and fighting with the hunghutze to listening to news and more anxious
news!"

He was right; for the worst of it was that in this bustle and whirl of
facts, rumours and gossip the Reds could approach troubled Uliassutai
and take everyone with their bare hands. We should very willingly have
left this town of uncertainties but we had no place to go. In the north
were the hostile Partisans and Red troops; to the south we had already
lost our companions and not a little of our own blood; to the west raged
the Chinese administrators and detachments; and to the east a war had
broken out, the news of which, in spite of the attempts of the Chinese
authorities at secrecy, had filtered through and had testified to
the seriousness of the situation in this part of Outer Mongolia.
Consequently we had no choice but to remain in Uliassutai. Here also
were living several Polish soldiers who had escaped from the prison
camps in Russia, two Polish families and two American firms, all in
the same plight as ourselves. We joined together and made our own
intelligence department, very carefully watching the evolution of
events. We succeeded in forming good connections with the Chinese
commissioner and with the Mongolian Sait, which greatly helped us in our
orientation.

What was behind all these events in Mongolia? The very clever Mongol
Sait of Uliassutai gave me the following explanation.

"According to the agreements between Mongolia, China and Russia of
October 21, 1912, of October 23, 1913, and of June 7, 1915, Outer
Mongolia was accorded independence and the Moral Head of our 'Yellow
Faith,' His Holiness the Living Buddha, became the Suzerain of the
Mongolian people of Khalkha or Outer Mongolia with the title of 'Bogdo