CHAPTER XXVIII

　　We arrived at Uliassutai on the day of the return of the detachmentwhich had gone out to disarm¹ the convoy² of Wang Tsao-tsun. Thisdetachment had met Colonel Domojiroff, who ordered them not only todisarm but to pillage³ the convoy and, unfortunately, LieutenantStrigine executed this illegal and unwarranted command. It wascompromising and ignominious⁴ to see Russian officers and soldierswearing the Chinese overcoats, boots and wrist watches which hadbeen taken from the Chinese officials and the convoy. Everyone hadChinese silver and gold also from the loot. The Mongol wife ofWang Tsao-tsun and her brother returned with the detachment andentered a complaint of having been robbed by the Russians. TheChinese officials and their convoy, deprived of their supplies,reached the Chinese border only after great distress⁵ from hungerand cold. We foreigners were astounded⁶ that Lt.-Colonel Michailoffreceived Strigine with military honors but we caught theexplanation of it later when we learned that Michailoff had beengiven some of the Chinese silver and his wife the handsomelydecorated saddle of Fu Hsiang. Chultun Beyli demanded that all theweapons taken from the Chinese and all the stolen property beturned over to him, as it must later be returned to the Chineseauthorities; but Michailoff refused. Afterwards we foreigners cutoff all contact with the Russian detachment. The relations betweenthe Russians and Mongols became very strained. Several of theRussian officers protested against the acts of Michailoff andStrigine and controversies⁷ became more and more serious.

At this time, one morning in April, an extraordinary group of armedhorsemen arrived at Uliassutai. They stayed at the house of theBolshevik Bourdukoff, who gave them, so we were told, a greatquantity of silver. This group explained that they were formerofficers in the Imperial Guard. They were Colonels Poletika, N. N.

Philipoff and three of the latter's brothers. They announced thatthey wanted to collect all the White officers and soldiers then inMongolia and China and lead them to Urianhai to fight theBolsheviki; but that first they wanted to wipe out Ungern andreturn Mongolia to China. They called themselves therepresentatives of the Central Organization of the Whites inRussia.

The society of Russian officers in Uliassutai invited them to ameeting, examined their documents and interrogated⁸ them.

Investigation⁹ proved that all the statements of these officersabout their former connections were entirely¹⁰ wrong, that Poletikaoccupied an important position in the war commissariat of theBolsheviki, that one of the Philipoff brothers was the assistant ofKameneff in his first attempt to reach England, that the CentralWhite Organization in Russia did not exist, that the proposedfighting in Urianhai was but a trap for the White officers and thatthis group was in close relations with the Bolshevik Bourdukoff.

A discussion at once sprang up among the officers as to what theyshould do with this group, which split the detachment into twodistinct parties. Lt.-Colonel Michailoff with several officersjoined themselves to Poletika's group just as Colonel Domojiroffarrived with his detachment. He began to get in touch with bothfactions and to feel out the politics of the situation, finallyappointing Poletika to the post of Commandant of Uliassutai andsending to Baron¹¹ Ungern a full report of the events in the town.

In this document he devoted¹² much space to me, accusing me ofstanding in the way of the execution of his orders. His officerswatched me continuously. From different quarters I receivedwarnings to take great care. This band and its leader openlydemanded to know what right this foreigner had to interfere¹³ in theaffairs of Mongolia, one of Domojiroff's officers directly givingme the challenge in a meeting in the attempt to provoke acontroversy. I quietly answered him:

"And on what basis do the Russian refugees interfere, they who haverights neither at home nor abroad?"The officer made no verbal reply but in his eyes burned a definiteanswer. My huge friend who sat beside me noticed this, strode overtoward him and, towering over him, stretched his arms and hands asthough just waking from sleep and remarked: "I'm looking for alittle boxing exercise."On one occasion Domojiroff's men would have succeeded in taking meif I had not been saved by the watchfulness¹⁴ of our foreign group.

I had gone to the fortress¹⁵ to negotiate with the Mongol Sait forthe departure of the foreigners from Uliassutai. Chultun Beylidetained me for a long time, so that I was forced to return aboutnine in the evening. My horse was walking. Half a mile from thetown three men sprang up out of the ditch and ran at me. I whippedup my horse but noticed several more men coming out of the otherditch as though to head me off. They, however, made for the othergroup and captured them and I heard the voice of a foreignercalling me back. There I found three of Domojiroff's officerssurrounded by the Polish soldiers and other foreigners under theleadership of my old trusted agronome, who was occupied with tyingthe hands of the officers behind their backs so strongly that thebones cracked. Ending his work and still smoking his perpetualpipe, he announced in a serious and important manner: "I think itbest to throw them into the river."Laughing at his seriousness and the fear of Domojiroff's officers,I asked them why they had started to attack me. They dropped theireyes and were silent. It was an eloquent¹⁶ silence and we perfectlyunderstood what they had proposed to do. They had revolvers hiddenin their pockets.

"Fine!" I said. "All is perfectly¹⁷ clear. I shall release you butyou must report to your sender that he will not welcome you backthe next time. Your weapons I shall hand to the Commandant ofUliassutai."My friend, using his former terrifying care, began to untie¹⁸ them,repeating over and over: "And I would have fed you to the fishesin the river!" Then we all returned to the town, leaving them togo their way.

Domojiroff continued to send envoys¹⁹ to Baron Ungern at Urga withrequests for plenary powers and money and with reports aboutMichailoff, Chultun Beyli, Poletika, Philipoff and myself. WithAsiatic cunning he was then maintaining good relations with allthose for whom he was preparing death at the hands of the severewarrior, Baron Ungern, who was receiving only one-sided reportsabout all the happenings in Uliassutai. Our whole colony wasgreatly agitated²⁰. The officers split into different parties; thesoldiers collected in groups and discussed the events of the day,criticising their chiefs, and under the influence of some ofDomojiroff's men began making such statements as:

"We have now seven Colonels, who all want to be in command and areall quarreling among themselves. They all ought to be pegged²¹ downand given good sound thrashings. The one who could take thegreatest number of blows ought to be chosen as our chief."It was an ominous²² joke that proved the demoralization of theRussian detachment.

"It seems," my friend frequently observed, "that we shall soon havethe pleasure of seeing a Council of Soldiers here in Uliassutai.

God and the Devil! One thing here is very unfortunate--there areno forests near into which good Christian²³ men may dive and get awayfrom all these cursed Soviets²⁵. It's bare, frightfully bare, thiswretched Mongolia, with no place for us to hide."Really this possibility of the Soviet²⁴ was approaching. On oneoccasion the soldiers captured the arsenal²⁶ containing the weaponssurrendered by the Chinese and carried them off to their barracks.

Drunkenness, gambling²⁷ and fighting increased. We foreigners,carefully watching events and in fear of a catastrophe²⁸, finallydecided to leave Uliassutai, that caldron of passions,controversies and denunciations. We heard that the group ofPoletika was also preparing to get out a few days later. Weforeigners separated into two parties, one traveling by the oldcaravan route across the Gobi considerably²⁹ to the south of Urga toKuku-Hoto or Kweihuacheng and Kalgan, and mine, consisting of myfriend, two Polish soldiers and myself, heading for Urga via ZainShabi, where Colonel Kazagrandi had asked me in a recent letter tomeet him. Thus we left the Uliassutai where we had lived throughso many exciting events.

On the sixth day after our departure there arrived in the town theMongol-Buriat detachment under the command of the Buriat Vandaloffand the Russian Captain Bezrodnoff. Afterwards I met them in ZainShabi. It was a detachment sent out from Urga by Baron Ungern torestore order in Uliassutai and to march on to Kobdo. On the wayfrom Zain Shabi Bezrodnoff came across the group of Poletika andMichailoff. He instituted a search which disclosed suspiciousdocuments in their baggage and in that of Michailoff and his wifethe silver and other possessions taken from the Chinese. From thisgroup of sixteen he sent N. N. Philipoff to Baron Ungern, releasedthree others and shot the remaining twelve. Thus ended in ZainShabi the life of one party of Uliassutai refugees and theactivities of the group of Poletika. In Uliassutai Bezrodnoff shotChultun Beyli for the violation³⁰ of the treaty with the Chinese, andalso some Bolshevist Russian colonists³¹; arrested Domojiroff andsent him to Urga; and . . . restored order. The predictions aboutChultun Beyli were fulfilled.

I knew of Domojiroff's reports regarding myself but I decided,nevertheless, to proceed to Urga and not to swing round it, asPoletika had started to do when he was accidentally captured byBezrodnoff. I was accustomed now to looking into the eyes ofdanger and I set out to meet the terrible "bloody³² Baron." No onecan decide his own fate. I did not think myself in the wrong andthe feeling of fear had long since ceased to occupy a place in mymenage. On the way a Mongol rider who overhauled³³ us brought thenews of the death of our acquaintances at Zain Shabi. He spent thenight with me in the yurta at the ourton and related to me thefollowing legend of death.

"It was a long time ago when the Mongolians ruled over China. ThePrince of Uliassutai, Beltis Van, was mad. He executed any one hewished without trial and no one dared to pass through his town.

All the other Princes and rich Mongols surrounded Uliassutai, whereBeltis raged, cut off communication on every road and allowed noneto pass in or out. Famine developed in the town. They consumedall the oxen, sheep and horses and finally Beltis Van determined³⁴ tomake a dash with his soldiers through to the west to the land ofone of his tribes, the Olets. He and his men all perished in thefight. The Princes, following the advice of the Hutuktu Buyantu,buried the dead on the slopes of the mountains surroundingUliassutai. They buried them with incantations and exorcisings inorder that Death by Violence might be kept from a furthervisitation to their land. The tombs were covered with heavy stonesand the Hutuktu predicted that the bad demon³⁵ of Death by Violencewould only leave the earth when the blood of a man should hespilled upon the covering stone. Such a legend lived among us.

Now it is fulfilled. The Russians shot there three Bolsheviki andthe Chinese two Mongols. The evil spirit of Beltis Van broke loosefrom beneath the heavy stone and now mows³⁶ down the people with hisscythe. The noble Chultun Beyli has perished; the Russian NoyonMichailoff also has fallen; and death has flowed out fromUliassutai all over our boundless³⁷ plains. Who shall be able tostem it now? Who shall tie the ferocious³⁸ hands? An evil time hasfallen upon the Gods and the Good Spirits. The Evil Demons³⁹ havemade war upon the Good Spirits. What can man now do? Only perish,only perish. . . ."

1 disarm   

v.解除武装，回复平常的编制，缓和

参考例句：

• The world has waited 12 years for Iraq to disarm. 全世界等待伊拉克解除武装已有12年之久。
• He has rejected every peaceful opportunity offered to him to disarm.他已经拒绝了所有能和平缴械的机会。

2 convoy   

vt.护送，护卫，护航；n.护送；护送队

参考例句：

• The convoy was snowed up on the main road.护送队被大雪困在干路上了。
• Warships will accompany the convoy across the Atlantic.战舰将护送该船队过大西洋。

3 pillage   

v.抢劫；掠夺；n.抢劫，掠夺；掠夺物

参考例句：

• The invading troops were guilty of rape and pillage.侵略军犯了抢劫和强奸的罪。
• It was almost pillage.这简直是一场洗劫。

4 ignominious   

adj.可鄙的，不光彩的，耻辱的

参考例句：

• The marriage was considered especially ignominious since she was of royal descent.由于她出身王族，这门婚事被认为是奇耻大辱。
• Many thought that he was doomed to ignominious failure.许多人认为他注定会极不光彩地失败。

5 distress   

n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛

参考例句：

• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。
• Please don't distress yourself.请你不要忧愁了。

6 astounded   

v.使震惊(astound的过去式和过去分词)；愕然；愕；惊讶

参考例句：

• His arrogance astounded her. 他的傲慢使她震惊。
• How can you say that? I'm absolutely astounded. 你怎么能说出那种话？我感到大为震惊。

7 controversies   

争论

参考例句：

• We offer no comment on these controversies here. 对于这些争议，我们在这里不作任何评论。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史
• The controversies surrounding population growth are unlikely to subside soon. 围绕着人口增长问题的争论看来不会很快平息。 来自辞典例句

8 interrogated   

v.询问( interrogate的过去式和过去分词 )；审问；（在计算机或其他机器上）查询

参考例句：

• He was interrogated by the police for over 12 hours. 他被警察审问了12个多小时。
• Two suspects are now being interrogated in connection with the killing. 与杀人案有关的两名嫌疑犯正在接受审讯。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

10 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

11 baron   

n.男爵；(商业界等)巨头，大王

参考例句：

• Henry Ford was an automobile baron.亨利·福特是一位汽车业巨头。
• The baron lived in a strong castle.男爵住在一座坚固的城堡中。

12 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

13 interfere   

v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰

参考例句：

• If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。
• When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。

14 watchfulness   

警惕，留心； 警觉（性）

参考例句：

• The escort and the universal watchfulness had completely isolated him. 护送和普遍一致的监视曾经使他完全孤立。
• A due watchfulness on the movements of the enemy was maintained. 他们对敌人的行动还是相当警惕的。

15 fortress   

n.堡垒，防御工事

参考例句：

• They made an attempt on a fortress.他们试图夺取这一要塞。
• The soldier scaled the wall of the fortress by turret.士兵通过塔车攀登上了要塞的城墙。

16 eloquent   

adj.雄辩的，口才流利的；明白显示出的

参考例句：

• He was so eloquent that he cut down the finest orator.他能言善辩，胜过最好的演说家。
• These ruins are an eloquent reminder of the horrors of war.这些废墟形象地提醒人们不要忘记战争的恐怖。

17 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

18 untie   

vt.解开，松开；解放

参考例句：

• It's just impossible to untie the knot.It's too tight.这个结根本解不开。太紧了。
• Will you please untie the knot for me?请你替我解开这个结头，好吗？

19 envoys   

使节( envoy的名词复数 )； 公使； 谈判代表； 使节身份

参考例句：

• the routine tit for tat when countries expel each other's envoys 国家相互驱逐对方使节这种惯常的报复行动
• Marco Polo's travelogue mentions that Kublai Khan sent envoys to Malgache. 马可波罗游记中提到忽必烈曾派使节到马尔加什。

20 agitated   

adj.被鼓动的，不安的

参考例句：

• His answers were all mixed up,so agitated was he.他是那样心神不定，回答全乱了。
• She was agitated because her train was an hour late.她乘坐的火车晚点一个小时，她十分焦虑。

21 pegged   

v.用夹子或钉子固定( peg的过去式和过去分词 )；使固定在某水平

参考例句：

• They pegged their tent down. 他们钉好了账篷。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She pegged down the stairs. 她急忙下楼。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

22 ominous   

adj.不祥的，不吉的，预兆的，预示的

参考例句：

• Those black clouds look ominous for our picnic.那些乌云对我们的野餐来说是个不祥之兆。
• There was an ominous silence at the other end of the phone.电话那头出现了不祥的沉默。

23 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

24 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

25 soviets   

苏维埃（Soviet的复数形式）

参考例句：

• A public challenge could provoke the Soviets to dig in. 公开挑战会促使苏联人一意孤行。
• The Soviets proposed the withdrawal of American ballistic-missile submarines from forward bases. 苏联人建议把美国的弹道导弹潜艇从前沿基地撤走。

26 arsenal   

n.兵工厂，军械库

参考例句：

• Even the workers at the arsenal have got a secret organization.兵工厂工人暗中也有组织。
• We must be the great arsenal of democracy.我们必须成为民主的大军火库。

27 gambling   

n.赌博；投机

参考例句：

• They have won a lot of money through gambling.他们赌博赢了很多钱。
• The men have been gambling away all night.那些人赌了整整一夜。

28 catastrophe   

n.大灾难，大祸

参考例句：

• I owe it to you that I survived the catastrophe.亏得你我才大难不死。
• This is a catastrophe beyond human control.这是一场人类无法控制的灾难。

29 considerably   

adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上

参考例句：

• The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。
• The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。

30 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

31 colonists   

n.殖民地开拓者，移民，殖民地居民( colonist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Colonists from Europe populated many parts of the Americas. 欧洲的殖民者移居到了美洲的许多地方。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Some of the early colonists were cruel to the native population. 有些早期移居殖民地的人对当地居民很残忍。 来自《简明英汉词典》

32 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

33 overhauled   

v.彻底检查( overhaul的过去式和过去分词 )；大修；赶上；超越

参考例句：

• Within a year the party had drastically overhauled its structure. 一年内这个政党已大刀阔斧地整顿了结构。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A mechanic overhauled the car's motor with some new parts. 一个修理工对那辆汽车的发动机进行了彻底的检修，换了一些新部件。 来自《简明英汉词典》

34 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

35 demon   

n.魔鬼，恶魔

参考例句：

• The demon of greed ruined the miser's happiness.贪得无厌的恶习毁掉了那个守财奴的幸福。
• He has been possessed by the demon of disease for years.他多年来病魔缠身。

36 mows   

v.刈，割( mow的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• I saw him make mops and mows at Mary. 我看见他冲着玛丽做鬼脸。 来自互联网
• My mother mows the grass on the street once a week. （我妈妈每星期都在街上修一次草坪。） 来自互联网

37 boundless   

adj.无限的；无边无际的；巨大的

参考例句：

• The boundless woods were sleeping in the deep repose of nature.无边无际的森林在大自然静寂的怀抱中酣睡着。
• His gratitude and devotion to the Party was boundless.他对党无限感激、无限忠诚。

38 ferocious   

adj.凶猛的，残暴的，极度的，十分强烈的

参考例句：

• The ferocious winds seemed about to tear the ship to pieces.狂风仿佛要把船撕成碎片似的。
• The ferocious panther is chasing a rabbit.那只凶猛的豹子正追赶一只兔子。

39 demons   

n.恶人( demon的名词复数 )；恶魔；精力过人的人；邪念

参考例句：

• demons torturing the sinners in Hell 地狱里折磨罪人的魔鬼
• He is plagued by demons which go back to his traumatic childhood. 他为心魔所困扰，那可追溯至他饱受创伤的童年。 来自《简明英汉词典》