Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-06-16
WITHOUT hesitation Sergey banged his fist
upon the door. 1t slid open Immediately

WITHOUT hesitation Sergey banged his fist
upon the door. 1t slid open immediately
and girl looked down at him.
Come in, stranger" she cried 1--WE were
expecting you. But tell me quickly is 1t to
heaven or to hell that we owe the pleasure of
your visit2"
HE who sent me here said had the red
head of an imp from hell" replied Sereev
swinging up by her outstretched hand and
slamming the door behind him so YOU can
understand find it cold here, and am hungry
after my journey"
The girl brushed off his cap and pulled
him forward under the kerosene lamp which
hung from the middle of the roof
Red as hell's flames" she muttered admir-
1ngly. That should keep you warm and we
VIII NIL your belly. My father here lust said
1t would take a saint or a devil to CONQUER
my problem, and told him, as you knocked
that even st. Nicholas the wonder worker
day"
A roar of laughter from a heap of straw in
the corner near the stove: IT'S but a little
mp Tor so great task, MarfooSha and dount
II the Prince Of Devils himself is a match for
the Baba Papagai, who beyond doubt is his
own grandmother" The voice shook a trifie
over the last words, and Sergey glimpsed fin
gers gesturing quickly over broad khaki chest
Ihere were three people in the car, the girl
comely and slim with tangle of blonde hair
red shirt tucked into short blue kilt and high
black leather boots; the man, in khaki uni
form, lying on the straw, fat brown cheeks
quick little black eyes in bush of iron-erav
halr and whiskers; and a small bent figure
by the stove, so wrapped in a service overload
OF Cne old Imperial army that nothing was Wis
iole but white wisp Of beard, a bald shining
pate, and two pink pointed ears.
"Comrade imp" said the girl 81 nresent INV
grandfather, who lives alone in this car being
wise and having money but not wise enough
70 nelp me In my trouble; and my father who
Is commandant OF the prison but unable to
save my lover his prisoner from"
Don't forget to present Comrade Scum also"
broke in the old man with a chuckle land
little Comrade Vodka in his bottle, who is best
OF ALL And, plunging an iron ladle into the
Steaming pot he filled an earthen bowl and
passed it to the hungry boy
TWICE Sergey emptied the bowl breaking
chunks Of black bread into the hot LIQUID
Then he gulped singing mouthful of spirit
from the bottle and, taking painful of green
flake mahorka and a scrap of newspaper from
the old man, twisted the cone-shaped cigarette
of the Russian soldier lighted the up-tDrned
nap With sulphur match and putting the
small end OF the cone between his lips pulled
out a cloud of evil-smelling smoke
What is this trouble you speak OFF" he
asked, and who is the Parrot Woman the
Bahia Papagai?"
All three of his hosts spoke at once in noisy
excitement There was a young man, a for
eigner, prisoner, an American a soldier who
had come somehow from somewhere eastward
on train. young and cheerful and clever with
his hands beyond belief, and the girl Mar
foosha, loved him, and he had mended the
electric light for the prison and later for the
whole town. and at first he was quite dumb like
beast. but now he spoke humanity enough
after several months, and two weeks ago the
Soviet had agreed to let Marfoosha marry him,
because they wanted to keep him in the town
to start again the nail factory, as he had
promised
This Sergey learned first, because the girl