"I horse will be all right now, Vasilievitch-also I have much to see to until eleven,' he said; must wait to dress your horse's wound, Vasilievitch, but I have much work to do afterwards. It is unfortunate.' Yes,' said Kasatsky, 'it is, as you say, unfortunate,' and he laughed. But suddenly he stopped laughing and sprang up. Look!' he cried, and he pointed towards the leetle low hills on our right front. And there we saw some twinkling flashes of light. It was the heliograph of the enemy! And we did not expect to see him there. Also we knew that he could see us! The sun was directly behind us, and they were flashing their signals with a reflector, which would communicate with their rear. "For two or three minutes Kasatsky stood, his glasses fixed to his eyes. Then he turned, and said to Vaviloff, very grimly "I think your opportunity has come, my friend. They are probably finding our range for their guns behind the hill. And there will be fighting before you have to leave us. Ah! See there! I was right.' "No!' interrupted Vasilievitch; 'you told me it was necessary to dress the wound again.' Let me explain just a little further the position. We had thrown up a hasty entrenchment, so the infantry had a leetle shelter. The two guns were on our flank, concealed by some trees. Behind the trees the horses were tethered. But it was useless to fire the guns at first-we had no objective, for we could not see those of the enemy. But I guessed that presently there would be something at which to fire-when the enemy showed himself in his advance over the hills. Till then I had a leetle "I think, perhaps, that time for thinking, though we "As he spoke there came a puff of white smoke against the blue sky about five hundred metres in front of our position, followed by a bang and a sound as of great whistles blowing. They were finding our range with shrapnel. "Vaviloff turned very pale. I could see that the hand which held his cigarette was shaking. "But Vasilievitch grinned at me, and whispered, 'I shall want his now. I can't afford to let him ride away if he goes. He must use his own legs.' "All the time, my friends, I kept looking through my glasses on the horizon-top of those hills. And at last I saw what I expected to seea long line of infantry coming over them their advance, of course, covered by the guns behind, which had now found the range very well-for my men were falling, and the surgeon captain already was busy Behold,' I replied, 'every minute you delay makes it less safe. For the rifle-bullets will be coming very soon. As it is, as soon as you have run a couple of hundred metres to the rear nothing is likely to touch you. They are concentrating their fire only on us.' "It was foolish for me to tell him this, as you will see. For the miserable leetle man was thinking only of himself, and he would not mind if we were all killed so long as he escaped. As he started he ran very fast indeed, and I could not help laughing loudly as I watched his leetle legs running over the ground. He looked so very funnee! But just then there came a new sound-the 'ping' of a rifle bullet on the leetle earth parapet. The enemy had opened fire at long distance. It was necessary more than ever to keep under cover. I gave orders to reserve fire until the enemy were more close, for I saw we had got what you English call a 'tough job' to our front. If I could hold them for an hour, all might be well, but I knew a single cartridge must not be wasted. Meanwhile our two guns were shelling the advance-but we required twenty guns rather than two. "I took up my glasses and turned backwards again to see how Vaviloff was proceeding. And then I swore all the oaths of which I could think. He had run beyond the danger zone, and was now going slow over the open country-at a walk! That damn, leetle, fat man! Now I saw how foolish I had been to tell him it was safe when he was out of range. Unless he moved more quickly he would be too late. He was now a quarter of a mile away from us. One could see for about a mile and a half to the top of the low ridge at the back of us. I saw something must be done at once. And then an idea came to me. I would make him run very fast till he was out of sight. Splendid ! "Telling my subaltern to take command for a few minutes, I ran over to where Vasilievitch was firing his guns. In the open? Oh, yes-it was a nasty bit of ground to cover, and I received a rifle bullet through the arm and a scratch from a shrapnel splinter that tore my trousers from my knee. But I reached Vasilievitch safely. Turn round one of your guns,' I ordered; 'put in a shell with a very short-time fuse. That damn Vaviloff will not run away fast enough, but you must make him. Look you-there he is. Fire and explode a shell a leetle behind him-but not so as to hit him, And go on firing after him till he is out of sight. Splendid ! It will make no difference-the loss of a gunto the enemy's advance, but it will make him deliver the message in time. Ah! ... Splendid !' few that we could not hope to stay the advance a long time. Also our casualties were increasing. I cannot tell you how long we fought-one loses count of the minutes,—but it seemed an age. Then the bayonets gleamed in front of us, and the leetle Japanese soldiers came running on, while they shouted, 'Banzai! Banzai!' 'Fix bayonets !' I ordered. "Ah, that charge of the leetle Japs! It was terrific. But we drove them back, my friends, even advancing a few paces in front of our trenches. It was hand to hand, bayonet to bayonet. One of the Japanese bayonets gave me a thrust in between my ribs. Pouf ! It did not go very deep, and I cut down the fellow with my sword. But we were glad to get back into the trench and rest for a few minutes. We were out of breath-those of us who remained. "But another regiment had formed behind the first, and was now preparing to charge. I was just thinking-yes, I admit I had to think of the battle for a moment-that it would take all our efforts to resist them, when, 'Hurrah!' is not that what you say ?— over our heads there began to whistle not merely the shells from our two guns, but many shells, and I knew that reinforcements were at hand. The Japanese in front wavered for a few moments as the shells began bursting; then they came forward, and again we heard their ories of 'Banzai ! ' Suddenly the shells ceased to whistle overhead, but instead there was another sound-the galloping of horses. On either side of our leetle position the Cossacks came thundering past, wheeled inwards to reform their line, and charged. Splendid! Ah, how we cheered! Yes, my friends, the position was saved in time. Reinforcements of infantry and machine-guns followed, and till late in the afternoon the Japanese were kept at bay. Then a retirement was made; but the object was accomplished. The hill at our rear was entrenched and the big guns mounted. Splendid ! an "Me? Oh, I did not fight any more that day. It was silly, but I had to be carried away in ambulance. I suppose I had bled more than I thought from my wounds. Afterwards General Suritzoff himself came to see me. Oh, he was very pleasant. He thanked me for what I had done. Pouf! It was nothing. And then he said something that made me laugh very much inside my cheeks. "Me? No; I did not get a medal for conspicuous bravery because of that leetle battle. Why should I? It was nothing much. Oh, yes-I suppose I possess the medal-I won him in some other action. Certainly I did not run away in order to get him, but all the same what I said before is true. One must not judge of "This veterinary surgeon, a man's bravery because of Vaviloff,' he said, he is a the medals he wears. Though very brave leetle man. He Peter Mikhailovitch Vaviloff, carried your message all the whenever afterwards he disway under heavy shell-fire. And played that medal to his friends, though he is a fat leetle man, made it seem to them that he he ran like an athlete. He has was a very, very brave leetle done a very courageous deed man. Splendid !" (To be concluded.) |