y committed all sorts of barbarities.
They murdered the railway school-mistress and tortured her husband by
stripping him and pouring cold water over his naked body, finally
driving him out into the snow, where he quickly froze to death. The
charge against their two victims in this case was that they, by their
calling, were teaching the youth of Russia to become young
_bourgeoisie_, instead of leaving all men and women equal as nature
intended.

This garden of autocracy grows some strange plants. These banditti,
known in England as Bolsheviks, are entrenched not more than 60 versts
distant, protected from Koltchak's vengeance by the deep snows of the
Siberian winter, which make it impossible to operate away from the
railway.

We held a splendid meeting of the workmen in the enormous workshop,
remarkable for the quiet enthusiasm and the evident hope of better
times. It was quite clear to me that the Russian workmen were tired of
the Revolution. They were promised an Eldorado and realised Hell
instead. They merely wanted to be shown a way out of the social
nightmare. They passed a vote of thanks to me and the English workmen
for whom I spoke.

We started for Krasnoyarsk on the 12th, and before long found it
necessary to get the machine guns and hospital equipment ready for
instant use. After standing to arms all night we arrived, at midday on
the 13th, at Klukvinah, the Russian Headquarters, and discovered that
the Government forces had driven the enemy back from the railway, and
that the remainder of our journey to Krasnoyarsk would be practically
safe. We arrived about 9.15 P.M. on Wednesday, the 13th.

Colonel Frank, Madame Frank, myself and the Czech interpreter, Vladimir,
were passing through the station on our return from the town about 12.30
midnight, when a rather exciting incident occurred. The station
commandant approached Colonel Frank and appealed to him for help to send
home a party of Serbian soldiers who had procured drink without payment
at the point of their swords and revolvers, and had stripped a young
woman passenger and exposed her for their orgies. Other bestial things
were alleged against them, but no one had so far dared to interfere to
restore order. After a moment's consideration Colonel Frank decided to
go into the buffet and ask them to go quietly home, and if they refused,
to secure force to arrest and remove them. I naturally followed.

It was a big stone-floored room with the door at o