Twenty minutes past nine was the historic hour. Sullen but docile Russians had slowly gathered, drifting in to the number of 1,500. Now they waited, massed before the great railway terminus at Moscow, shuffling and shivering beneath cold stars, but ready to shout, "Long live Trotsky!" and then "Farewell! Farewell. ..."
He came at 9:19, surrounded by agents of the Secret Police. Wan and pallid, he strode impassively into the station, stepping quickly, clad in an old, serviceable military cloak. At that symbol the crowd cheered, remembering that Lev Davidovich Trotsky had appeared...
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