The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1924-03-04


(WHAT HAS GONE BEFORE)
The Russian Communist Party
branch is governing this frontier
city and fighting the counter
revolution. Earlier installments
tell of the fuel shortage that pre-
vents seed grain from being
fetched on the railroad. The Party
meeting decides to send the Red
Army far away for fuel, at the
risk of leaving the city open for
bandits and Observation-Disclosures.
1t also decides to conscript the
local bourgeoisie for wood cutting
in q nearby park. Varied types
of party members are flashed on
the screen: Klimin, the efficient
president of the branch, who still
finds time to have a sweetheart;
Robeiko, the consumptive, whose
devotion is killing him; Gornuikh,
the brilliant youth of 10 on the
Cheka; Matusenko, the luxury
loving place-hunter and Stalmak-
how, a practical workingman revo-
lutionist. Gornuikh, disguised as
a pleasant, overhears talk in the
market place about a plot of
counter-revolutionists to seize the
town while the Red Army is away
getting wood. Klimin is skeptical.
CHAPTER TX.
M ARTUINOV spent four hours
1F1 on duty in the Communist
Company, walked up and down
with his rifle in the big, empty
yard. and kept guard over the ar
senal. There was slight frost,
but it was not cold, somewhere
over the roofs the wind was
breathing, diffusing thru the air
the fresh sweetness Of Spring.
Martuinov spent the first two
hours in thinking, remembering all
his past life, punished and for
gave himself for thousand triv-
ial acts, and thought of the Revo-
luton, of the Party, of his work.
But during the last hour, Mar
tuinov did not think of anything at
all :. he simply waited. Waited
to be relieved. His toes were
freezing, the cold was getting
down inside the collar of his coat
and up his sleeves. and to keep
warm he went thru exercises with
his rifle.
Twelve strokes rolled out from
the belfry, and after that every
minutes waiting seemed an hour,
and he was wanting to blow shrill
whistle and call the sergeant and
ask to be relieved, but the relief
was already on its way, and two
figures appeared from the direction
of the guardroon1.
They checked the seals on the
doors of the arsenal, and Mar
tuinov went off duty and did not
walk but actually ran to the warm
guard room. 1t was as if he were
drunk with the Spring air, his face
was red, and, as always after be-
ing relieved, he felt merry and
careless and untroubled by any
thing of the outer world.
Everything was so clear and
simple, everything had been
thought out in the big dark court
yard of the Communist Company.
He drank hot tea, nibbled sugar,
broke bread in his fingers and lis
tened to the talk of the comrades.
"Never in my life, will ] believe
it, said the sergeant, an oil nom
commissioned officer, with thin,
elegantly twisted mustaches. "Is
there any sense in il? 1 ask you,
man to be descended from a fish
or a frog? Wonderful. From a
monkey that I've nothing
against. Even agree. But
from a fish? Sheer fairy
story"
"But, Comrade, why from a
fish? Not from fish particularly,
but from creatures OF that sort
d. of very simple form. They
lived in water and then the struc-
ture of all their bodies was the
same. But when they multiplied
a lot of them started going off
into the shadows. 1. And thence
, on to dry land. And their organ
isms began to adapt themselves to
this new way of living. Lungs
appeared instead of gills. And
: that not all at once but gradually,
: in thousands and thousands OF
years. The strongest survived and
: left descendants; in this way
there was selection, just as in
, breeding domestic animals, and
that's the struggle for life. Oar.
win discovered it and so -"
, Martuinov listened to the clumsy
words, watched the play Of the
broad rough face and tried to re-
| member; where had he seen that
face and heard that slow speech
The man went on talking anc
stared at Martuinov, as II he too
: remembered him but could no
: bring him to mind. And suddenl,
| he broke off his talk with an ex
clamation:
"Comradel Aren't you the sol
8 of Sergei Zakharitch? Mar
: tuinov?"
. II am" replied Martuinov, an'
. blushed.
: "Surely you know me? an
d from your fathers leather factory
4 Surely YOU remember An