The Marian Martyrs of Rosica

131 Memoir Later, we also heard encouragement from Kosciusko (Soviet radio broadcasting in Polish) about an uprising in Warsaw. Our Eastern friend is now with us. We are going to choke the Nazi hydra together. Oh, yes, we could talk! And then the lonely martyrdom of the capital city followed. Yes, we always had news, but when the partisans began to be active, we even had detailed typewritten bulletins. GOING BACK TO ROSICA But I digress, now I needed to go back to Rosica. They need- ed me to serve there as sacristan. The three of us were going: Father Laszewski, the Mother Superior of the Handmaids of Jesus in the Eucharist, and myself, sacristan and cart driver. I even knew how to tighten the dukha . The draft horse I was using now was a mare. We planned to go along the Dvina. All went well. After four or five kilometers, we headed toward the river. To my dismay, I learned that I was not the master. The mare was in charge. She would not go out onto the ice. Each time I led her into the track toward the river, she would jump into the bushes and quite happily turn around and go back toward Druja. I would bring her back to the trail, but she went back her way. She began to swish her tail hard. She started to jump on her hind legs and stomp her hooves. We stopped to let her calm down. She calmed down. Slowly, I led her down toward the river. Oh, but this mare was not so stupid. She was back in the bush- es and on her way home. I held her tight with the reins and things went very well. Then, the sledge turned upside down. The mare evaluated the situation immediately and pulled. She got loose and left the whole mess behind. Before we could scramble from underneath our blankets, coats, and all our other things, the mare was far away. She was joyously going back to her manger and her warm stable. She kept walking quietly, without even looking back. That was good. I could catch up with her. I ran, and I almost caught the sledge. But the clever devil looked back and took off again