Kerensky was silent during the conversation. He stood like a ghost, the symbol of once mighty Russia. Four months before he was the idol of the nation. Now almost all had turned against him. As I looked at him I felt I was in the presence of that immense tragedy which was rending my country into fragments. Something seemed to clutch my throat and shake me. I wanted to cry, to sob. My heart dripped blood for Mother Russia. What would I not have done to avert that impending catastrophe? How many deaths would I not have died at that moment? Here was my country drifting towards an abyss. I could see it sliding down, down, down.... And here were the heads of the Government powerless, helpless, clinging hopelessly to the doomed ship, despairing of salvation, abandoned, forlorn, stricken.... “God only knows the future--shall we ever meet again?” I asked the two men in a stifled voice, as I bade them farewell. Kerensky, livid, motionless, answered in a hoarse whisper: “Hardly.” Part Four TERROR CHAPTER XVI THE TRIUMPH OF BOLSHEVISM I returned to the front. The trains were frightfully crowded, but fortunately I found accommodation in a first-class compartment. At Molodechno I reported to General Valuyev, Commander of the Tenth Army, and lunched with the staff. The General was painfully surprised to learn of the punishment I had received at the hands of the soldiers. “Did they really strike _you_?” he asked incredulously, as if he found it hard to imagine the soldiers maltreating Yashka. “Yes, General, they did,” I answered. “But why?” I told him of the German I had wounded as he came over with several comrades. “God, what has become of my once glorious army!” he cried out. As I related to him the remaining phases of the episode, he punctuated my story with exclamations of surprise. At the end of the meal General Valuyev informed me that I had been promoted to the rank of Captain. He pinned an extra star on my epaulets and congratulated me. I was provided with a car and driven to Corps Headquarters, where I reported to my Commanding General. He and the officers of the Corps Staff were anxious to know of the latest developments in the rear. I told them the impression made upon me by Kerensky and Verkhovsky two days before. “Their appearance bears witness to the fact that all is lost,” I said. “And how about the transfer?” the General asked. “The Battalion is waiting for you to come and take it to a more sympathetic sector.” I answered that orders would soon arrive for the transfer, and showed the certificate authorizing me to command without a committee. The General was glad for my sake.