—— Red Army Sniper ——122‘Well, show the colonel and me your documents – the hospital
certification. Have you got them with you?’
‘As it happens, Comrade Commissar, they didn’t give me
any. Why would I need them if I’m well again? But if they’re
really needed, they’ll send them on, I think? Their actual words
were: “Well, you’re well again, Nikolaev, you can go back to the
regiment.” So here I am.. .’
‘You’re taking us for a ride, mate! And you’re not quite well.
You’ve run away from hospital, without any documents – you
can’t fool me!’ said Agashin with a smile. ‘But as to your love for
the regiment, and dashing back here rather than into the rear,
thank you for that. Well, where are we going to put him, Comrade
Colonel?’
‘What do you mean, where? Where he’s supposed to be. What
we need is a live soldier, a healthy one!’ said Rodionov emphatically.
‘I order you straight to the medical section, to Polikarpov, to
recover. Three weeks of rest and treatment in the medical section,
and then we’ll see!’
‘But you yourself, where would you like to go? Political work or
military service?’
‘I’m a soldier, Comrade Commissar. I’ll go wherever you
command. But I have to target the Germans – I gave my word!
I made a promise to Comrade Zhdanov at the snipers’ rally.’
‘I know. I’ve heard. You gave your word to wipe out 300
Nazis. Keep your word. But we’ve given you a new title – Deputy
Regimental Political Adviser. So add a star to your sleeve and a
fourth triangle to your collartab.’
I was warmly welcomed in the medical section by my fellow
townsmen and friends. First of all, they fed me, and late at night,
when all the talking was done, we lay down to sleep on some semi
soft plank bunks which stretched along the whole wall of what had
formerly been the cellar of a school.
During the day the medical section was empty. Only the
doctors and sisters on duty remained. The lads were distributed
among the regiments. Each of them was doing good work of his