War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1118

In the blizzard that almost obscured the vision, two sleigh cars connected by ropes were also struggling to move due west due to the obstruction of the strong wind.

At this time, Wei Ran, who was in charge of manipulating the sleigh, still felt a little unreal. He knew that he could escape from that labor camp, but he didn't expect it to be so easy.

However, looking at the full load of supplies on the sleigh cart, all this seems to be very reasonable.

Although he couldn't understand Ihor holding a reindeer cub in his arms in the same car anyway.But he had to admit that these two people, or the three people including himself, had indeed made sufficient preparations to escape alive.

On the sleigh cart that he was in charge of alone, there was a box full of raw and frozen fish and a box of boiled potatoes frozen into icicles.Not to mention, Ihor also has a half-year-old reindeer in his arms.It seemed that the little guy was already used to being hugged, not only did he not struggle at all along the way, but he even buried his head in Ihor's arms.

Don't forget, behind the sled, there are two other adult reindeer tied with a rope. Not only can they take over the work of pulling the sled at any time, but when necessary, any one of them is more than enough to feed three people for a week.

This is just the reserve of one car. Wei Ran didn't have time to see what was on the other car that Mesut was driving, and now is not the time to be curious about it.

The two sleigh carts walked for less than 10 minutes under the hard pull of the reindeer, and the vision in front of them gradually widened. At the same time, Mesut, who was walking in front, also stopped the reindeer slowly. down.

"What's the matter?" Wei Ran asked after stopping the reindeer.

"We have to cross the river ahead." Mesut said closer, "Be faster. If someone finds out later, I will cut the rope and we will run in different directions."

"Can I go to your car?" Ihor said abruptly, "I'm too heavy on Victor's car."

"no problem"

Mesut nodded without thinking, "I'll bring a box of coking coal over here, Victor, if you get separated, you have to find a way to go west, and we will meet on the west bank of the Yenisei River."

Hearing this, Wei Ran looked hesitantly at Ihor who was already holding the reindeer cub and carrying the only weapon to another car.He finally nodded, and let Mesut put a box of coking coal on his sleigh, and at the same time secretly put the two boxes of ammunition into Mesut's pocket, and pressed it hard.

Receiving Wei Ran's hint, Mesut nodded without a trace, returned to his reindeer sleigh, shook the rein vigorously, and rushed out.

Almost on the front and rear feet, Wei Ran also followed with the sleigh cart without the eyesight flies.Fortunately, due to the weather, no other vehicles were seen on the 200-meter-wide river. On the contrary, the sleigh was almost overturned because of the strong wind that was not sheltered by the trees.

They rushed to the opposite bank without any risk, but the two sleigh cars didn't dare to stop at all, and continued to head west and south, and hurriedly escaped in the night.

However, compared to the other side of the river that has been left behind, this primitive taiga forest is obviously less visited by people, and the snow in the forest is also thicker, and the two reindeer sleigh carts are much slower than before. few.

Their speed slowed down, but the wind and snow did not weaken at all, especially those snowflakes that hit their faces and faces, which had almost obscured their vision, and even the reindeer in front of them and behind them had already accumulated thick layer of snow.

Even so, the two sledges still didn't dare to stop. Both of them and an animal knew very clearly that the farther they traveled while taking advantage of the snowstorm, the lower their chances of being found would be. Hope is higher.

Tightening the scarf wrapped around his face, Wei Ran took out a warm warmer from the metal book and stuffed it into the inner pocket of his jacket, and then took out bearskin mittens and put them on the knitted gloves that could no longer keep warm.

He waited until his elbows were wrapped in thick bearskin gloves to block the cold wind, and then he patted the buckskin robe that Uncle Sergei gave him as a birthday present, and then He patted the snow that had accumulated on the wolfskin cotton trousers and thick felt boots he bought with money.

Finally, he touched the canned bottle of bear oil in his pocket, and he felt a lot more at ease in his heart. Anyway, there is a high probability that he won't have to worry about starving this time.

As he relaxed and the heat slowly released from his bosom, he became more and more relaxed.After walking so hard and slowly for more than two hours, when he changed the bosom into the shaft of a boot, Mesut, who had been walking in front, also pulled the rein to turn the reindeer to the left.

When the car he was in charge of also turned around, Wei Ran took out the British compass fixed with the flyback watch and glanced at it. At this time, they had already started to walk due south.

After a little recall of the satellite map I saw before entering this historical segment, and then estimating the speed of the two sledges, Wei Ran can probably be sure that they are about 15 to 20 kilometers east of the Yenisei River at this time. Deep in the dense forest on the left and right.

Correspondingly, they were about 15 to 20 kilometers away from the labor camp where they fled.But the blizzard at this time is getting more and more intense. According to the current momentum, the traces they left when they crossed the river must have been buried and filled by the snow.

While he was thinking about it secretly, Mesut finally yelled at the reindeer and stopped again.

"Victor, change to the other two reindeer!" Mesut yelled loudly.

Hearing this, Wei Ran immediately yelled at the reindeer to stop, skillfully changed the two reindeer at the rear of the cart to the position of pulling the cart, and tied the two reindeer pulling the cart to the rear of the cart.By the way, he also took out a hard brush for brushing the horses, and helped the four reindeer clean off the frozen snow and ice, and took a small bag of concentrate from Ihor, and fed each reindeer a handful .

"This time you are in the front, go straight south." Mesut pointed in a direction, "Do you need me to give you the compass?"

"Need not"

Wei Ran pointed to his own brain, "My sense of direction is very good, if I go astray, please remind me."

"lets go!"

As Mesut said, he had already untied the rope between the two sleigh carts, and tied them together again after Wei Ran ran to the front.

This time when Wei Ran took the lead, he also obviously felt that the difficulty of advancing has increased a lot. The snow in the forest that has never been stepped on can easily swallow the knees of the reindeer every time. This speed of advancement is not surprising. slowed down.

Compared with the reduced speed, what makes Wei Ran even more strange is that Mesut, who had just promised to gather on the west bank of the Yenisei River in case of getting separated, did not seem to be in a hurry to cross the Yenisei River at this time. , so after walking for one or two hours in a row, their heading direction has been heading straight south.

However, even if the slender structure of the two sleigh carts is conducive to pulling, even if there are two reindeer pulling at the same time, due to the full load of supplies on the cart and the deep snow in the forest, the speed of the cart is estimated by Wei Ran. I can't even run 10 kilometers in an hour-even with the blizzard and snow pushing behind me, it's still useless.

Of course, if it is on the compacted ice, he believes that even with so many things dragged, the two strong reindeer can easily increase the speed to [-] to [-] kilometers, and continue to run for an hour. Maybe not question.

While he was paying attention to the speed of the car, Mesut was obviously also thinking about it, so when the two hours were up, he stopped Wei Ran again and replaced him with the other two deer who had already rested enough .

Not only that, but the sleigh cart he was steering was also leading the way again, but the direction of progress did not continue to the south or west of the Yenisei River, but started to move east.

This time, they only ran for a little over an hour, and the frozen river they ventured to cross once again lay before everyone's eyes.

The only difference is that the snow on this river is extremely flat at this time, and there is no sign of being crushed by vehicles at all, and there is no sign of bulldozers leveling it. Obviously, this is still an area where no one has set foot.

Facing the blizzard and snow, crossing the frozen river again, when the two sleigh cars entered the depths of the forest again, Mesut finally decided to stop for a rest when he saw the shadows of the mountains looming in the distance. Avoid a snowstorm that nearly blows the tree down.

The three of them worked together to park the two sleighs behind a steep slope sheltered from the wind. Wei Ran chose a pine tree as thick as a waist, called the other two to help, and unfolded the bundle of glued canvas like a giant tree. The trunk was surrounded like a cloak and held securely by the straps that bound the canvas itself.

After he stamped the corners of the canvas with the large steel nails provided by Mesut and compacted them with snow, Ihor also waved a snow shovel, like cleaning up horse dung, and shoveled all the snow under the trees outside .

Using more than half of the remaining canvas, they found a nearby tree and rebuilt a larger tent, and drove all nine reindeer into the tent and tied them to the tree trunk. Then the three of them dragged two sleds into the tent. into their tent.

After sealing the tent door, Mesut fumbled to light an oil lamp, adjusted it to the minimum brightness and hung it on the tree trunk, and then took out a tin bucket.

There is a hole the size of an egg on the side of the bottom of the tin bucket, and there is a steel grate in the bucket.

You don't even need to look at it to know that it is used as a simple stove.

After breaking off the dead branches that had just been cut from the tree trunk and throwing them into the fire, Ihor also immediately put an enamel kettle filled with snow on it.

Soon, the tin bucket was reddened by the charcoal fire inside, and the smoky tent immediately became much warmer.

Slightly opening a corner of the tent door to let the smoke disperse, Mesut sat on his sleigh, patted the snow on his body and asked tremblingly, "Victor, candle, quickly take out the candle. "

Hearing this, Wei Ran immediately took out a large pack of candles from his pocket.Each of these candles is as thick as a cucumber, and the length is more than 30 centimeters. According to his estimation, it is no problem to light one of these candles overnight. It is a good thing that can both illuminate and warm.

However, Mesut didn't intend to ignite them. Instead, he split them in half with an axe, threw them into two large enamel jars, and placed them beside the tin bucket superior.

Soon, under the heat, the candles in the enamel jar melted into liquid one after another. Mesut, who had already warmed up, also picked out the cotton wick inside with a branch, and after cleaning the remaining wax oil with his hands, Throw it into the tin bucket stove.

After stirring the two cups of melted wax, he took some away, placed it on a flat surface, and carefully covered it with snow to help it cool down faster.

Signaling Wei Ran and Ihor to stay away from the two enamel tanks, Mesut called them to unload all the supplies from the two sledges, and made a careful inventory.

"In addition to the 9 reindeer, we now have a box of raw and frozen fish and a box of boiled potatoes, as well as two boxes of coking coal, four barrels of kerosene we saved earlier, and two kerosene lamps."

The four barrels of kerosene that Mesut mentioned are not the 20-liter oil barrels in the Weizhu metal book, but the Soviet Union in World War II and the 50s after the end of World War II, such as T34 tanks or various Soviet trucks. Equipped with a tin bucket for lubricating oil or coolant.

Each of these square and square iron buckets has a capacity of 3 liters. This capacity of no more and no less also allows the Soviets, especially the Soviet soldiers, to use it for various purposes. The most common of these is , It was transformed into various field stoves, and other than that, it was used to hold any liquid including vodka.

Of course, there is also a considerable number of soldiers or militiamen who fill this thing with hot water and use it as soup.

Just like the four tin barrels that Mesut brought out, just looking at the insulation cover made of canvas and felt on the outside of them, we can know that before these things were used to hold kerosene, there was a high probability that they were taken Woodcutters who need to work in the field for a long time use it as soup.

As if guessing what Wei Ran was thinking, Mesut reached out and took out three empty buckets from a pile of supplies and distributed them to Wei Ran and Ihor, "Later, fill them with hot water yourself."

Accepting this little surprise that can provide great help against the cold with peace of mind, Mesut continued, "In addition to food and fuel, we also have a rifle and a few bullets. The rifle is held by Ihor. I'll keep the bullets, do you have any objections?"

"No," Ehor was the first to say.

"I have no objection either." Wei Ran nodded, the dragoon rifle didn't even have a stab, as long as there were no bullets in it, it was equivalent to the lethality of a baseball bat.

"Although we only have one shotgun and not many bullets, I have prepared three fishing rods and enough hooks and lines. If we encounter a lake on the way, maybe we can try to catch fish."

As Mesut said, he had already opened a rolled up canvas roll, revealing three fishing rods that were only one meter long, hooks and lines fixed on the canvas roll, and a fishing rod made of iron and unknown animal hair. of fake bait.

"We still have a sack of feed and three bricks of salt," Ihor reminded.

"I also prepared some veterinary medicines, which can be used by people in emergencies."

As Mesut said, he took out the contents of the wooden box at the tail of the sleigh, "In addition, I prepared a pair of skis and poles for everyone, and of course, snowshoes."

"There are still animal skins," Wei Ran reminded, pointing to the animal skins that he took off from the sleigh beside him.

"These animal skins are two for each person," Mesut said in advance, "if not enough."

"enough"

As Wei Ran said, he distributed two wolf skins and one smaller fox skin to each of them, which he got based on the number of people.

Of course, in addition to these public goods, there are also some private things that are not counted.For example, the pocket watch compass already in Mesut’s hand and the pen that Wei Ran gave him as a birthday present, such as the bosom stove and bearskin mittens that Wei Ran put away before he decided to stop to rest, And the kerosene in the Soviet kettle on his waist.

In this small tacit understanding, after each of them put away the animal skins for keeping warm, Mesut also turned over the first sledge cart, and then took out two iron irons from the box that were obviously made by himself and put them on the stove Serve warm on the side.

Under the watchful eyes of Wei Ran and Ihor, Mesut took out a small piece of candle left in advance and pressed it on the heated iron, letting the melted wax drip onto the upside-down sledge.

Then, he moved quickly on the skateboard with a reheated soldering iron to melt the dripping wax and spread it more evenly.

"We'd better do the job of waxing the boards of our sleds more often"

Mesut reminded while he was busy, "This will allow us to go faster and our reindeer will save some effort. Correspondingly, these two sled vehicles can also run a longer distance.

Now, you two, pour hot water over the mugs to unmold the solidified candles, and try waxing the skateboards of the other sleigh. "

Hearing this, Ihor took the first step to pick up the enamel kettle, poured hot water on one of the enamel jars, and easily took out a large piece of oversized candle with a diameter and height of nearly ten centimeters that had completely solidified inside. come out.

Wei Ran didn't bother to compete with this devil, but after unmolding the reshaped candle, he slowly filled the empty bucket he just got with snow, then poured the remaining hot water in the kettle into it and refilled it again. I burned a pot and added some firewood by the way.

Remove the insulation cover from the iron bucket, Wei Ran put it on the edge of the red-hot iron bucket to heat slowly, then took advantage of Mesut polishing the sled with a piece of deerskin, and used the opponent's soldering iron to give the sled Another skateboard waxed.

During nearly an hour of busy work, all four skateboards of the two sleigh cars were waxed again, and the tin buckets used by everyone for heating were also filled with scalding hot water. Even the reindeer next door got I bought a salt brick fixed on the tree trunk that I can lick at will, as well as a basin of warm water and not much feed.

Even the unloaded materials were evenly distributed to the two vehicles.Between choosing Ihor, who was holding a stag cub with a gun, and other extra supplies, Wei Ran chose to pick up those non-breathing cooking utensils, feed and other miscellaneous items without even thinking about it.

After the charcoal fire in the tin bucket was completely burnt out, the three of them put some extra firewood into the emptied tin bucket, then buried the ashes, re-harnessed the reindeer, dismantled the canvas tent, and wrapped the car tightly with ropes. The rest of the materials continued to advance with difficulty against the storm.

This time, the direction of the two sleds was still the faintly visible mountain due east.But Mesut, who was in charge of leading the way, did not mention his destination or detailed escape plan, no matter when he just rested or now.

Under his leadership, it took two sledge carts another three hours to pass through a two-kilometer-long valley with difficulty. Finally, before the reindeer exhausted their strength, they reached The east side of the mountain.

Thanks to the shelter of this mountain, the wind and snow here are undoubtedly much smaller.Continuing to yell at the reindeer, they slowly walked southward for about seven or eight kilometers close to the foot of the mountain, and they finally stopped again at a relatively high position in the depths of a dense forest with no wind at the foot of the mountain.

With the weakest light of kerosene lamps, they hurriedly set up tents under two trees next to each other. After the three of them drove all the reindeer into one of the tents and tied them up, they had no time to rest, collect firewood, or It is collecting pine branches, or wielding a snow shovel to clear the snow in the tent.

In the busy work, both tents were shoveled off the surface snow and covered with a thick layer of pine needles.

Among them, in the tents where people lived, a pile of bonfires were set up with tin buckets to provide warmth.At this time, on top of the simple stove, there was still an aluminum bucket pot purchased by Mesut with money, and three raw frozen fish and three boiled potatoes with ice slag were cooked in it.And the enamel kettle standing by the stove is also full of snow waiting to melt.

Naturally, there is no need to worry about people following the fire to find this place in such a ghostly weather, but night vigil is still necessary.After all, although the wind and snow here are blocked by the mountains, the corresponding wild animals, especially the wild animals that can harm them, have a much higher probability of appearing.Among the most threatening, wolves are undoubtedly ranked first.

Of course, this night watch job will undoubtedly be handed over to Ihor who can't drive a reindeer sleigh, so he has been in the car all day.

After hastily eating dinner, Wei Ran and Sumet each lay in a sleigh covered with wolf fur, holding a tin bucket filled with hot water in their respective arms.

As for Ihor, who was on vigil, he could only sit on a wooden box covered with animal skins, holding a cold rifle and a warm reindeer calf.In addition to guarding against wild animals at night, it also needs to ensure that firewood is added at any time to prevent the fire from going out.

For this job, this ghost prisoner of war has no complaints, but when he looks at the deerskin robes and goggles hanging around his neck of Wei Ran and Mei Su, he can't help but feel a little envious.

After this day's escape, although it didn't need to steer the sleigh, it was also very cold, especially Wei Ran and Mesut had goggles, but it didn't.

So along the way, there are not many chances for it to open its eyes.Most of the time, it covers its head with animal skins and hugs the reindeer in the windy sleigh.

Of course, Wei Ran did bring an extra pair of goggles in the warehouse of the store, but how could he give this thing to Ihor on his own initiative?
Just like how could he know that when they were resting, in the dense forest on the other side of the road they crossed for the second time, there was a young figure with an SKS semi-automatic rifle on his back driving a dozen sled dogs, dragging With a sleigh cart, in the virgin forest raging in a violent snowstorm, he anxiously searched for the three missing party members in prison and the reindeer who needed to provide meat for the entire logging camp.

(End of this chapter)