing. These were probably skirmishes of no great importance, such as occur in every great war: and in this region there was a constant tension all along the frontier line. The Germans, I think, were continually pressing, and seeking for a weak spot in the Russian defensive; and when they thought they had found such a place, they rushed troops thither by means of their "strategic railways." It was actions of this kind that brought on all the big fights that I witnessed. Just at this time, however, the Teutonic exertions were calming down a little. The energetic enemy had slightly over-exerted himself, and was taking a fretful sort of rest, something like that of old Jack Falstaff when his little expeditions had not been marked successes. There might be a great action any day--a good many days passed without one in the Przasnysz district. Meanwhile I began to despair.

Time hung heavily on my hands; though I was working hard to learn the Russian language, with some little success. I had learned a good many words and a few short and easy sentences: so that I could now make myself understood, and could understand a portion at least of what was addressed to me. I even learned to say, "I want to go"; which made the men laugh. "Why am I detained?" which made them laugh louder.

However, the commissary at last contrived to make me understand that there was nothing charged against me; but that it was necessary to make inquiries. When these were completed, then--well, he could not say exactly what would happen then: but he made it plain to me that I had need of patience, and an acquiescence in the things that be: which, like all wise advice, it is something difficult to follow.

The interference with my freedom of movement was not the only trouble I had to endure. I have referred to the circumstance that I suffered much from frostbites during the winter. Standing all day in dirty trenches, where it was impossible to observe necessary cleanliness, did not improve the condition of my hurts; and by the middle of April I saw that I could not hope to do much more marching and fighting, on foot at any rate: and I saw no chance of obtaining a mount. I was nearly without money, away from home and friends: and when I add that I am sixty-four years of age, perhaps it will not be thought inexcusable that I began to feel I could not remain to see the end of a war that may yet last a considerable time. So I got my friend the police commissary to draw up a petition to the commanding officer asking to be allowed to join a Russian cavalry regiment, or go home to England.

The commissary, Captain Blodshvoshki, was not in favour of my petitioning the Commander directly, as he appeared to have some misgivings concerning the irascibility and generally adverse disposition of that gentleman; which, considering what I had myself seen and heard, I thought were not altogether without grounds. So a Staff Officer, Colonel Vilkovski, who had shown me some kindness, was applied to. He said that he had never heard of a foreigner being permitted to join the Russian Army except by express permission of the Czar; and he was much surprised to learn of my experiences with the Muscovite forces. He promised to forward my wishes as far as it was in his power to do so.

It was on the 13th April that this conversation took place. On the 15th a surgeon came to my quarters and desired to examine me. When he saw the state of my feet he shook his head; and I understood, through Captain Blodshvoshki, that he had pronounced me "no good."

On the 18th a passport and a railway voucher were handed to me by a police orderly, and I was told to go home; that is the simplest way of putting it. Arrangements were made for me to leave the camp the same evening. I make no comment on the seemingly cool and off-hand manner in which I was dismissed; but I resolved if ever again I do any fighting it shall be in the ranks of the British Army. But the resolution is superfluous: it is pretty clear that I have ridden Nature to the last lap.

Ostrolenka was the nearest station to the camp, and I was advised by Colonel Vilkovski to proceed to Riga via Vilna, and from thence to obtain a ship to England. The good gentleman shook hands with me, and took his departure.

Captain Blodshvoshki wished to accompany me, but he was not permitted to do so. He also shook hands, with the hearty warmth of a true friend. A horse was lent me to carry me to Ostrolenka; and a police trooper accompanied me to take back the horse when I had done with it.

Ostrolenka was distant about twenty-five versts (a verst is 1,166 yards), and there was a straight road to it, though it was in a truly dreadful state--cut to pieces by heavy traffic and more than knee-deep in tenacious mud. Moreover, we soon discovered that it was obliterated in some places by the fighting that had at one period of the war been very frequent over it. Whole versts of it had been torn up by shell fire and the passage of heavy guns, so that we had to make wide détours to avoid the large mudholes, which were the craters of shells, and some of which contained six or eight feet of water, drained from the melting snow.

The sun set a couple of hours after we started, and it happened to be a very dark night, much clouded and overcast, with an occasional shower of rain; though this is scarcely worth mentioning, except that it added to the already excessively bad condition of the road, and was probably one of the causes that led to my becoming quite bewildered.

I ought not to have been sent away until the morning, when there would have been ample time for me to reach Ostrolenka; and a man with whom I had been to some extent acquainted should have been sent with me. A man to whom one has got accustomed understands a nod or a wave of the hand; but the trooper I had with me was a miserable specimen of humanity. He was stupid, almost an imbecile, and I had never seen him before; in fact, it was clear he had been sent with me because he was not of much use in the camp, and I had to look after him, or he would very soon have been floundering in the bog which extended over miles of the country on either side of the road.

There are not many villages or hamlets on this road; but there are a few houses occupied by gentry and people of substance; and perceiving a twinkling light in one of them, I determined to seek a night's lodging therein. It was not far off, but there was something like a river of mud in front of it. One horse fell, and we both had narrow escapes of coming to grief. After much difficulty we found the gate of the yard. It was locked. I felt my way round to the front-door, to reach which I had to climb a second gate. At my first knock the light was put out; and in vain I continued to hammer at the door. Nobody answered my knock, nor could I hear any movement in the house. I was compelled to return to my companion, who was far too stupid to understand the situation. Unfortunately I could not remember the Russian words for "knock" and "door," but I could say "come"; and by dint of pulling, pushing and shouting I got the man round to the door, almost throwing him over the second gate. Then I resumed my knocking, telling the man "to call." I am sure we spent more than half an hour in this uninteresting occupation: quite in vain, and I became convinced that the people of the house were determined not to admit us.

We had no alternative except to return to the yard where we had left our horses. By great good fortune I happened to have a box of matches in my pocket, though these useful things were scarce at the front; and by striking a few of them I ascertained that the yard was of good size, and surrounded on two sides by rows of stables. There was also a hayrick, and in one corner a pile of wood: and two open sheds with carts in them.

I determined to pass the night in the yard if I could get the horses into it. We had left them outside, tied to posts; and one of them kept up a continual neighing which was answered by another horse in one of the stables. No doubt these sounds were heard by the inmates of the house, who probably mistook us for a German cavalry patrol.

Our first work was to open the gate; no easy task. I first tried to force back the lock, and broke two pitchforks in the attempt. Then the trooper found a kind of crowbar, and with this I wrenched the lock clean off. So we were enabled to bring the horses in, and removing one of the carts from the shed, bed them on hay. A fire was made in the yard, the wood being liberally used for this purpose; but the only food we had was a couple of ammunition biscuits. Before lying down, we made another attempt to arouse the people of the house. In vain: we appeared to have thoroughly frightened them.

Away across the country I perceived the sullen red glare of a burning house, and I wondered if the reflection of our own fire would bring danger upon us: for I had become convinced that the enemy was not far off. However, I determined to keep in the fire as the night was a bitterly cold one, considering that the risk of freezing was more imminent than the danger of capture.

Old campaigners know how to make a warm and comfortable bed out of a truss of hay or straw; and we slept snugly and soundly till daylight, when the trooper went, on his own initiative, round to the house again, and I soon heard his thunderous knocks and kicks, accompanied by stentorian shouts. He was beginning to comprehend what was wanted of him; and if I could only have clearly conveyed ideas to his dull intellect I have no doubt he would have made a very obedient and useful animal. As it was I did not even know the man's name; but I took to calling him "Bill"; and he grinned, and learned his new designation as readily as a faithful dog. Poor Bill! I saw, all through our short acquaintanceship, that he was doing his best, and I am glad that I never felt the least anger or irritation against him.

Somehow he contrived to bring somebody to the door: daylight makes a lot of difference. People can see the innocence of the dove! and the helplessness of the crow! and we all (I do not mind confessing it) are much pluckier at midday than at midnight.

I suppose Bill made explanations: for he returned with a gentleman and a lady--and a gaping maid behind them. The gentleman looked at his broken pitchforks and gate, his scattered hay, and burning wood, and his glance was not a pleasant one. He did not notice my best bow and propitiatory smile; but the lady did--with a stolid stare that made me very uncomfortable; and dumbfounded Bill, whose mouth opened to the widest extent, while he fidgeted from one leg to the other, and made one painfully aware that he did not know what to do with his hands.

Then the gentleman spoke, and likewise the lady; and the maid became abusive--no one who saw her attitude and heard her voice could have doubted that. I would have given a small world to explain matters: and in fact I did so, in my mother tongue; which had these good effects--it convinced the people that I was very humble and contrite, and induced Bill to close his mouth sufficiently to enable him to speak--with that kind of eloquence (this was my impression) which consists in repeating over and over again, "I am sure I couldn't help it"; which is far more effective than carefully prepared excuses--sometimes at least: and on this occasion most certainly.

The gentleman stalked away, and the lady followed, lingering to cast upon us about the most viperish flash of the eyes that I have ever seen disfigure a pretty face.

The maid remained to fire a final withering volley; and then took herself off, further discomfiting us with a sharp, dropping fire as she retired. You see, we had probably much upset the nerves of these people, and frightened them, as well as taken an enemy-like series of liberties with their property. I have related these incidents in a light and amusing strain; but really I was a good deal upset at the time, and rather ashamed of myself, though perhaps such proceedings are justifiable when war lowers over a land.

But Bill may not have been such a booby as he looked and acted on ordinary occasions: for he followed the girl, and soon afterwards came and beckoned me to accompany him; and I was quite surprised to be led up the front-door steps and into a very decently furnished breakfast-room, on the table of which there was an excellent meal ready spread.

The lady and gentleman were there, and there was a complete change in their demeanour. Now they could not be affable enough; and motioning me to be seated, handed me coffee and bacon and eggs, with several other luxuries I had not tasted for a long time. The lady herself waited upon me, and did so with a kindness and grace that was in strong contrast to her previous truculent looks. What story had the astute Bill preached to her and her husband to occasion this change of behaviour?

What these people thought of me I cannot guess; but they must have seen, from the way in which I ate, that I was famished. They gave no outward indication that they noticed anything unusual about me.

The trooper, I suppose, was entertained in the lower part of the house. That he was faring very well I knew from the occasional outbursts of his merry laughter. Doubtless he was also making himself agreeable to the maid, oblivious of the tragedy that was soon to occur: but such is a soldier's lot. Often have I known men to be laughing, joking, or playing cards, two minutes before their heads were smashed from their shoulders, or a bullet sent whizzing through their hearts.

It was ten o'clock before breakfast was finished, and I rose to go, expressing my thanks for the kind entertainment I had received as best I could; and I had the pleasure of seeing that I was understood. My host and his wife (I assume this was their relationship) accompanied me to the stable-yard, where I found the horses had been saddled by two of their own men; and the trooper was already astride his mount. We rode away with many expressions of thanks on my part and many flourishes of the hand from us all. I looked back for the last time when we were half a verst along the road. I could see the lady still standing outside the gate, and just detect the flutter of her white handkerchief. It was very satisfactory to feel we were freely forgiven.

The country was now pretty open to view, and I have seldom seen a wilder landscape, or one which had a more depressing effect on the spirits. Dark pines were scattered about, and we passed an occasional wood; otherwise the country might be described as a lake of mud, with here and there a plot covered with half-melted snow, which increased the general dirty and unwholesome appearance of the whole district. We could see for about a dozen versts in most directions, and yet only four or five small farmhouses, and as many isolated cottages, were in sight. A solitary worker in the fields was the only man we saw for an hour. A great black patch in the distance proved to be, when we came up to it, a burnt village. The destruction was complete. Not a wall was left, nor a heap of bricks that one could not easily step over. What had become of the inhabitants of this collection of wrecked homes? Not a soul was there when we went by. Then for a long way we passed bones, skulls and parts of skeletons still intact; not lying in lines and heaps as I had seen them doing in places where great battles had been fought, but scattered along the side of the road, singly, or two or three together. I thought they might be the remains of the village people, slain as they were running away; but on dismounting to examine them more closely I satisfied myself that some of them, at least, had once been German soldiers, and others Russians. A few had rusty rifles lying beneath them, and leather cartridge pouches were still strapped round the bones. In many cases the flesh had not disappeared, but was shrunken. The bodies must have been rotting when the snow fell and covered them, which prevented further decay. Crows and ravens were flitting about the fields, as well as a few dogs and pigs: the invariable haunters of the neglected battlefields. These horrible relics of "the glories of war" extended for a linear distance of ten versts along the sides of the roads--how far across the fields I cannot say. They numbered many hundreds, if not thousands: and probably a great many had been buried or removed.

We rode on several hours, and I wondered that the town of Ostrolenka did not appear in sight. It was vexatious that I could not question my companion. My first suspicion that he had taken the wrong road was aroused by his stopping to call to a man in the fields. The replies he got were evidently not satisfactory; and he seemed to be at a loss to know what course to pursue. After a further consultation with the man, and much pointing and gesticulation, the trooper took a branch road. I was very loth to follow this, but could not make the man understand my meaning; and I really did not know which way to turn myself. I was compelled, in a way, to follow him.

We had ridden along the fresh road about six versts when, on rounding a small wood, we saw a weak squadron of Uhlans in front of us, and not more than 300 yards away. They perceived us too, and shouted an order for us to halt. I turned on the instant, and put the wood between myself and the enemy, but there was nowhere to go except along the road, or across the open fields.

Cavalry now carry rifles, not carbines, and the seventy men behind us would almost certainly shoot us down at short range. I thought I should prefer that fate to lingering in a German prison, subjected to the arrogance and brutality of Hun gaolers; and so I put spurs to my horse, and forced him to his utmost pace. In a few minutes I looked back, anxiously. The Uhlans were in full cry after us. The trooper was twenty yards behind me, urging on his horse.

What to do I did not know. At one moment I thought to return to the house where we had passed the night; but a moment's reflection convinced me of the folly of doing this. It could not possibly save us, and would most certainly lead to the destruction of persons who had been friendly to us.

We were better mounted than the majority of the Uhlans, and gradually gained ground away from them. Seeing this they tried shooting; but it is difficult to hit even a large mark when going at a gallop; and after wasting fifty or sixty cartridges they gave it up, and about a dozen of their best mounted men pushed to the front; and I soon saw that we had much to fear from them. We could not get away from them, and they began to gain on us.

Then I perceived a low ridge of ground which was not so marshy as the fields, and dashed across it, the trooper following my lead. The Uhlans also came on with unabated speed, and I saw that it was a question of horse-endurance.

Ahead, a black smoke, slowly curling upwards, was, I thought, the place we had seen burning the previous night. We seemed to be going directly towards it; and I feared that there might be more Germans directly in front of us, or that the road might be blocked and impassable.

From time to time I looked back at our pursuers. At the end of an hour the foremost of them were not 200 yards behind, the rest had trailed out into a straggling line. Still they were near enough to support one another if we turned on the leaders: a thing I had half a mind to do.

It was now late in the afternoon, and if we could keep away for another hour it would be dark, and there would be a chance of escape; but my horse was getting blown, and several of the Uhlans had fallen out, unable to keep up the pace. Then the wretches resumed their firing: and in a few minutes the trooper swerved in his saddle, groaning badly. He rode on a few yards farther, and then fell with a cry I could not resist; I reined in, and jumped to his assistance; but he died just as the Uhlans came up and surrounded me. I shall not attempt to describe the shock it gave me to realize that I was a prisoner. I looked towards my horse, but a sturdy unter-officer had secured it, and my captors began to laugh and jeer.

I was not allowed to remount my horse; but, fastened to one fellow's stirrup, was compelled to walk, limping sadly, for my feet were now very bad.