“Sir,” began Gordon, “I understand that an officer will be sent up toward Lake Baikal—Irkutsk—to look into the situation there.”
The colonel looked at Gordon wonderingly. It struck the chief that this new arrival was dipping into things rather hastily. There was enough to learn around Vladivostok for a stranger, thought the colonel.
“Yes, it has been mentioned,” said the colonel. “We need an observing officer up there. That country is controlled now by Zorogoff, the Ataman of the Cossacks, and we don’t know any too much about Zorogoff. What do you know about him?”
“Nothing, sir. But I would like to—see the country.”
“You ought to have a little more time to get acquainted with the situation here before you go into the interior. The Baikal region is a long way from here.”
“Yes, sir,” said Gordon. “I don’t want to appear too confident of my own abilities, but it strikes me, sir, that the back country explains what is going on here, rather than what you see here explains the country.”
The colonel smiled. “You like to travel, young man.”
“Yes, sir. Frankly, I’d like to see all I can.”
“Have you been assigned to any duty here yet?”
“No, sir. Perhaps when I got back from the Baikal region I’d be more valuable—have a better understanding of the situation as a whole.”