Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-01-09

covered from the unskillful stab of the
Belgrade lawyer, "Kechko" quietly de-
parted for America, where he lives
still. unterriied by the famous guer-
rilla.
Whenever the allied troops have need
of fresh meat or wood or mules one
Of the officers acquaints a Serbian with
what Is required. The next day TWEEN
ty sheep. two cords of wood or a hun
dred mules are brought into Negotin or
Raphadar, as the case may be, by a
Serbian peasant. The peasant collects
an equitable sum for the goods deliv-
cred and In time each Serbian who has
been involuntarily levied upon for lamb
or wood or mule receives his payment.
"~Babounsky" does not even keep a
commission.
When, too, either Serb or Bulgar in
one of the towns occupied by the al
lied troops behaves in a grasping or
dishonest way TOWARD the French or
the British it is not long before the
punishment arrives. The punishment
may take various forms. from death
stout stick for cheating one of Serbia's
allies. The punishments, however, are
rare. "Babounsky's" reputation Is too
well known. The magic phrase:
Listen. my friend: I shall see that
.Babounsky' hears of this.' generally
has it's effect.
On the Front in Serbia.
KRIvOLAK. Serbia, December 4, 1915.
-krivolak is the debarkation point of
the French armies in the field in the
Balkan campaign-as a village. it is
small and unclean, with more the char-
acter of a Turkish or a Bulgarian than
a Serbian town. There are no accom-
modations for anybody. The railway
station, with its chimney knocked
down by a Bulgarian shell. is the most
imposing building. To the east is the
Vardar, still swollen with rains, shift
ing, uncertain, narrow, deep. To the
north, where the Vardar bends in a
westerly direction. is what the French
call THE English bridge"-a pontoon
structure for the building of which the
British army len the men and the ma
terials. To the southeast is a hill.
every nook and corner of the curve of
the river To the north beyond the
Eardar is the key of the whole French
~position-the mountain of Kara o
zali.
Strong as the point is naturally-and
the French Balkan campaign SO far has
almost confined itself to the tactics of
occupying and holding II possible the
maximum number of strong natural
positions-it is open to hostile BON
pdl ultlClll tlS All ok IL oppO5ItC
shore of the river. A few moments ago
half a dozen large caliber shells fell In
the river near the English bridge. Just
now one has fallen on the hillside to
the southeast of the station. Constant
ly the bridge, the station and the rail-
road are the mark of Bulgarian long
range artillery. But the mark is too
distant. The Bulgarian artillery fire
generally is excellent. but 1t lacks the
scientific accuracy of the French. and
as vet the RnlParS have no aar0nlanaS
to verify their fire, as the French have.
SO krivolak remains unframed. Short
ly the hills to the east are to be
cleaned of their batteries. Then krivo-
lax will be tranquil.
Journey Seems Interminable.
The journey from Saloniki to Krivo-
lax by the single track railroad seems
in~terminable. Fifteen hours to do sew
enty-five miles. The French complain
bitterly that the delay is in the Greek
end of the line. Already French engi-
neers are double-tracking the railroad
from the Greek-Serbian frontier north.
There are no fixed train lines. Ev-
erythlng is subservient to the trans
port of troops, munitions, supplies. On
the return journey it is the transport
of the wounded-of armies needing re-
pair, of empty rolling Stock, of which
there is too little. There is but one
passenger coach on the train, crowded
with officers charged with the COM
munications of the various armies en-
gaged-for the telegraph wires are also
uncertain-with sanitary officers. medi-
cal officers, commissary staff and a Few
bound for Greek villages be-
tween Salonili and the frontier. The
station at Saloniki is a military one,
a couple Of miles from the town. in the
midst of fields Towering with the tents
of the British. finally beginning to
move toward the front.
The train is ng-al freight cars
save the one reserved for the more
distinguished. But almost all of the
freight cars have their human load as
well. The men sleep on straw on the
floor throughout the wearisome jour
ney.
At Strumitsa station a Serbian officer
comes quietly down the corridor. "All
OUT he ordered. From here
on the railway is within range of the
enemy. They generally drop a few
shells at passing trains if they see
them" The order seems su~perfiuous
in view of the fact that the car is un-
with any lighting system-or
men have provided themselves with
candles and it is these that must be
e~xtinguished.
Friends of Babounsky.
Slowly the train approaches kilometer
IS. where the railway crosses the Var
dar to the side of the Bulgarians. The
bridge was destroyed three years age
in the last Balkan war-and has not
been properly rebuilt since. The train
creeps across it. The swirling waters
of the Vardar are white in the moon-I
light. Against a sand bar the current
has washed three black objects. Logs?
AS the trains pass close to them, those
who have looked out of the train win
dows see that one of the black objects
ends in a white oval-a face upturned /
to the moon. The eyes are black.
Swallowed holes. The mouth is wide
A mat of hair alternately covers
and reveals the wet glittering forehead
in time with the little backwaters of
the river from the sand bar.