..
_Dien_ contained fragmentary news of the agitated night. Bolsheviki
capture of the Telephone Exchange, the Baltic station, the Telegraph
Agency; the Peterhof _yunkers_ unable to reach Petrograd; the
Cossacks undecided; arrest of some of the Ministers; shooting of
Chief of the City Militia Meyer; arrests, counter-arrests,
skirmishes between clashing patrols of soldiers, _yunkers_ and Red
Guards. (See App. IV, Sect. 1)
On the corner of the Morskaya I ran into Captain Gomberg, Menshevik
_oboronetz,_ secretary of the Military Section of his party. When I
asked him if the insurrection had really happened he shrugged his
shoulders in a tired manner and replied, "_Tchort znayet!_ The devil
knows! Well, perhaps the Bolsheviki can seize the power, but they
won't be able to hold it more than three days. They haven't the men
to run a government. Perhaps it's a good thing to let them try-that
will furnish them...."
The Military Hotel at the corner of St. Isaac's Square was picketed
by armed sailors. In the lobby were many of the smart young
officers, walking up and down or muttering together; the sailors
wouldn't let them leave....
Suddenly came the sharp crack of a rifle outside, followed by a
scattered burst of firing. I ran out. Something unusual was going on
around the Marinsky Palace, where the Council of the Russian
Republic met. Diagonally across the wide square was drawn a line of
soldiers, rifles ready, staring at the hotel roof.
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