The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1925-12-12
Remember.


as if for moving. They waited.
thR embankment looked unnaturally, disagree
| biz mpty. During the last few days echelons of
Refugees, of japanese, American, Russian sol
HERS had passed eastward, one after the other
| Then thread snapped somewhere and men were
thrown in another direction. There were rumors
that the peasants coming from the hills were
plundering the refugees, and the soldiers were
Pnyious. Armored Train No. 1859 was dashing
between the stations, and it alone prevented the
Eoldiers from dropping everything and making
bf
The guerilla staff was sitting in the switch
mans booth. The switchman stood dejectedly at
|hd telephone receiver and asked the station:
| 4Is the armored train coming soon?"
Next to him sat guerilla fighter with a calm
AGE; he held revolver and he was gazing at the
|wttchman's mouth.
Vaska Okorok was batting the switchman:
"Dbn't get cold feet Wen make you cook"
A1(i pointing to the telephone he said:
| fThey say that the learned Bolsheviks in Petro-
grad talk with the moon"
. 4Well, who can help it, even if it's SOP"
! The muzhiks sighed and looked at the embank-
dnt
. fTruth can climb even to the stars"
Ehe staff was awaiting the armored train Five
hundred muzhiks were detailed to the bridge
. ohg Russian carts brot logs to the embank
.ldlht so as to prevent the armored train from
oEng back. Crowbars lay near the ties-ready
PlI tearing up the rails
EnobOv said grumblingly:
ITruth and truth is all you know. But we
% I't know ourselves what it's for. What do you
"a MT to talk to the moon for, Vaska?"
. Just from curiosity, that's all Perhaps we
| ght want to build muzhik on the moon"
lhe muzhiks roared.
Damned sinnerw
Darn his hidew
Here we're trying to dope out how to lose as
men as we can, and he goes batting about the
on. How are we going to take the armored
Well take itY
1t amt squirrel that you can just nip off
Dine"
1t that moment Vershinin arrived. He enter
breathing heavily; with weary movement he
his cap on the table and said to Znobov:
S0On?"
he switchman at the telephone said:
They don't answer"
he muzhiks sat silently. One of them began
talk about hunting. Znobov remembered the
sident of the RevcOm in the city.
That light-hared felow?" asked the muzhik
Tad just been talking about hunting; and
liaat off he began to spin yarn about Pekle-
lONS. that his face is whittier than wheat flour,
that women cling to him like frogs to a
imp, and that the American minister had Of
ed seven hundred billion to induce Peklevanov
assume the American faith, but that Pekle-
lov had answered proudly: eve won't accept
into our faith, even for nothing"
Son of a--w said the muzhiks admiringly
FOR some reason it was pleasant to Znobov to
EN- to all this lying and he felt moved to tell
lething himself. Vershinin took off his boots
began to rewrap his foot-cloths. Suddenly
switchman spoke timidy into the telephone:
When? Fivetwenty?"
md turning to the muzhiks he said:
COmingv'
md as if the train were already at the booth,
of them ran out and, shoulldering their rifles,
united the carts and drove eastward to the
wH]ap= bridge
VIII make it, Okorok was saying
| slout was sent forward.
hey looked at the rails that stretched with a