Bridgeton pioneer., 1917-09-20
A Russian
Heroine
BY F. A. MICHEL

lighting against the Germans and Aus
'rlaas while Anna and her mother re-
lAa.ncI iii their cabin home endeavor-
ing to extract a living from the little
3atch OF ground which surrounded 1t
There came time when the Russia
army was driven lack past their cabin
and III due time an Austrian army ad-
7aneeG, taking up the position which
had been held by the Russians. One
day general. followed by a member
of his staff, rode UP to the cabin. Dis
mounting he went in and looked about
him. Tie cabin had but one story, but
there were three rooms-a living room,
kitchen and dining room. Going
into the living room, the general told
his aid to go to the generals under hi
command and tell them to come to hii.l
for conference. The aid rode away,
and presently the generals began to
ride up to the cabin and join their COM
mander in the living room.
1t is nearly always cold in Russia
that is, where this part OF the great
worlds war was going On, and Anna
stove that stood il the room This she
did, and the aid moved q table in the
center of the room on which he spread
maps. When half a dozen officers had
joined the commander the door of the
room they occupied was closed.
For three hours the men talked over
a plan of attack for the next day
iltorn tfan G,rht In,
Russia there was i'll the west of Europe,
and the attack was TO be more like such
warfare has been i'll past times.
AT 10 o'clock in the morning one of
the generals was to attack the Russian
right flank. AS soon as re-caforce-
n2ents of the enemy had been drawn
to that point aIo,her attack was to be
made ON the left flank. This was to be
the main offensive, and the Ground on
that side being disadvantageous for
the Russians, the attack there was to
be persisted in till the EGuA was
turned. Then a third bolt was to be
launched ON the center.
The commander took q pencil and
bit of paper and noted all these points.
LbC--l 81 lJlSSl ts5%t = ! DGIu DG
no mistake. This paper he gave to the
aid with instructions to make a copy
Of what he had written fc- each one of
his subordinates, that there should he
no mistake through failure Of memory.
This was done Then the commando.
called for the paper on which We're his
instructions and, that it might not fall
inf ,1r han
stove door, noticed that the fire within
burned brightly. tossed the paper in
and closed the door. Then the officers
left the cabin and rode back, each to
his own headquarters.
Later in the day Anna went into the
living room to make it tidy after the
occupation of the officers, who had left
the dirt from their boots. She swept
the floor, rearranged the furniture and,
taking up the sweepings in dustpan.
opened the stove door to threw them
in. Near the front of the stove lay
bit of paper, or rather fragment, for
one-third of it had been burned. Anna
took the paper out of the stove and
saw writing on it. A very little of the
"Ail1Aio bCNAl DtAAl AliCb- II W lS III
the German language, so the girl could
not understand what it was, but
though she was only peasant with
little or no education, she surmised
that it might be of importance to the
Russian military commander
She showed the paper to her mother.
who, though she could not decipher the
u-pifiyl,r on f...
ter that it might be of service to their
countrymen But when Anna proposed
to try to make her way with it through
the Austrian lines the woman could not
at once consent, for she knew that if
Anna were caught with it on her she
would be killed at once.
The problem with Anna was how to
conceal the paper. She finally decided
to tear OFF all but the writing and roll
it into lite ball She would carry
the ball in her mouth and if necessary
would swallow it.
She left the cabin at nightfall to try
and steal her way through the lines
She spent much time searching for
point where the line was thin, but
soldiers slept, and by crawling through
bushes she eluded them. The patrolling
sentries Were awake, but she watched
till one of them had reached the far
end o. his beat and passed over it be-
fore he returned. Beyond the camp.
sentries were pIckets. and these she
succeeded in passing in the same way.
When about midnight she attempted
to pass the Russian piclets she was
fired at and wounded, but she cried oft
in Russian: Let me pass. l brin .
news to your general" Then the picker
came to her and helped her in.
She was taken to the headquarters Gt'
the commander, who was awakened b.
her conductor, and after telling hcf
story she unrolied the paper she ha;l
md handed it to the general. He read!
it carefully then, looking at his watcj
exclaimed
at IS past midnight. There is y