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Rh sames to me I'm afther hearing thim Chinks yell already."

"I dink dem vos Roossins you vos hear," answered Stummer. "Da vos firin' by Here da come now!"

There was a rushing of many feet and a yelling in a tongue that was foreign to Gilbert, and the next instant a body of Cossacks burst into view. Whether they were making a flank movement or retreating, the young lieutenant could not tell. As they swept along, a captain of the command saw the three, and ran toward them.

"Who are you? Where come you from?" he asked in the Russian tongue, and then, noting the uniforms, added, "Americans?"

"Yes," answered Gilbert. "Do you speak English?"

The Russian captain shook his head. "Do you speak Russian?" he asked in his own tongue.

It was now Gilbert's turn to shake his head. This made him smile, and the Russian seemed also to enjoy the grim humor of the situation.

"If we can't understand each other, we're stuck," muttered the young lieutenant. Then a sudden