Page:Ossendowski - From President to Prison.djvu/180

168 Batianoff, who, however, disregarded his superior's orders and continued northward.

This forced us to act independently and, in doing so, to use our wits and lose no time. We hurried Vlasienko off to the second station below the railway bridge over the Sungari, where he was to meet General Batianoff and carry out our plans for his reception. At the same time we ordered the rails taken up from a section of the track below the bridge, after Vlasienko should have passed. As soon as Vlasienko was at his post, I again telegraphed General Linievitch and urgently requested him to despatch immediately an officer of high rank to overtake General Batianoff and order him to return at once.

It seems appropriate here to give the narrative in the words of Vlasienko himself, supplemented with the telegrams which came to us from down the railway line.

"I am here waiting for Batianoff and your orders," was Vlasienko's first message.

To this we answered by sending a gang of workers to repair the line below the bridge. A few hours later Vlasienko reported:

"Batianoff's train is here. I am talking with the General, who is quietly waiting for the line to be repaired. The train with Linievitch's Staff Officer on board will be here in half an hour."

We telephoned to the division engineer at the bridge to inquire if everything was in order and received his affirmative answer. Almost at the same time Vlasienko wired:

"Be ready to receive a guest."

Two hours later we saw a locomotive with a single car attached come booming up the road and pull up very sharply right in front of the main entrance of the Harbin station. The austere General alighted from his