ABSTRACT
The Sabárovs stole out of their house at dusk. They had kept their ultimate destination a secret for fear the servants might betray them. Neither the German governess nor I knew where they had gone. Later I went to a flat that had been placed under the protection of the consular seal and a notice stating that British subjects only were lodged there. We were obliged to walk, as all the cabmen had disappeared. It was dark. The cannon never ceased, and rifle shots seemed to be cracking all around us. We turned into the main street, the Sadóvaya, where the firing was louder. The machine-guns were unpleasantly near, but in spite of all this a queue of people stood before a brightly illuminated building, and I realized that the hour for the opening of the cinemas was at hand and the youth of Rostóv was waiting to be amused…
For a while the snow blew in fierce blizzards. We stood watching it until supper was announced and the closed shutters hid the desolation outside… At eleven some inspiration drew us to the window. Suddenly a tank trundled down the Sadóvaya towards the station… Ten minutes later an armoured car appeared from the opposite direction. This heralded the retreat of the Volunteer Army. They came, these poor worn-out officers and soldiers, trudging wearily along the snow-covered road. They were too far off for us to see their faces, but their feet dragged, and some of them fell out of line to lean against the wall and rest for a few minutes. Many of them were suffering from minor wounds, for their arms were in slings and their heads roughly bandaged. Their overcoats were torn, and some, who had lost their fur caps, had tied puttees round their ears to prevent frostbite. Not a sound could be heard except the distant roar of the cannon, which showed that a few Junkers had remained behind to prevent the retreating army from being followed. Stretchers were few and far between, but sometimes a muffled burden was carried past, and occasionally a cart containing four or five recumbent figures glided over the snow. Before the stragglers arrived we counted about five hundred men. Were there only five hundred against that big army of Red Guards? (Power, 1919:171-5).
