General Suvaroff gave a sharp order;
subordinates passed it along. A bugle sounded, and, five minutes later,
after the general had said good-bye to the two scouts, the Cossack
raiders rode away. They were strung out in a long column along the road.
As they passed through the village Fred and Boris, watching from an
upper window of the abandoned parsonage, saw the villagers watching.
Boris had a powerful field glass, and through this he and Fred could see
the very faces of the watching Germans. Hatred and fear mingled in the
looks they sent after the invaders of their country.
"One can't blame them," said Fred, with a shudder. "War's rather
ghastly, isn't it, Boris?"
He looked down into the garden, and Boris's eyes followed his.
"Yes," said the Russian. "That's the ugly part of it. It's all ugly. But
sometimes war must come, it seems to me. We in Russia have never wanted
to make war. We have fought because we were forced to fight. I think
that is what history will say of us in this war."
"They are not going toward Russia," said Fred, looking after the
raiders, who were melting into the landscape now. "Their road seems to
be due west.
Pages:
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121