g it all morning.
It's only good-natured jesting."

"It breeds disrespect of the Army. And disrespect of authority is the
first step on the road to anarchy," Kodorovich said severely.

"Well at least that's a movement to somewhere," Plekoskaya said. "Can
you blame them for smiling? That's the 124th, the famous 'lightning'
division, that's been glued to the road in front of them for the past
six hours. In that time it has moved perhaps a hundred or so feet and I
suspect it is only because your 71st is very ill-manneredly pushing from
behind."

"I still don't like their smirking."

Plekoskaya became suddenly solemn. "It is when they begin to laugh
openly that we should become concerned."

* * * * *

"How did you get the American lieutenant out of Moscow?" Colonel Peng's
superior was asking him.

"Bushmilov was conducting the interrogation," Colonel Peng replied,
"when suddenly somebody started shooting through the window from another
office across the way. I heard Bushmilov yell something about plotters
and counterrevolutionaries and he and his men started shooting back.
Within minutes the entire building was like a battlefield. In the
confusion we snatched the American and hustled him away. The corridors
were full of groups of MVD men running and shooting and I have no idea
what it was all about but whatever it was it didn't affect us for we
were allowed to pass unmolested. We managed to escape stray bullets and
get out of the building with whole skins to our embassy.

"Getting out of Moscow was the real problem. Within hours the city was
clogged with troops. Slowly, as supplies were choked off by the
congestion, offices and factories and shops closed down and the people
were on the streets strolling about as if on holiday, laughing and
joking about the tangle of tanks and vehicles and military equipment
that was effectively strangling the city.

"It appears that not even the highest officers and officials were making
any effort to clear up the mess. Each one seemed to be afraid to take
any responsibility beyond the last coherent orders that had brought
practically the entire army converging on Moscow.

"We tried to get out by air but that proved impossible. All civil
flights were canceled so that the fields could accommodate the armadas
of military aircraft that swarmed into the area. We couldn't even get a
wireless message out because of the spreading chaos. We had to proceed