ficial who may
read it."

In a few minutes the letter was finished, and the three left the place
together, the sergeant telling his comrades that he would return
shortly for them. He then accompanied the midshipmen, and did their
shopping for them, and, bidding him a hearty adieu, they were soon on
their way out of Odessa, Jack swinging along upon his crutches at a
fair pace. Once fairly away from the town, he took his foot from the
strap, shouldered his crutches and again they trudged along upon their
journey.

They found their walking powers improve day by day as they went on,
and were soon able to make thirty-five miles a day without
inconvenience. Travelling in this way, without any interruption or
incident save an occasional demand for a view of their passport by
some Russian official, they journeyed across the south of Russia, and
ten days after leaving Odessa they entered Poland.

Here they foresaw that their difficulties would be far greater than
before, and that their characters as Polish soldiers on their way home
could no longer be sustained. They took, therefore, the first
opportunity of purchasing two suits similar to those worn by Polish
peasants, and, entering a wood, dressed themselves in their new
attire, and, rolling their dirt-stained uniforms into a bundle, thrust
them into a clump of underwood. Into this Jack also joyfully tossed
his crutches and strap. Dick had long been able to dispense with his
sling, but the wound on his face was scarcely healed, and was still
angry-looking and irritable.

They now trudged steadily along, avoiding all conversation as much as
possible, and making their purchases only in a quiet villages. They
met many bodies of troops moving about the roads, and although they
could understand nothing of the language, and were wholly ignorant of
what was going on, they judged from the manner in which these troops
marched, by the advance guard thrown out in front, the strong
detachments which accompanied the baggage, and the general air of
vigilance which marked them, that the country was in a troubled state.

Once convinced of this, they took care to conceal themselves whenever
they saw troops approaching, as they feared that questions might be
addressed to them which they might find it difficult to answer. There
was the less difficulty in their doing this as the country was for the
most part thickly wooded, the roads sometimes running for miles
through forests. Upon one oc