Anyútka. Grandfather, you told me they found her, didn't you?
Mítrich. Yes, they did.
Anyútka. Where did they find her? Tell me.
Mítrich. They found her in their house. The soldiers came to the village and began to rummage through the houses. In one of them that girl was lying on her stomach. They wanted to strike her. It made me feel bad, and so I picked her up, but she kept kicking. She made herself heavy, as though she weighed two hundred pounds, and she kept scratching anything she got into her hands, so that it was hard to get away from her. And so I picked her up and patted her on her head. She was as rough as a hedgehog. I patted her and patted her until she quieted down. I soaked a piece of hardtack and gave it to her. She understood what I wanted. She ate it. What was I to do with her? We took her along. We fed her, and she got used to us. We took her along on our expedition, and she went with us. She was a nice girl.
Anyútka. Wasn't she baptized?
Mítrich. I don't know. They said she was not completely baptized, because her people were not like ours.
Anyútka. Was she a German?
Mítrich. German! No. She was not a German, but an Asiatic. They are all like Jews, but not exactly Jews. They were Poles, but Asiatics. Krudles,—Krugles is their name,—well, I have forgotten which it is. We called the girl Sásha. Sásha was a pretty child. I have forgotten everything else, but I see the girl right before me, pea-pie choke her! This is all I remember from my whole soldier's life. I only remember how they used to flog me, and the girl. She used to hold on to my neck, and I carried her. You could not find a finer child. Later we gave her up. The captain's wife took her for a daughter. And she turned out a fine woman. The soldiers were so sorry to part with her!
