“You just said that the Allies were our friends. Suppose we asked them to send us arms and food and help us to reorganize the front, would you be willing to fight the Germans again?” I inquired.
“Yes,” answered some, “we would.”
“No,” replied others; “what if the Allies got into Russia and wanted to take advantage of us, like the Germans?”
“Well, you must elect your own leader to co-operate with the Allies only on condition that we fight till we defeat the enemy and finish the war,” I proposed.
“But whom could we choose as our leader?” the men persisted. “All our chiefs are divided. Some are reputed to be monarchists. Others are said to be exploiters of the poor working people. Others are declared to be German agents. Where could we find a man who did not belong to one or other of these parties?”
“What if I, for instance, took charge, and became your leader?” I ventured to ask. “Would you follow me?”
“Yes, yes!” they cried. “We could trust you. You are a peasant yourself. But what could you do?”
“What could I do? You know that these scoundrels are destroying Russia. The Germans are seizing everything they can lay hold on. I would try to restore the front!”
“But how?” they asked.
At this moment, the idea of going to America originated in my mind. We had all heard that America was now one of the Allies.