“No, indeed,” Jack replied.  “The countess has taken care of that.”

“Look here,” the sergeant said.  “I will give you a note to my brother, who is a horse-dealer at Warsaw.  It may be useful to you.  He knows every one, and if, as they say, there is trouble in Poland, he is sure to be in the thick of it, and at any rate he will be able to give you advice which may be useful, and addresses of safe people in different towns to whom you can go.  Landlord, give me some paper and pen and ink.  My comrades here know friends of mine at home, and will carry a letter for me.”

“Please be careful,” Dick said, as the soldier began to write.  “It is possible we may be searched on the way; so do not say anything that a Russian official might not read.”

“Trust me,” the sergeant answered, laughing.  “We Poles have been learning to conceal our feelings for generations.  Trust me to write a letter which my brother will understand at once, but which will seem the most innocent thing in the world to any Russian official who may read it.”

In a few minutes the letter was finished, and the three left the place together, the sergeant telling his comrades that he would return shortly for them.  He then accompanied the midshipmen, and did their shopping for them, and, bidding him a hearty adieu, they were soon on their way out of Odessa, Jack swinging along upon his crutches at a fair pace.  Once fairly away from the town, he took his foot from the strap, shouldered his crutches and again they trudged along upon their journey.

They found their walking powers improve day by day as they went on, and were soon able to make thirty-five miles a day without inconvenience.  Travelling in this way, without any interruption or incident save an occasional demand for a view of their passport by some Russian official, they journeyed across the south of Russia, and ten days after leaving Odessa they entered Poland.

Here they foresaw that their difficulties would be far greater than before, and that their characters as Polish soldiers on their way home could no longer be sustained.  They took, therefore, the first opportunity of purchasing two suits similar to those worn by Polish peasants, and, entering a wood, dressed themselves in their new attire, and, rolling their dirt-stained uniforms into a bundle, thrust them into a clump of underwood.  Into this Jack also joyfully tossed his crutches and strap.  Dick had long been able to dispense with his sling, but the wound on his face was scarcely healed, and was still angry-looking and irritable.

They now trudged steadily along, avoiding all conversation as much as possible, and making their purchases only in a quiet villages.  They met many bodies of troops moving about the roads, and although they could understand nothing of the language, and were wholly ignorant of what was going on, they judged from the manner in which these troops marched, by the advance guard thrown out in front, the strong detachments which accompanied the baggage, and the general air of vigilance which marked them, that the country was in a troubled state.