He spoke in Russian, but by that time most of the men could understand what was said in that language, and Jack spoke it fairly well.
Night had fallen ere they reached the town and were marched up to the market-place. They were then conducted to the different large buildings which served as prisons; and Jack, with about a dozen others, was taken to a stone building which had once served as a corn warehouse.
Rather tired, he was making his way with the others to the large common living-room when a familiar voice struck upon his ear.
‘Ha, hum! it’s all very well to talk about the usages of civilised warfare; but who is going to say these Russians are civilised? If they’d been going to exchange us, tell me why they shouldn’t have done it months ago? Why shouldn’t we have been kept in Sebastopol—eh, you toads? Now tell me; I want to know?’
Before any one had time to make an answer Jack had darted into the room, and, seizing both hands of the speaker, was crying, ‘Jimmy, dear old Jimmy Linham, it was worth tramping all these hundreds of miles to find you alive and well! We’ve mourned you as dead in the old regiment for many and many a day.’
CHAPTER XLIV.
THE RESCUE.
THE arrival of a fresh batch of prisoners was a great event in the lives of the unfortunates at Voronesh. The prisoners taken were not many; consequently they arrived at very long intervals, especially as they were sent to different places.
When Jack and his companions entered, an immediate hush fell upon the company; then a chorus of voices broke out, welcomes were uttered, those who had been there some time shaking hands with the new-comers, assuring them that life was not unbearable there, and saying they all had hopes of soon being exchanged. Then came questions about the operations of the war. Had Sebastopol fallen? Had reinforcements and supplies come out? How was the road from Balaclava? What was the old 47th or 23rd, or whatever particular regiment the speaker belonged to, doing? And so on.
While all this was going on, Jack was talking to Linham.
‘Being prisoners don’t go with the motto of the regiment,’ Linham said presently.