ngst our wagons,
then walked down the bank...."

Nikitin must for some time have been watching him, because at that
moment he stepped forward, took Trenchard's arm, and drew him back.
Nikitin has himself told me that he was walking up and down the road
that night because he could not sleep. When he spoke to Trenchard the
man seemed dazed and bewildered, said something about "life being all
over for him and--death being horrible!"

Nikitin put his arm round him, took him back to his room, where he
made him a bed on the floor, gave him a sleeping-draught and watched
him until he slept.

That was the true beginning of the friendship between Nikitin and
Trenchard.

CHAPTER VI

THE RETREAT

The retreat struck us as breathlessly as though we had been whirled by
a wind-storm into midair on the afternoon of a summer day. At five
minutes to three we had been sitting round the table in the garden of
the house at M---- drinking tea. We were, I remember, very gay. We had
heard only the day before of the Russian surrender of Przemysl and
that had for a moment depressed us; but as always we could see very
little beyond our own immediate Division. Here, on our own Front, we
had at last cleared the path before us. On that very afternoon we were
gaily anticipating our advance. Even Sister K---- who, for religious
reasons, took always a gloomy view of the future, was cheerful. She
sipped her cherry jam and smiled upon us. Anna Petrovna, imperturbably
sewing, calmly sighed her satisfaction.

"Perhaps to-morrow we shall move. I feel like it. It will be splendid
to go through the Carpathians--beautiful scenery, I believe." Molozov
was absent in the town of B---- collecting some wagons that had
arrived from Petrograd. "He'll be back to-night, I believe," said
Sister K----. "Dear me, what a pleasant afternoon!"

It was then that I saw the face of the boy Goga. I had turned,
smiling, pleased with the sunshine, cherry jam, and a good Russian
cigarette straight from Petrograd. The boy Goga stared across the yard
at me, his round red cheeks pale, mouth open, and his eyes confused
and unbelieving.

He seemed then to jump across the intervening space. Then he screamed
at us:

"We're retreating.... We're retreating!" he shrieked in the high
trembling voice peculiar to agitated Russians. "We have only half an
hour and the Austrians are almost here now!"

We were flung after that into a hurry of movement that left us no time
f