The Marian Martyrs of Rosica

126 The Marian Martyrs of Rosica so as not to attract attention to himself and bring down the revenge of the Germans. I believe that you will be able to per- form this mission. A priest has to be saved. They have infor- mation about his past secret activities.” “All right. I will go if necessary,” I replied. “You will go alone. You have already been to Leonpol and this is only another ten kilometers farther. Father Lawrynowicz, the pastor, will show you the way.” “But I have never driven a horse cart,” I said. “I don’t know how to hitch or unhitch a horse.” “We shall hitch it well to avoid trouble,” they replied. There was trouble with that horse, real trouble. Just ten kilo- meters from home, the dukha , the wooden bow connecting the shafts of a one-horse sledge, gave way. I knew I had to put my foot on the dukha and pull on the strap to reattach it on the bot- tom. Then the dukha needed to be tied. But I couldn't raise my foot high enough. I took off my hat, sheepskin, and coat. I man- aged to pull the strap a bit and continued my ride. But not much farther along, maybe one kilometer, it happened again. Luckily, somebody was coming from the opposite direction. I stopped and I asked graciously for help, and my sledge was again ready to continue on its way. But the peasant was looking after me for a long time afterward. This dukha was my Achilles heel. I had trouble with it many more times. This time the urban cart driver, who knew a horse only had a head in front and a tail in back and legs at the bot- tom, made it happily to Leonpol. I spent the night there. The next morning after Holy Mass, I sped up to Dryssa. I had the good luck to find Fr. Bohatkiewicz. He was in the church, which was much smaller that the one in Rosica. During the Soviet period, it had been converted into a granary, and marks could clearly be seen on the walls showing how high the grain had been stored. We went to the rectory together. I deliv- ered my message. Father grew very pale. Drops of perspiration covered his forehead.