Rising he stood for a moment, and then
walked out on the radiator, put his hands on his hips and looked
around smiling, a squat, short-legged figure, bare-headed, with-out
insignia on his uniform.
The _claque_ near me kept up a fearful shouting, "Khanjunov! We want
Khanjunov! Down with him! Shut up! Down with the traitor!" The whole
place seethed and roared. Then it began to move, like an avalanche
bearing down upon us, great black-browed men forcing their way
through.
"Who is breaking up our meeting?" they shouted. "Who is whistling
here?" The _claque,_ rudely burst asunder, went flying-nor did it
gather again....
"Comrade soliders!" began Krylenko, in a voice husky with fatigue.
"I cannot speak well to you; I am sorry; but I have not had any
sleep for four nights....
"I don't need to tell you that I am a soldier. I don't need to tell
you that I want peace. What I must say is that the Bolshevik party,
successful in the Workers' and Soldiers' Revolution, by the help of
you and of all the rest of the brave comrades who have of you and of
all the rest of the brave comrades who have hurled down forever the
power of the blood-thirsty bourgeoisie, promised to offer peace to
all the peoples, and that has already been done-to-day!" Tumultuous
applause.
"You are asked to remain neutral--to remain neutral while the
_yunkers_ and the Death Battalions, who are _never_ neutral, shoot
us down in the streets and bring back to Petrograd Kerensky-or
perhaps some other of the gang.
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