Page:Poet Lore, volume 27, 1916.djvu/401

 but  utters “Woman” ''and surely enough a poor woman appears—she is Anna Petrova the wife of the railroad watchman, past forty. She didn’t expect anybody in the grave-yard but is too simple-minded to show surprise. She stands quietly, arms akimbo, looking at the soldiers and then breaks in with an explanation.''

Anna Petrova.—The Prussians are in Skalitz: there is no staying there (and as no one is answering her, she adds.) They took away my man—he was the railroad watchman. They led him away. (Again there is no answer and then, noticing that a few soldiers are paying some attention to her, continues in a voice that is quiet, dry and without a show of feeling.) We were in watch-house 164—When everybody ran away, my man and I we stayed—my man, he said: “What can they take away from us, we are poor.” Then the Prussians came over the hill with cannon and they started to talk German to my man. Something that he must come along with them and he said he wasn’t afraid, he was an honest man and he would go. Then he started to look for his cap and they pulled him around so that he should hurry and my man he fell on his knees and begged the head man to let him go. He begged in Bohemian but the Prussian started to holler that he would shoot him and one fellow raised his gun. Then I began to make out that they said that my man was a spy and that he was signalling to our soldiers but my man he got up and he hollered “Si Vatr, ich Vatr—Si Kinder ich Kinder—Si Ehrlich ich Ehrlich—” but they grabbed him and led him away to the hill where they had the cannon—

Spravil.—They’ll never give him back to you, Mother.

Petrova.—Good God! (None of the soldiers are paying any attention to her except and .) My youngest boy, he who is home, was in the house so I gave him a loaf of bread and a shilling and sent him out after them—I couldn’t go—There was shooting all around—Right at the door-step one poor lad was lying—I wanted to get him in the house but he was too heavy so I go for the wheelbarrow to put him on it but when I come back there were four or five there already. One fellow’s hand was shot away and he came and sat at the door—I gave him a pail to put his hand into. Then I started to wheel them in, I got fourteen of them into the room and then I couldn’t—The room is full of them and I can’t do anything for them and all the time the shells were bursting and one took away part of the house and set it on fire—then ours went away and the Prussians came in—I went to Skalitz to the church to pray but the Prussians got all