Wake up, look at your watch, it's four o'clock in the morning. I couldn't sleep anyway, so I simply got up and went outside to have a look.

As soon as he walked out of the command post, he alarmed Yemelyanov, who was sitting and sleeping outside the door. The old sergeant immediately stood up, saluted me, and asked in a low voice, "Comrade Major, where are you really going?" ”

"Go to the position and have a look." With that, I lifted my feet and left.

The days are long and the nights are short in the summer in Russia, it is only four o'clock, and the sky is already bright. Because it was still early, it was not yet time to get up, so except for a few sentries on duty in the trenches, the rest of the soldiers slept in the concealment or anti-artillery holes.

I found a spot where no one was around, put on my raincoat, and got down and looked out into the forest with my binoculars.

The positions we had captured last time were reoccupied by the Germans the next day. In order to prevent a possible further attack, they strengthened the fortifications, not only repaired the machine-gun fire points, but also pulled barbed wire in front of the trenches and laid out minefields. At this moment, the enemy's position is the same as ours, except for a few sentries standing guard, the trenches are also deserted, and there is no human figure in sight.

"Comrade Major, do you think the Germans will come to attack?" Yemelyanov lay next to me and asked in a low voice.

"Yes, Comrade Tuas." I put down my binoculars, turned my head and said to him: "The 131st Regiment on the other side of the lake has been completely wiped out, and the Germans have no worries, and they will definitely draw troops to attack us." I pointed to the wide lake with my hand and said, "They won't choose to come over the lake, because then our machine-gun fire will inflict great damage on them." I reckon they will choose to attack us from their positions on this side of the forest. In this way, the attacking infantry can not only be supported by artillery fire, but even tanks will cooperate with the attack. ”

"Do you think they're going to attack today?" Tuas asked, a little worried.

I shook my head, raised my binoculars again, and said uncertainly: "They didn't send sappers out to clear the mines in front of the position, so there shouldn't be any action today." ”

"Comrade Major, it's still early, go back and sleep for a while." The old man said with concern.

I looked at my watch, and it was half past five. This time flies so fast, lying here to observe the enemy's position, and before I know it, an hour and a half has passed.

I was about to stand up when I heard a voice talking, as if someone was walking towards us. Yemelyanov stood up straight, looked at it, looked down and said to me: "It's Ensign Miducci and the four boys. ”

I looked sideways and saw five or six people walking along the trenches, chatting as they went. In front of him was Ensign Miducci, who looked back and asked the people behind him as he went, "I say, where are you from?" ”

The round-faced fat man, a warrior named Igorevich, replied: "Petersburg." We are all from Petersburg. ”

With a smile on his face, Meducci said, "Me too." Where do you live? ”

Igorevich replied again: "Workers' and peasants' street." ”

The second lieutenant exclaimed in surprise: "What a coincidence, I also live on Gongnong Street. How many numbers do you have? ”

"Number 9, Comrade Commander."

"I'm on the 12th. Where did you read the book? ”

"No. 23 Middle School."

The second lieutenant stopped, faced Igorevich, punched him in the chest, and said excitedly: "Oh my God, what a coincidence, I used to study in the 23rd middle school. He put his hand on the fat man's shoulder, took him and asked as he walked, "Do you know the Ludao Boxing Association?" ”

The fat man nodded unusually cooperatively and said, "Well, Zhilu Dao, I have been practicing boxing there for five years. ”

"Really?" The second lieutenant's face was smiling when he met his neighbors here.

"Yes!" The fat man gave another affirmative answer.

The second lieutenant smiled again and asked, "Who is the current instructor?" ”

"Petrovich."

"Petrovich. Aha! The lieutenant repeated the name aloud, and then asked, "Listen, does he still sneak up to the city post office every morning to pick up a new newspaper?" ”

"I don't know anything about the newspaper," replied the fat man, shrugging his shoulders, "but he goes to the teachers' television hall every day to watch the news." ”

"TV?!" The ensign's face became serious, and he repeated the new word he had heard, and said with a frown, "What is television, this is the first time I've heard of it, quite a strange word." ”

"Greetings, Second Lieutenant Miducci!" Because the second lieutenant had already come to us, Sergeant Yemelyanov hastened to salute him.

The second lieutenant turned his head to Tuas and asked, "Comrade Tuas, do you know what television is?" ”

Confused by the question, Tuas turned to me and asked, "Comrade Major, have you ever heard of television?" ”

I stood up, feigned surprise, and said, "TV, this is the first time I've heard that word." Then he pretended to be enlightened, adding, "Maybe they call the school poster TV!" ”

The second lieutenant and the sergeant both sighed, and with the same expression on their faces, they laughed. As soon as the laughter stopped, the second lieutenant turned his head to the fat man again and asked, "Is the major right?" Comrade Private. ”

The fat man's face twitched violently, and then he nodded desperately: "Yes, Comrade Commander." In our school, posters are often referred to as television. ”

After saying that, I took Tuas and a few people to pass by and walked towards the company command post.

When I was about to enter the command post, I ordered Yemeryanov: "Comrade Tusser, I'll go sleep first." Wake me up three hours later, call the four young men over, I have something to ask them. Taking a step down the wooden steps, I paused and added, "By the way, I'll get Captain Diomi and Instructor Thorin again, I stayed in the command post last night, and I don't know where they were." ”

I said I slept for three hours, but I slept for less than an hour before I woke up again. Get up and walk to the door, and tell Yemelyanov to go and get Captain Diomi first.

The captain and the instructor soon came to the command post, and when they entered the room, they saluted me and asked respectfully: "Comrade Major, Captain Deomi and Instructor Thorin have been ordered to come and wait for you......"

"Alright, Comrade Captain and Instructor." I interrupted them and beckoned them to sit down, "I asked you to come here to learn something more from those four young men of unknown origin. ”

"Unknown origin?" Instructor Solin asked curiously, "Didn't you find the relevant documents that prove that all four of them are deserters from the 131st Regiment?" ”

"They are not deserters. But where it came from, it's still a mystery. I said in the affirmative: "I went to ask Master Yemeryanov to call them, just to get to the bottom of the problem. ”

"But what about those military cards?" Thorin asked.

I waved my hand and said, "Maybe it's a coincidence." When those four young men come, let's learn more about our future from them. ”

At this moment, Yemelyanov's voice came from the door: "Report to Comrade Major, the four young men have been brought here, can they go in?" ”

"Of course, Comrade Tuas." I shouted out the door, "Come in." I've been waiting for you for a long time. ”