Rescuing the Czar: Two authentic diaries arranged and translatedSmythe, James P.
History
Rescuing the Czar: Two authentic diaries arranged and translated
Smythe, James P.
Diary fiction; Nicholas II, Emperor of Russia, 1868-1918 -- Fiction; Russia -- History -- Nicholas II, 1894-1917 -- Fiction
"I literally grabbed the tall man by the heels and whirled him round
like a flail and tore into that gang of snarling hellhounds with
cyclonic fury.... I literally mowed them down.... But finally a dull
thud sounded in my ears.... A wave of light blinded both my eyes.... I
knew nothing more until this morning when I awoke in a tent. Beside me
was a loaf of bread and a canteen of cool water.... NOT ANOTHER SIGN
OF A LIVING CREATURE IS IN SIGHT.... I am in a deep mountain gorge,
leading to the south along a narrow roadway that has apparently
witnessed the procession of unnumbered ages."
50. Then this entry:
"After tramping all day I finally emerged in the sight of a
swift-flowing river on either bank of which, in the distance, appeared
two walled-off cities of considerable size.... Foreign GUNBOATS were
lying in the harbor in holiday attire.... As I approached the city
a courier came running to meet me.... When he approached I drew back
prepared to fight....
"But his friendliness disarmed me and I allowed him to draw near....
'Li'l' ladee wantee see you quick; you cum foller me,' he said,
and turned back from where he came.... I followed him with beating
heart.... On the dock at the landing where the gunboat was steaming up
MARIA met me with moistened eyes....
"She informed me in a low voice that the officer was ready to receive
me and accept my orders.... And then she said,
"'Before you go I wish to thank you for all you have done for us....
If our paths should ever meet again I want you to know my heart will
beat more quickly when I shall see you coming up the path.'... That
said, she flung her slender arms around my neck, impulsively, and
looked calmly in my eyes.... When, involuntarily, my arms showed signs
of being prehensile, she sprang away quickly and flashed along the
gangway to disappear, like a holy vision, behind that gray storm
door!..."
51. The last entry reads:
"It has been a habit with me for many years to never be surprised....
When I appeared on deck to give the code to the commander of that
vessel this habit was unmoored.... A tall, square-jawed man approached
me with a twinkle in his clear blue eyes.... I looked at him
inquiringly and a little reminiscently until I heard him speak.... 'I
see the loaf of bread came in handy,' he said, extending me his
bony hand.... 'I thought I left you at Ekaterinburg,' I exclaimed,
recalling the moments we spent after our escape from the abandoned
tunnel.... 'Oh,' he laughed, 'YOURS was not a one-man job; there are
others in the world besides yourself intrusted with state secrets....
'But what do you know about the bread, you just spoke of it?'
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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