But we shared it out, fair for all.
"Soon they put about three hundred of the strongest of us on draining a marsh, then off we went to the Ruhr to work in the mines.
And there I stayed until 'forty-four.
By that time our lads had knocked some of the stuffing out of Germany and the fascists had stopped looking down on us, prisoners.
One day they lined us up, the whole day-shift, and some visiting Oberleutnant said through an interpreter,
'Anyone who s·erved in the army or worked before the war as a driver-one pace forward.'
About seven of us who'd been drivers before stepped out.
They gave us some old overalls and took us under guard to Potsdam.
When we got there, we were split up.
I was detailed to work in Todt. That was what the Germans called the set-up they had for building roads and defence works.
"I drove a German major of the engineers about in an Opel-Admiral.
That was a fascist hog for you if you like!
Short fellow with a pot-belly, as broad as he- was tall, and a backside on him as big as any wench's.
He had three chins hanging down over his collar in front, and three whopping folds round his neck at the back.
Must have carried a good hundredweight of pure fat on him, I should think.
When he walked, he puffed like a steam-engine, and when he sat down to eat-hold tight!
He'd go on all day, chewing and taking swigs from his flask of brandy.
Now and then I came in for a bit too. He'd stop on the road, cut up some sausage and cheese, and have a drink; and when he was in a good mood he'd toss me a scrap like a dog.
Never handed it to me. Oh, no he considered that beneath him.
But, be that as it may, there was no comparing it to the camp, and little by little I began to look like a man again.
I even began to put on weight. ·"For about two weeks I drove the major to and fro between Potsdam and Berlin, then he was sent to the front-line area to build defences against our troops.
And then I just forgot how to sleep at night. All night long I'd be thinking how to escape to my own side, my own country.
"We drove to the town of Polotsk.
At dawn, for the first time in two years I heard the boom of our artillery, and you can guess how my heart thumped at the sound.
Why, mate, even when I first started courting Irina, it never beat like that!
The fighting was going on east of Polotsk, about eighteen kilometres away.
The Germans in the town were sore as hell, and jumpy, and my old pot-belly started drinking more and more.
During the daytime we would drive round and he'd give instructions on how to build the fortifications, and ;1t night he'd sit by himself drinking.
He got all puffy, and there were great bags under his eyes.
"Well, I thought, no need to wait any longer, this is my chance.
And I'm not just going to escape alone, I've got to take old pot-belly with me, he'll come in useful over there!
"Among some ruins I found a heavy iron weight andl wrapped a rag round it, so that if I had to hit him there wouldn't be any blood. I picked up a length of telephone wire in the road, got everything ready that I needed, and hid it all under the front seat.
One evening, two days before I said good-bye to the Germans, I was on my way back from the filling station and I saw a German Unter staggering along blind drunk, grabbing at the wall.
I pulled up, led him into a damaged building, shook him out of his uniform, and took his cap off his head.
Then I hid the whole lot under the seat and I was ready.
"On the morning of June 29th, my major told me to take him out of town in the direction of Trosnitsa.
He was in charge of some defences that were being built there.
We drove off.
The major was sitting on the back seat, taking a quiet doze, and I sat in front with my heart trying to jump out of my mouth.
I drove fast, but outside the town I slowed down, then stopped and got out and had a look round; a long way behind there were two lorries coming on slowly.
I got out my iron weight and opened the door wide.
Old pot-belly was lying back on the seat, snoring as if he'd got his wife beside him.
Well, I gave him a bang on the left temple with my iron.
His head flopped on to his chest.
I gave him another one, jus_t to make sure, but I didn't want to kill him.
I wanted to take him over alive. He was. going to be able to tell our lads a lot of things.
So I pulled the pistol out of his holster and shoved it in my pocket. Then I pushed a bracket down behind the back seat, tied the telephone wire round the major's neck and fastened it to the bracket.
That was so he wouldn't tumble over on his side when I drove fast.
I pulled on the German uniform and cap, and drove the car straight for the place where the earth was rumbling, where the fighting was.
"I ripped across the German front line between two pillboxes.