Ned tried to get the German to change the subject, for he was working himself into a frenzy.
“How has the war progressed here in the east?” he asked. “We Americans, you know, have been watching the western struggle more closely.”
The village spokesman shrugged his shoulders.
“Here it has been now in favor of the Germans, now with the Russians. At first General Rennenkampf led millions after millions of his wild men swarming into Poland. We had too few men on the frontier to resist and so were beaten back. Then the Kaiser sent us General Von Hindenburg, a hero who won the Iron Cross for distinguished services when we captured Paris in the time of the present Emperor’s father. Von Hindenburg is of the old hard school, but he is a great commander. He rallied our troops and in turn pressed the Russians back. He lured Rennenkampf into a trap at Tannenberg and nearly annihilated the whole Russian army. Then the Grand Duke Nicholas arrived from Petrograd with millions more Russians. The struggle seesawed back and forth all of the way from Angerburg to Gumbinnen and between the Warthe and the Vistula. We lost a big battle before Warsaw in Poland, lost again at Lodz, and then won on the same battlefield, and again at Lowicz, in which two engagements we captured over 120,000 prisoners. So it is going on even now. We are still fighting hand to hand with the Russians around Warsaw; and Lowicz, which was ours yesterday, may be theirs to-morrow. Our army is holding eight times their number of Russians in check, and that’s enough to be proud of.”
“But what about the Austrians? Haven’t they helped any here in combating the Russian invasion?” asked Bob.
“No, the Austrians have had quite enough to do protecting themselves at home, and have left Germany to fight the whole world single-handed. The Austrians invaded Servia six months ago, captured Belgrade, the capital, and then were driven out of the country altogether. Now the Serbs and Montenegrins are themselves invading Austria in the south and east, while the Russians have completely overrun Galicia and Transylvania. No, Austria has been of no real help to Germany in this war.
“But you, sir, were going to tell us about what has been going on in the west. Who is winning there now?”
So Bob and Buck, both of whom spoke German with fair fluency, went on to outline the operations in France and Belgium. They were still in the midst of this when all at once there came a noise as if bedlam had broken loose on the other side of the village.
The thunder of furiously galloping horses filled the air. Then came fusillade and fusillade of shots and hideous demoniacal yells, with which were intermingled the shrieks of terrified women and children and the clang of the alarm bell.
“Help! Help! Ah, help! The Cossacks are upon us!”