Show adventurers CLUB HEADLINES FROM THE LIVES OF PEOPLE LIKE YOURSELF I 1 siberian melodrama EVERYBODY HELLO heres a yarn that sounds as if it might have happened out in the old wild west when two gun hombres combres fought it out sa in the streets and booted and spurred cowpunchers cow punchers cleaned out dance halls balls with well directed volleys from their six guns I 1 dont know whether those things ever happened out in the west vest all n I 1 know is what I 1 see in the movies this incident P im in going going t to tell you about sounds like eke the west but it happened way over in the eastern part of siberia and it happened to samuel C taylor of new york city you know we had troops in siberia for a couple of years after the world war sam taylor was one of them he was with a platoon of 60 men from company D thirty first united states infantry stationed at the little siberian town of the town itself was nothing but a railroad station and a few houses the soldiers were living in half a dozen box cars that bad been taken off their wheels and set on the ground beside the track but though the town was small it was affording plenty of excitement it was about the middle of january and fr far days the Wine americans ricans had been watching an army go through the town it a hostile army but at the same time it a friendly one either it was a bolshevik army moving to attack vladivostok not jar far away as distances go in siberia sam says there were thousands of them well equipped with machine suns guns and lugging enough field pieces to blow those 60 americans and their box cars to halifax but they could ift be bothered with the americans taking vladivostok was more important por tant sam acted as provost guard at the station on the afternoon of january 18 sam was acting provost guard at the railroad station it was a bitter cold day A cutting wind was sweeping past the station and private pat strong on sentry go was stamping up and down the platform two bolshevik troop trains h had a d I 1 ile he whipped the automatic up and let go just pulled in on a siding and bolshevik soldiers had crowded into the station where they could buy hot tea an and d vodka and as pat strong ru russian aslan said something to him in paced up and down the platform a big russian pat understand him he came to port arms while the russian stormed and gesticulated and finally grabbed pats gun pat he tried to pull the gun away but the russian was a powerful brute spun pat around and threw hirn him in a snow bank A couple more americans and came running up he threw them into the snow bank too made a mad dash for the station where sam came into the picture As provost guard he rated a sentry box down at the end of the platform ile he saw the fight just as the russian broke too loose se and started into the station W with ith the other three americans and he came out on the run at his back he started after him if the whole U S 1 into the station as says he I went bursting that station was full of Bol shies army was stepping on my heels of them had rifles some had lots of them singing and talking yelling time to look over have hand grenades tied to their belts but I 1 I 1 himself a 2 had found the grenade situation just then that I 1 big aig russian him but he must ha have ve rifle I 1 was five feet inside the door when I 1 spotted seen me first because he was raising gun who would shoot first it was a question and it was a question of whether automatic sam had a 45 taking time he or the russian con could id shoot first without even the big automa automatic tic up and let go that out to think he be whipped silence in was a dead instant there russian dropped for an and so sam the station those Itu huskies skies were sur surprised says the whole fire on was 1 for a second well I 1 almost opened ty bunch of them but I 1 c caught aught myself just in time roomful of it was a tough spot and sam knew it here was a whole if he started out their pals wild d russians and he had just shot one of shooting ng if that happened the door some of them would be sure to begin fighting a whole bened be disorder with 60 americans general to the point poat it would troop train full of bolsheviks and what was more tie be curtains for sam I 1 deci decided ded id bluff and 1 I had to head t he says use my waved my 0 ty pistol over them I 1 stood in the middle of the floor happened the then their to the door doo r and heads and pointed arm I 1 tight ni y swinging my thing that probably saved my life I 1 in it and in dropping ened my grip on the pistol to keep from BANG off she hard bard doing that I 1 squeezed the trigger too behind the bar and went ent again that bullet struck somewhere down came a lot of glassware t the russians sam says the falling glass created st terrible they turned and stam r aust have thought a she I 1 had burst in there through it like a kansas SK ceded for the door and ts sam say s they bolshevik went in the place tornado in ten seconds ds there gasn wasn t a say i sam abey and where were the other three fellows when they 7 heard those were outside turned I 1 into a rear guard out abey ran for shots inside and saw au all those huskies had bad PS piling eaten me alive and ana camp amp to tell the others the russians were coming to eat cat them too ito into he wet went when hen sam says he certainly did NOT feel like a hero ab about out it alit was only that t station he ju ast s t have time to think I 1 was ta in a swell pickle sate r got inside he that I 1 realized grenades ades those w ive r alten says f suppose I 1 hit one of the thought afterwards russians anshaw had tied to their belts boy y that WOULD have been an a venture adventure d copyright S |