In the afternoon a miserable fit of depression took us, but we pushed it behind us.  To the hospital for tea, taking with us a tin of cocoa and some condensed milk, which the people lacked.  Biscuits and treacle, the treacle looted from the railway, where an obliging guard had said that he could not give permission to take it, but that he could look the other way.  We heard the tale of Kragujevatz, of the camp and all the buildings filled to overflowing.  More aeroplane raids; and of the sudden order to evacuate.  All the wounded who could crawl were got from their beds and turned into the street by the authorities to go:  if they could not walk, to crawl.  A few Serb and Austrian doctors were left to guard and watch those too ill to go; with them some Swedish and Dutch sisters, and the Netherlands flag flying from the hospitals.  Dr. Churchin seemed to have been the good genius of the Missions, never flagging in his efforts for them.

We heard that a Colonel Milhaelovitch was the bread officer.  He lived somewhere in the back of the big yellow schoolhouse at the end of the street.  After tea we wandered drearily down to seek him, gained permission from a sentry, and clambered up some stone stairs.  Jan saw an acquaintance from the Nish ministry, asked him a question, and was ushered ... straight into the Ministry of War.  They seemed in a frightful stew about something, an air of disorder reigned everywhere, but somebody found time to look at the order.

“Nachanlik,” said he.

“We’ve been there already.”

“Well, go there again and say we sent you, and that they must give you bread.”

We were worn out by this.  Jo went off to the plank bed which the Stobarts had promised to her, while Jan and Blease to the tents, where Sir Ralph’s men were sheltering.

All the streets were edged with motionless bullock carts, in which men were sleeping, and even in the mud between their wheels were the dim forms of the weary soldiery.  The two splashed across the marsh and found the tents.

Rogerson and Willett were there; Willett was seedy.  Another Englishman named Hamilton, who had an umbrella which he had sworn to take back with him to England.  Also two Austro-Serb boys who had been acting as interpreters.

West and Mawson were not there.  Rogerson said that Sir Ralph had sent them with Mrs. M——­to see the road and conditions at Mitrovitza; nobody knew when they would be back.  We got two beds, but there were no mattresses on the springs.  Jan rolled up in his Serbian rug, but it was loosely woven, and not as warm as he had hoped.  Just not warm enough, one only dozed.  About eleven o’clock, Cutting came in with Owen, Watmough, Hilder, and Elmer.  They had come from Vrnjatchka Banja with Dr. Holmes.  Some one had told them that we had deserted them and had gone off to Rashka on our own; they were cheered to find us still there.  After that we lay awake discussing details.  None of them had realized the difficulties of the road and the probable lack of food, though the Red Cross men had brought with them a case of emergency rations.  Jan exposed his idea of the route; somebody said that there was some corned beef and rice in a Red Cross train on the siding.