“I wish Boris knew that his father was safe,” said Fred, a little sadly.  “He has been worried, although he has said nothing.”

“Eh—­he might have known it!  Yes, he got back safely enough.  As to whether he is safe now, that is another matter.  He is in the thick of the fighting around Gumbinnen, and he is not one of those generals who stay in the rear.  He is like Skobeleff.  Have you heard of him?”

“He commanded at Plevna, against the Turks?”

“And in a good many other battles!  Skobeleff, though he was in command of the whole army, would insist always on being in the thick of the fighting himself.  He wore his white coat, and he rode a white horse.  So he was always to be seen by his own men and by the enemy.  Perhaps he was wrong, but soldiers will fight better for a general who shares their perils.  Skobeleff used to do impossible things, because he believed that nothing was impossible that brave men made up their minds to do.”

Fred thought of Russian generals in the war with Japan who might have changed the whole course of that conflict had they had such ideas.  But he said nothing of this.  Russian soldiers were mindful of that disastrous war, he thought.  And Fred had an idea that before this far greater struggle was over, the world would have been forced to forget the failures of Manchuria.  Men who fought as he had seen Russians do were not going to be beaten again.

Fred was mounted now on a big, rawboned horse that had lost its Uhlan rider.  He was so tired that he was swaying in his saddle, and the Russian noticed this.

“Keep awake a little longer,” he said, cheerily.  “We haven’t very much further to go.  In half an hour, I think, you can be in a real bed, with sheets and blankets.”

“I don’t need anything like that,” said Fred, rousing himself and smiling.  “I think I could sleep on a board that was studded with nails!  And I know that they could fight a battle all around me to-night without waking me up when I once get to sleep.”

“I’d like to let you stop here—­we are within our lines now—­but I know the staff will want to see you and ask a few questions.  And you have done so much already for Russia that I believe you will want to do that much more before you rest.”

“Oh, a few minutes more or less won’t make any difference!” said Fred. He yawned hugely.  “As long as I’m awake, I can make myself stay awake.  If I once let go, though, I promise you I’ll be hard to rouse!”

There were more Russians about here than Fred had supposed.  It was plain that since Ivan had had any information as to the conditions here, re-enforcements had been brought up, for it was not through outposts that they were riding, but through a large body of troops.  Tents stretched in all directions and fires were numerous, dotting the fields like stars.  There were no woods here; it was open country again.  To the left Fred caught a glimpse of the silver sheen of a river reflecting the starlight.