Page:Emile Vandervelde - Three Aspects of the Russian Revolution - tr. Jean Elmslie Henderson Findlay (1918).djvu/167

 had become serious. The rebels had just refused to consider the conciliatory propositions of the Government's emissary. They were intending to march on Tarnopol, and to encamp there without authority. What made the situation difficult was that they had retained all the machine-guns of the infantry, which, nevertheless, was gradually separating from the rebels and following the artillery to the front.

General Belkovitch, judging that our intervention might be useful, decided that the next day we should visit the rebels in their camp, about two hours' motor drive from Buczacz.

The next morning, however, the situation had become still more grave. The Government emissary had, after the refusal of the rebels to consider his propositions, finally broken off all negotiations with the rebels, leaving them only as a last resource the assurance that if they had any further proposals to make he would be ready to listen to their delegates until evening. In these conditions he asked us to abandon the idea of visiting them, which was, of course, such a sensible view