Probably, all of you have witnessed a moment when news from a single source became known to a whole city. This happened that time as well. An out-of-nowhere older small woman, after a mass at a secondary school for boys, she ordered a requiem service and secretly said something to the priest. He anxiously replied that he only could pray for the repose of the dead Lavr, nothing more. Hard to say if anyone heard more or just guessed, but the whole city was abuzz that General Kornilov was killed1. After that moment, everyone believed in the existence of the Volunteer Army2. I have heard about it before but never thought it was real.
Once, in search of solitude, I was sitting at the pierhead and didn’t even notice when an elderly woman sat nearby. I was astonished that she started talking about the Volunteer Army almost right away. She came from the northwest, where there were German [occupation] forces there3, and it appeared from her speech that they were quite benevolent towards the Volunteer Army. Pretty soon, she mentioned that she’s a doctor and offered to join her because they pay well. I maintained silence, afraid to open up to a stooge. Patronage of the Volunteer army by the Germans seemed to be impossible and strange.
Soon the existence of the Volunteer Army was backed by some evidence.
An engineer in years arrived in the city and told about the Volunteer Army. It is active in the North Caucasus and is in dire need of literally everything. Especially in meds: even amputations are done without any anesthesia. I went to the head physician of the city hospital, but he gave me the cold shoulder and didn’t give me anything. At he hasn’t turned me up.
Since that moment, I have kept thinking about the Volunteer army. But I had no clue how to join them. Of course, I’ve made some careful inquiries but didn’t succeed in finding any options.
Out of the blue comes this stranger, a short, dark-haired man. He introduced himself as the son of our neighbor, a medical examiner. He invited me to join a detachment that was being formed. He had to be the chief medic there. And I had to have an interview with some general to be confirmed.
However, I was met by the general’s wife. A heavy older woman of that “old-battle-axe” type. She told me about everything with the exception of the salary. I don’t remember any moment when I received any compensation afterward. But at least there was board and partial coverage for the work outfits. At the end of our discussion, the general came over. Tall, handsome, and not yet old. I was absolutely astonished by his English mustache that could be seen from behind of his ears. This mustache demanded a lot of time for daily care. So, I decided he was a fool, and his only use was to sign the documents.