CHAPTER XVII.
A JOURNEY IN DISGUISE
The start was accomplished. Many hundreds of carts were assembled inthe great square. A mounted officer and a small guard of soldiers hadformed across the road which they were to follow, and as soon asdaylight had fairly appeared he gave the word, and the carts began tofile off along the southern road, an account being taken of each cart,as it passed out, by an officer on duty, to see that the number whichhad been requisitioned were all present. No question was asked of theboys.
As the driver of the first of those belonging to the count reportedtwelve carts, each laden with thirty sacks of flour supplied by CountPreskoff, the officer, seeing the number was correct, allowed them topass without further question. Dick found himself still extremelyweak, and could not have proceeded many hundred yards, if he had nottaken a seat on the cart behind his oxen.
After two hours' travelling there was a halt for a quarter of an hour,and the doctor, passing along, spoke to Dick, and then walked with himback along the line to the hospital carts which were in the rear. HereDick took his place among some bales of blankets, and another wasthrown over him, in such a way that his presence there would not besuspected by any one riding past the cart. Upon the train proceedingJack took charge of the two carts. This was an easy task, the oxenproceeding steadily along without deviating from the line, andrequiring no attention whatever beyond an occasional shout and a blowof the stick when they loitered and left a gap in the line.
Alongside the drivers walked in groups of three or four, talkingtogether, and thus the fact that one of the wagons was without itsdriver passed unnoticed. Alexis had told the count's serfs whoaccompanied the carts that their master had arranged at the lastmoment for hired men to take the places of two of their number, one ofwhom had a wife sick at home, and the other was engaged to be marriedshortly. He had also told them that it was their master's wish thatthey should enter into no conversation with the strangers, as thesewere from a northern province, and scarcely understood the southerndialect.
Accustomed to obey every command of their master without hesitation,the serfs expressed no wonder even among themselves at an order whichmust have appeared somewhat strange to them. It was the count'spleasure, and that was sufficient for them. At the end of the day,Dick rejoined his comrade, and assisted him to feed the oxen, whorequired no further attention except the removal of the yoke, whenthey lay down upon the ground and slept in their places. Dick broughthim a supply of cold meat and white bread, and a bottle of wine; andthe lads, choosing a place apart from the others, enjoyed their mealheartily, and then, climbing up on to the top of their flour sacks,wrapped themselves in their sheepskins and were soon sound asleep.
That evening a soldier brought a message to the officer in charge ofthe escort, telling him that the two English prisoners had by the aidof their warder effected their escape, bidding him search the convoy,and keep a sharp lookout along the road and ordering him to giveinformation to all village and military authorities, and instruct themto send messages to all places near, warning the authorities there notonly to keep a sharp lookout, but again to forward on the news; sothat in a short time it would be known in every village in theprovince.
In the morning, before starting, the officer in charge of the escortrode along the line, examining every wagon carefully, asking the namesof the drivers, and referring to a paper with which he had beenfurnished by the owners of the carts, at starting, giving the names ofthe drivers. The head man of the party from Count Preskoff's respondedat once for the twelve men under him; and satisfied that the fugitiveswere not in the convoy, the officer gave orders to proceed.
This time Dick was able to walk two or three miles before droppingback to the hospital wagon. The next day he went still farther, and bythe end of a week announced himself to be as strong as ever, and thedoctor allowed that he could now be trusted to travel.
On this night they had halted at a point where a road, running eastand west, crossed the great road to the Crimea. Before starting, theboys had a long chat with their friend the doctor, who furnished themwith military passes which he had procured from an officer. Thesetestified that Ivan Petrofski and Alexis Meranof, of the 5th PolishRegiment, were proceeding home on sick-furlough.
The signature of the colonel was no doubt fictitious, but thismattered but little. Jack inquired whether their absence in themorning would not be likely to be remarked; but the doctor said thatthe head of the party had been informed by Demetri that the twostrangers would only accompany them for a few days' march, and hadonly been hired to satisfy the authorities that the right number ofmen had been furnished, for the want of hands on the estate was now sogreat owing to the heavy drain of conscripts to fill up the lossescaused by the war, that the count had been glad to retain the servicesof the two who had been left behind. There was therefore to be noremark concerning the disappearance of the new hands, but the otherswere to take charge of their carts, and if possible the authoritieswere to be kept unacquainted with the fact that their number wasincomplete.
The peasants' dresses were now exchanged for the uniforms of Russiansoldiers. Dick's head was wrapped in bandages, and his arm placed in asling. Jack's leg was also enveloped in bandages, the trousers beingslit up to the hip, and the sides loosely tied together by a piece ofstring, and the doctor gave him a pair of crutches, the same as thoseused in regimental hospitals.
"Now you will do," he said, surveying them by the light of a lantern."Many of the soldiers who have joined since the outbreak of the warare mere boys, so your age will not be against you, only pray for atime give up all idea as to the necessity of washing. The dirtier yourhands and faces, the better, especially if the dirt will hide yourclear healthy color, which is very unlike the sallow complexionsalmost universal among our peasantry. And now, good-bye. I move abouttoo much to hope to receive any letter from you, but as you have ofcourse arranged with Count Preskoff to send him word when you havesafely crossed the frontier, I shall hear of you from him."
With many deep and hearty thanks for the kindness he had shown them,the boys parted from him, and, setting their faces to the west, tookthe road to Odessa. Jack carried his crutches on his shoulders, asalso the long strap which, when he used them, was to pass over hisneck, and down under his foot, keeping it off the ground.
They had made many miles before morning, and as they had retainedtheir sheepskin cloaks, which had been served out to many of thetroops, they were able to get a comfortable sleep under shelter of aprotecting wall. Five days' walking took them to Odessa. This town wasnot upon the direct road, but they still clung to the hope of gettingaway by sea.
On the journey they had met several bodies of troops and many convoysof provisions and stores. Whenever they observed the former to beapproaching, they left the road, and sheltered themselves behindbushes or inequalities of the ground at a distance from the road, asthey knew they would be liable to be questioned as to the state ofthings at the front. They did not, however, go out of their way forconvoys, as they passed these with short salutations in reply to thegreetings or pitying remarks from the drivers. Their Russian was goodenough to pass muster when confined to short sentences of a formalkind. Their hearts beat when, on passing over a rise, they saw theblue water stretching out far before them, and they again debated thepossibility of seizing a boat. But the sight of two gun-boats steamingslowly along the shore convinced them that the attempt would be anextremely dangerous one.
Odessa is not a fortress, and the boys consequently entered itunquestioned. The town was crowded with wounded and sick soldiers, andtheir appearance attracted no attention whatever. In the principalstreets the lads saw many names of English firms over offices, and themajority of the shops appeared to be kept by Frenchmen and Germans.They walked down to the wharves and saw how great must have been thetrade carried on before the war. Now all traffic and business was atan end.
The great foreign merchants interested in the corn trade had all left,and many of the shops were closed.
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The harbor was deserted, save that a score or two of brigs employed inthe coasting-trade, in the Black Sea lay moored by the wharves withhatches battened down and deserted decks. A little farther out lay atanchor two or three frigates and some gun-boats. Looking seaward, nota single sail broke the line of the horizon.
Returning into the town, they went up some small streets, entered asmall eating-house, and asked for food, for the stock with which theyhad started four days before had been exhausted the previous evening.The landlord served them, and as they were eating he entered intoconversation with them.
"I suppose you have leave out of hospital for the day?"
"No," Dick said, "my comrade and I have got leave to go home to Polandtill our wounds are cured."
"Oh," the landlord said. "You are Poles. I thought you did not lookquite like our men; but you speak Russian well for Poles. There is aregiment of your countrymen in the town now, and some of them come insometimes for a glass of brandy. They like it better than vodka;curious, isn't it? Your true Russian thinks that there's nothingbetter than vodka."
Rather disturbed at the intelligence that there was a Polish regimentin the town, the boys hastened through their meal, and determined tolay in a stock of bread and meat sufficient for some days'consumption, and to leave Odessa at once. Just as they had finished,however, the door opened, and a sergeant and two soldiers entered.
"Ah, my friend," the landlord said to the former. "I am glad to seeyou. Are you come as usual for a glass of brandy? Real French stuff itis, I promise you, though for my part I like vodka. Here are two ofyour compatriots wounded; they have furlough to return home. Luckyfellows, say I. There are thousands at Sebastopol would be glad tochange places with them, even at the cost of their wounds."
The sergeant strode to the table at which the lads were sitting, and,drawing a chair up, held out his hands to them. "Good-day, comrades,"he said in Polish. "So are you on your way home? Lucky fellows! Iwould give my stripes to be in your place, if only for a fortnight."
Dick for a moment was stupefied, but Jack recalled to mind threesentences which the countess had taught him and which might, she said,prove of use to them, did they happen to come across any insurgentbands in Poland; for vague reports were current, in spite of theefforts of the authorities to repress them, that the Poles wereseizing the opportunity of their oppressors being engaged in war,again to take up arms. The sentences were pass-words of a secretassociation of which the countess's father had been a member, andwhich were widely whispered among patriotic Poles. "The dawn will soonbe at hand. We must get up in the morning. Poland will yet be free."The sergeant stared at them in astonishment, and answering in a lowtone in some words which were, the boys guessed, the countersign tothe pass, sat down by them. "But you are not Poles?" he said in a lowvoice in Russian. "Your language is strange. I could scarce understandyou."
"No," Jack said, in similar tones, "we are not Poles, nor Russians. Weare English, and England has always been the friend of Poland."
"That is so," the sergeant said heartily. "Landlord," he said, raisinghis voice, "a glass of vodka for each of my friends. I fear that mymoney will not run to brandy. And now," he said, when the landlord hadreturned to his place, "what are you doing here? Can I help you in anyway?"
"We are English officers who have escaped, and are making our way toPoland. We expect to find friends there. Do you know the intendant ofthe Countess Preskoff at--?"
"Do I know him?" the soldier repeated. "Why, I belong to the nextvillage. I have seen him hundreds of times. And the countess, do youknow the countess?"
"Certainly we do," Jack said. "We have been living for six weeks inher chateau, it is she who has written to the intendant to aid us."
"You will be welcome everywhere for her sake. She is a kind mistress,and greatly beloved. It is a pity that she married a Russian, thoughthey say he is a good fellow. Tell me, can I do anything for you? Doyou want for money?"
"No, indeed," Jack replied. "The countess has taken care of that."
"Look here," the sergeant said. "I will give you a note to my brother,who is a horse-dealer at Warsaw. It may be useful to you. He knowsevery one, and if, as they say, there is trouble in Poland, he is sureto be in the thick of it, and at any rate he will be able to give youadvice which may be useful, and addresses of safe people in differenttowns to whom you can go. Landlord, give me some paper and pen andink. My comrades here know friends of mine at home, and will carry aletter for me."
"Please be careful," Dick said, as the soldier began to write. "It ispossible we may be searched on the way; so do not say anything that aRussian official might not read."
"Trust me," the sergeant answered, laughing. "We Poles have beenlearning to conceal our feelings for generations. Trust me to write aletter which my brother will understand at once, but which will seemthe most innocent thing in the world to any Russian official who mayread it."
In a few minutes the letter was finished, and the three left the placetogether, the sergeant telling his comrades that he would returnshortly for them. He then accompanied the midshipmen, and did theirshopping for them, and, bidding him a hearty adieu, they were soon ontheir way out of Odessa, Jack swinging along upon his crutches at afair pace. Once fairly away from the town, he took his foot from thestrap, shouldered his crutches and again they trudged along upon theirjourney.
They found their walking powers improve day by day as they went on,and were soon able to make thirty-five miles a day withoutinconvenience. Travelling in this way, without any interruption orincident save an occasional demand for a view of their passport bysome Russian official, they journeyed across the south of Russia, andten days after leaving Odessa they entered Poland.
Here they foresaw that their difficulties would be far greater thanbefore, and that their characters as Polish soldiers on their way homecould no longer be sustained. They took, therefore, the firstopportunity of purchasing two suits similar to those worn by Polishpeasants, and, entering a wood, dressed themselves in their newattire, and, rolling their dirt-stained uniforms into a bundle, thrustthem into a clump of underwood. Into this Jack also joyfully tossedhis crutches and strap. Dick had long been able to dispense with hissling, but the wound on his face was scarcely healed, and was stillangry-looking and irritable.
They now trudged steadily along, avoiding all conversation as much aspossible, and making their purchases only in a quiet villages. Theymet many bodies of troops moving about the roads, and although theycould understand nothing of the language, and were wholly ignorant ofwhat was going on, they judged from the manner in which these troopsmarched, by the advance guard thrown out in front, the strongdetachments which accompanied the baggage, and the general air ofvigilance which marked them, that the country was in a troubled state.
Once convinced of this, they took care to conceal themselves wheneverthey saw troops approaching, as they feared that questions might beaddressed to them which they might find it difficult to answer. Therewas the less difficulty in their doing this as the country was for themost part thickly wooded, the roads sometimes running for milesthrough forests. Upon one occasion, when, just as it was dusk, theyhad gone in among the trees, having seen a Russian column moving alongthe road, they were astonished at being suddenly seized, gagged, andcarried off through the wood. So suddenly had this been done, thatthey had time neither to cry nor struggle.
After being carried some distance, they were thrown down on theground, and the men who had carried them hurried away. Just as theydid so there was a sudden outburst of musketry, mingled with loudyells and shouts; then, after a moment's pause, came the rattle of arolling musketry fire. The first, Jack judged to be the fire ofinsurgents upon the column; the second, that of the troops. For awhile the din of battle went on. Sharp ringing volleys, heavyirregular firing, the fierce, wild shouts of the insurgents, andoccasionally the hoarse hurrah of Russian soldiery.
Presently the sounds grew fainter, and the lads judged by thedirection that the Russian column
was falling back in retreat. Erelong the sounds of firing ceased altogether, and in scattered knots ofthree and four, men came through the wood to the wide open space inwhich the midshipmen were lying bound. No attention was paid to themfor some time, until a large body of men were collected. Then the ladswere suddenly raised and carried to a large fire which was now-blazingin the centre of the clearing. Here the gags were taken from theirmouths, and the cords unbound, and they saw confronting them a youngman evidently by his dress and bearing a person of rank and authority,and, as they judged by the attitude of those standing round, theleader of the insurgent band.
"Where do you come from, and what are you doing here?" he asked inPolish.
The boys shook their heads in token of their ignorance of thelanguage.
"I thought so," he said angrily in Russian. "You are spies, Russianspies. I thought as much when the news came to me that two peasantshad entered a village shop to buy goods, but had been unable to askfor them except by pointing to them, and had given a rouble note andallowed the woman who served them to take her own change. You aredetected, sirs, and may prepare for the death you deserve. Hang themat once," he said in Polish, to those standing near. "But first searchthem thoroughly, and see if they are the bearers of any documents."
The lads in vain endeavored to explain, but their voices were drownedin the execrations of the angry peasants, fresh from the excitement ofthe battle, and in many cases bleeding from bullet and bayonet wounds,for the Polish peasants always rush to close quarters. Concealed inDick's waistband was found a heavy roll of Russian notes, and the yellwhich greeted its appearance showed that it was consideredconfirmatory of the guilt of the prisoners.
Upon Jack was found only the letter which the sergeant had given himto his brother, the horse-dealer. This was taken to the leader, and heopened and read it by the light of a blazing brand which one of hisfollowers held beside him. "Stop!" he shouted, after reading the firstline or two, to the men who were already hurrying the lads towards thenearest tree. "Wait till I have read this through." He read it to theend, and then beginning afresh again, went carefully through it."Bring the prisoners here," he said. "Young men," he went on, when thelads were again placed before him, "there may be some mistake here.This letter purports to be from a sergeant of the 12th Polish regimentto his brother, Horni Varlofski. Now Varlofski is well known to manyof us. I do not know whether he has a brother a sergeant. Does any onehere know?"
Two or three of the men raised their voices to say that they knew thatVarlofski the horse-dealer had a brother who was drafted into the armyas a punishment for having struck a Russian sergeant in a brawl.
"This must be the man, then," the leader said. "The letter is writtencarefully, apparently with a view to avoid any suspicion, should it beopened and read by any but him for whom it is intended; but in fact itcontains assurances couched in language which I understand, that thebearers are enemies of Russia and friends of Poland, and that everyconfidence may be placed in them. Now, sirs, will you explain to mehow you, who speak no Polish come to be in the middle of the forest,dressed as Polish, peasants, and the bearers of a letter such asthis?"
"We are English officers," Dick began, "who were taken prisoners atSebastopol, and have since escaped."
He then proceeded to explain the circumstances of their residence atCount Preskoff's, of their recommendation to the intendant of thecountess's estates in Poland, of their acquaintance with the insurgentpass-words, and their meeting with the sergeant at Odessa. When theyhad concluded, the young leader held out his hand to them.
"Gentlemen," he said, "I ask your pardon for the roughness with whichyou have been treated, and shall never forgive myself for havingwithout sufficient inquiry condemned you to death. It will be a lessonto me never to judge by appearances in future. I knew the countesswell before her marriage. Her estates are but a few miles distant frommy own, and I last saw her some three years since, when she was therewith her husband and daughters. By the way," he said carelessly, "whatare their names?"
Dick instantly repeated them.
"Right," the Pole answered. "Pardon me this last test, but one cannotbe too particular when the lives of hundreds depend upon a mistake notbeing made. I am satisfied now. Welcome, heartily welcome to ourcamp."