•After two days
‘tramping’ along the track, according to an American article for Hearst by Gareth in
1935, his trek came to an abrupt end:
•“It happened in a
small station, where I was talking with a group of peasants: “We are dying,” they
wailed and poured out the old story of their woes. A red-faced, well-fed
OGPU policeman in uniform approached us and stood listening for a
few moments.
•Then came the
outburst, and from his lips poured a series of Russian curses. “Clear away, you! Stop telling him about
hunger! Can’t
you see he’s a foreigner?”
•He turned to me and
roared: “Come along. What are you doing here? Show me your documents.”
•Visions of a secret
police prison darted before my mind. The OGPU man looked at my passport and
beckoned to one of the crowd, whom I had taken to be an ordinary
passenger, but who was obviously in the secret police.