The Passer-by

“Inside the hut. On stage, an officer.

Officer (speaks by field telephone).
I report: with a squadron of sixty blades, I took the village of Tumashovo without a fight. The partisan detachment of the Reds under the command of the miner Dubov has not yet been found.

Under the window—voices, noise.

I’m looking for weapons. I conduct a search, an interrogation, reconnaissance. Everything!

A messenger enters…“