The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1927-05-14
(Continued From Last Igsuel =.

or his thoughts, and l remained
weighed down with oppression. / re-
membered the mate telling me that
the telegraphist had three chums, a
junior officer, the assistant quarter
master and the machinist, whom he
also suspected. They did not express
themselves politically and were al
ways efficient in the performance of
their duty. Suddenly thought struck
me: each of these three had in turn
some friends and so on, and this was
their organization!
This suspicion was shortly con-
firmed.
l was in my cabin, composing a
code telegram to let the admiral know
that all was well with US. 1t was
Friday about seven o'clock in the
evening. l had not slept for several
nights and my nerves were on edge.
Suddenly heard shots and stamping
of feet then a piercing shrek.
Its begun" For some reason /
spoke aloud and dashed out of my
cabin.
was Immediately surrounded by
sailors armed With rifles, who
searched me hurriedly and conducted
me to the mess-room. | noticed that
the rifle stand in the officers CORR
dor was empty. This meant that the
whole crew was armed. Sprawling
on the floor with a broken head,
directly in our path, was the first
officer, Ismaelov, a pool of his blood
spreading on the linoleum and shining
in the electric light. | was obliged
to step over the convulsed body of my
dying assistant, and as l did so, nv
heart sank within me as if 1 were
committing a heinous crime.
SCATTERING shots sounded on the
upper deck, each ending life.
On entering the mess-room I found
several officers, two doctors and the
priest already assembled there. A
watch was set over us.
1t was all done with incredible
swiftness. New officers, engineers
and junior officers were constantly
being brought in. Then the machin-
lists began to appear, some of them
dragging the chief engineer who, for
getting his dignity, fell on his knees
and begged in a whining tone:
Comrades, spare me, make me a
stoker, I'll stand watch for two"
He tore his chevrons off himself.
The machinists threw him off with
laughter and he fell into a corner like
dead weight. Raising himself on
his elbow, he crouched against the
wall, moaning piteously.
Men were swarming all over the
ship in movements, at first sight. of
confusion, but really excellently or
| gained. The number of prisoners in
creased. Somewhere deep in the hold
shots sounded DULY and almost at the
same time the head electrician, Colo
YIN, wearing a sailors uniform,
dashed into the mess-room. His face
was covered with blood and l barely
recognized him.
"Save me, sir, save me-" he walled
desperately, rushing at me.
/ backed away from him and ex-
claimed sharply,
Leave me alone!"
Sailors appeared in the doorway.
Golovin ran to leather divan and fell
on it with his head jammed into
corner and the lower part of his body
raised as if to receive blows. One of
the sailors, with a coarse Jest, buried
his bayonet under his spine. An ami
mal-like roar shook the splendid walls
Of the mess-room and ceased
abruptly. Slowly Golovin raised his
twitching face and tried to look about
with eyes straining out of their SOC
kets. A hoarse rattle, like the grunt-
ing of pig, sounded in his chest.
We recoiled in horror and froze
in position. The sailors, however
on finishing with the electrician,
spoke calmly, as though apologizing
for their act.
Wanted to destroy the dynamo,
the bastard"
'He's sly, that one. What could we
do in the dark and all the scoundrels
scuttling away like rats? Whom
could we catch them"
Both were calmly wiping perspira-
ton from their faces. They went out,
leaving the dead body on the divan,
and we all looked at each other in
surprise, as though seeing for the
first time. The priest moved his lips
in soundless prayer, concealing a
large and splendid silver cross in the
folds of his robe, as if fearing it would
attract some misfortune to him. The
boatswain, Soloveikin, began to blow
his nose violently as if he had sud
denly caught a bad cold. I noticed
that each tried to place himself behind
another, so that we were all crowded
at the end Of the room.
We had hardly recovered when the
corridor of the officers quarters re-
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