Читать книгу The Rising of the Tide - Ida M. Tarbell - Страница 4

“God of Justice! Thou Who saved us

When in deepest bondage cast,

Hear Thy Serbian children’s voices,

Be our help as in the past.

With Thy mighty hand sustain us,

Still our rugged pathway trace;

God, our Hope! protect and cherish

Serbian crown and Serbian race!

“On our sepulcher of ages

Breaks the resurrection morn,

From the slough of direst slavery

Serbia anew is born.

Through five hundred years of durance

We have knelt before Thy face,

All our kin, O God! deliver!

Thus entreats the Serbian race. Amen.”

It was what he knew. Nikola, Yovan, Marta. They were going.

“God help the women,” he said to himself. Turning, he went around and to the street. It was the end of a shift, and the men who had come out had washed, eaten and now were smoking their pipes in groups at one or another door. The women were collected too. There was excitement in the air.

“Mr. Dick,” some one called to him. “Is it true, the war?”

“I am afraid so,” he said.

“And what are they jumping on poor little Serbia for, a big one like Austria? That’s your kings for you.”

It was one of his Irish friends speaking.

“But they’ll fight, them Serbians; they’re scrappers all right. Nikola is going in the morning. Marta too. It is good to live in a country where they don’t have wars.”

“Nikola’s foolish to go,” broke in some one. “I told his woman so, and she flared up and said, ‘He no go, I go! Serbian men fight—not ’fraid.’ I guess she’s right. I don’t see what she is going to do, five kids too.”

Dick walked on. One of the foremen dropped out of the group that sat on the porch.

“May I speak with you, Mr. Dick?” he said. “A man came to-night, Serbian. He was here when Nikola and Marta came up, and went home with them. Nikola was just here. He told me Serbia was going to war, and that he and Marta and Yovan were leaving in the morning. What’s the row? Is there a war?”

Dick told him all he knew. The foreman’s brief comment was, “Must be some country that will take a man like Nikola out of a job like his—family too.”

“It is,” said Dick.

Back at home he called up Ralph. “Better be sure that some one is at the 10:30 to-morrow morning, Sam. Nikola is leaving. Marta and Yovan too.”

“Leaving,” said Ralph. “Why, they’re the best men in the ‘Emma.’ You don’t mean they’re fools enough to rush out without knowing whether there’s going to be a war. It will be over before they get there. Stop ’em, Dick. It is nonsense.”

“There’ll be a war when they get there, all right, Ralph, and no man could hold Nikola now. Make a note of their going, won’t you?”

“Sure, if you want it.”

If you will examine the personal column of the Sabinsport Argus for July 29, 1914, you will find among other items, this:

“Nikola Petrovitch, Yovan Markovitch, and Marta Popovitch, all of the ‘Emma’ mine, left at 10:30 this morning for New York. They expect to sail at once for Serbia, where they will join the army which has been called into the field by Austria’s declaration of war. Hope to see you back soon, boys.”

And thus it was that the Great War first came to Sabinsport.