A Little Garrison Part 26

"Well, as for me," said Schonemann, "I don't believe in the story until I see it in print. Konig is not at all that sort of fellow. And the colonel always flies off the handle and seems to be glad when he has a chance of showing his authority. He thinks that is smart!"

"Oh, I don't know, and what's more, I don't care."

The explanation of all this conversation is a very simple one. We remember that First Lieutenant Borgert, before seeking fresh fields for his energy, had made up his mind to get even with Captain Konig for that curt letter in which the captain had refused to accede to Leimann's request for another large loan.

Misled by the captain's own words on a previous occasion of similar kind, he had taken it for granted that Konig had really been guilty of diverting some of the moneys under his care to oblige a needy comrade,--Borgert himself. In his vindictiveness he had spared no pains in the course of his conversations with fellow-officers at the Casino to spread rumors as to this alleged fact, magnifying the matter or distorting its details, as it suited his purpose; and even after Borgert's flight these rumors had been scattered broadcast by the idle tongue of gossip. Finally, they had filtered down and become the theme of general conversation. The colonel, too, had heard of the matter, and, in his present condition of extreme nervousness regarding the reputation of the regiment, that worthy had deemed it his duty to go to the root of it.

Konig himself had had no occasion to clear himself of all this gathering suspicion, for in his presence the wagging tongues became mute. Borgert had maliciously misrepresented Konig so much in his talks with the junior officers as to create quite a strong feeling against him. He had stated that Konig, although abundantly able to help some momentarily embarra.s.sed comrades out of their troubles, had not only refused point-blank, but had added insult to injury. Such supposed behavior, since Borgert's tales had found credence, had cost Konig the sympathy of the majority of the officers, and now that trouble had overtaken him, many of them rejoiced at the fact.

Lieutenant Bleibtreu would have informed his squadron chief of the unpleasant rumors circulating, but ill luck would have it that that faithful junior happened to be off on leave of absence. He did not correspond with any of his fellow-officers during his leave, and knew nothing of the matter until after Konig's arrest.

It was only by furnishing an extravagantly high amount of bail that Konig temporarily regained his liberty, having spent some ten days in jail meanwhile. By the colonel's order he was then suspended from active duty and compelled to await the outcome of the accusation in his own home. At first Konig was stunned by the blow. After fifteen years of active service, during which he had never been charged with anything contrary to good morals or manners, he was now accused of a vulgar crime! And what was worse, the accusation against him was entirely based on the irresponsible remarks of a man who was a moral wreck at the time he made them, and who had since been legally condemned as a convicted criminal. It was nothing less than an outrage, it seemed to him.

Where was the confidence, the good comradeship, with which he had formerly met on all sides? Was it not the duty of his superior, the colonel, first closely to investigate the circ.u.mstances surrounding an alleged fact which on its face seemed highly improbable, before formulating such an accusation likely to ruin his reputation in the whole regiment and in the entire army?

And, indeed, the good captain had sufficient reason for complaining of the treatment he now met with. The ground had been well prepared by the mischievous gossip that had preceded his arrest, and now he was shunned as would have been a convicted criminal, an outcast, and the very children in the street pointed the finger of scorn at him and his family. Bleibtreu was the only exception. Firmly convinced of the innocence of his friend, he did valiant service in trying to restore the former universal confidence in Konig's integrity.

He proved his unshaken belief in the captain by paying him daily visits, and by spending every evening with him and his family. He became the companion of Konig's solitary walks; and he even persisted in this after he had been warned of the consequences by the colonel, and when his comrades punished him for his unselfish friendship by likewise ostracising and a.s.suming a hostile att.i.tude towards him.

But all these machinations did not hinder the young man from doing what he regarded as his duty. He would have deemed himself a poltroon if he had abandoned his friend now that misfortune had overtaken him.

The entire body of non-commissioned officers of the regiment and the whole rank and file of it felt deeply indignant at the manner in which this popular officer was made a scapegoat by the colonel, and this universal sentiment found its expression by numerous unofficial calls which many of the captain's subordinates made on him during his time of tribulation.

The same was true of the civilian circles, both in the garrison and in the neighboring city: they all were filled with disgust and aversion at the conditions created by the stupidity and stubbornness of Colonel von Kronau. They testified their sympathy for Konig on various occasions. It was owing to all these mitigating facts that Konig gradually came to view the future with brighter spectacles, and he consoled himself with the thought that justice must triumph in the end; but his patience was sorely tried in the meanwhile, for the investigation of his case dragged on a long while. If it had been a case creating sensational interest,--a case of manslaughter or of cruel abuse of subordinates, perhaps,--there would have been more promptness, in order to quiet public opinion; but his was a case which seemed to call for no such speedy action. What difference did it make if he had to wait for months,--a prey to misgivings and doubts, and exposed hourly to malignant talk of busybodies?

Six weeks had elapsed before his first preliminary hearing took place.

Konig, of course, took occasion to explain the whole matter, and to prove, by means of his ledgers and by oral testimony, how entirely unjust was the accusation against him.

He was soon undeceived, however, in the hope that the end of the proceedings against him had now come; for the court was by no means satisfied with his _ex-parte_ showing. They demanded an expert examination of his ledgers for the last three years, and this task required fully three months.

At the trial his innocence of the charge was, of course, fully established, and an acquittal was the result.

It had been proven that there had been no diversion of funds, but that the captain's equivocal statement to that effect made to Borgert and admitted by the captain himself had been a mere pretext. The motive for this had also been shown to be that, as may be remembered, of preventing further requests for loans from so bad a debtor as Borgert.

A bald statement of these facts was contained in the finding of the court-martial.

Konig had expected no other finding; but in the officers' circle the acquittal called forth nothing but disappointment.

Some four months later H. M.'s confirmation of the court's finding reached the little garrison. And that was the signal for another procedure, for now it became the duty of the Council of Honor to undertake a new investigation of the same facts, but from a different point of view,--namely, whether Konig had failed in any one point against the professional honor of an officer, and hence merited reprimand or punishment at the hands of his second judges.

The captain accepted this new ordeal with the long-suffering patience which had become habitual to him by this time. The final issue was still involved in slight doubt, but he felt himself safe in the firm conviction of his own innocence.

During this whole period of anxiety his domestic hearth had been almost his sole source of comfort. His family life had always been one of unalloyed happiness, and his wife, though young and pretty, had never been fond of that ceaseless round of noisy dissipation which had been such a feature of the little garrison for years past. So she did not miss the social pleasures which she now perforce had to deny herself; for, along with her husband, the ladies of the garrison now made it their business to cut her whenever she met any of them in the streets. Nevertheless, Frau Clara had felt this whole time of trial quite severely. A loving wife is jealous of her husband's reputation and of the honor due him, and, as for herself, she had been degraded from being the most popular woman in the regiment to the level of a social outcast; but her proud soul refused to submit to this ostracism, and it was no small gratification to her that the wives of the leading civilians made it a point to visit her at frequent intervals, and with some ostentation. Meanwhile Lieutenant Bleibtreu, the ever-faithful, was no less zealous in his attendance.

One evening he again called, but his face was clouded. It was known to the Konigs that the unpleasant position into which their steadfast young friend had fallen by championing his captain's cause weighed considerably on him, and that he had made efforts for some time to be transferred somewhere else.

As to the cause of his depressed mood, the lieutenant answered that his pet.i.tion for transference had been rejected.

"And what do you mean to do now?" said his late chief, after a while.

"I have handed in my resignation."

For a moment his hosts looked at him in some consternation, but then Konig reached out his hand and said to him:

"You have done well. I must confess I pity you from my heart that you have to leave so fine a profession, and to inure yourself to prosaic civilian life, with its eternal questions of losses and gains; but I understand the motives which have induced you to take this step. You, as a young officer, have seen events in this place which even I, so much older and more experienced than you, cannot but deplore with all my heart, and I can well understand it if you have lost that joyousness in the fulfilment of your duties which alone often makes these duties bearable.

"I could have wished to have you become a valued member of another garrison, and to see other conditions, better than those prevailing here. That would have proven to you that there are still many of the officers in our army who differ radically from some of those with whom we are acquainted here; but since they deny you that boon, it is perhaps best for you to turn your back on the army entirely.

"I myself would have counselled you in this sense if I had not felt a delicacy in urging you to a decision which you might perhaps later regret; and to show you that I speak with deep conviction, I will tell you that I myself am seriously considering my resignation."

This time it was Bleibtreu who opened his eyes in astonishment.

"But why so?" he stammered. "I understand your request for transference has been granted."

"True; but it is with me as with you: my respect is gone for the profession to which I have belonged with honor for fifteen years. The conditions I have found in the corps of officers here have shown me that I do not belong here by rights. And who can tell me that I shall not find similar conditions in my next garrison?"

"You are seeing things too black, Herr Captain," said Bleibtreu.

"I think not," continued Konig. "For nine years I have been vegetating in this miserable hole. During that time I have lost the natural gaiety of my disposition. I have lost, or almost lost, the manners of good society. If I ever get into better society again, I shall hardly know how to behave myself. I have become a boor, and the comrades in Berlin or Hanover would treat me with perfect disdain if I should venture to approach them on a footing of equality. The tone prevalent in our Casino is enough to demoralize almost anybody in the long run."

"You are quite right, Herr Captain," interjected Bleibtreu. "That is the worst of these little garrisons, especially those located near the frontier. After living in one of them for a number of years, one becomes impossible in decent society. This continual gossip, these ceaseless bickerings, are enough to destroy the temper and, to some extent, the reputation of an angel. Add to this the fact that all sorts of men 'with a past' are stuck into these little garrisons, and the mischief is done. Every little while we hear the phrase: 'Punished by transference to Moerchingen, Lyck,' and a whole number of similar holes."

"Quite true," Konig replied. "For the most part, officers who are sent to these frontier garrisons are relegated there to get rid of them.

But H. M. does not consider the fact that to place such doubtful elements in large numbers into that sort of garrison renders them even more harmful than if they were sent to larger garrisons, where they would be subjected to the influence of respectable and well-bred comrades. That is how so many scandalous affairs happen amongst the officers near the frontier. If only the officers had at least an opportunity of cultivating respectable society and of following a refined taste, permitting them regular attendance at good theatres, concerts, and the like! But unfortunately that is not the case; their whole social intercourse and their sole diversion consist in frequenting the Casino. And what can you expect, then?"

"There is much truth in what you say," put in Bleibtreu. "By rights the transference to a frontier regiment ought to be a distinction, because there they are closest to the enemy, and would have the first chance to exercise their profession and to show the stuff that's in them at the outbreak of a real war. But to-day that is a mere illusion. Every day the prospect of a war becomes less, and therefore the chances of marching against the enemy exist only on paper."

When these two shook hands on parting that night, it was in a sad state of mind. A couple of weeks later Bleibtreu's resignation had been accepted, and he doffed his uniform and stepped out into the life of a plain citizen.

The Council of Honor decided, after many delays, that Captain Konig deserved censure because of "endangering his professional honor." The explanation was added that no officer must put himself in such a position as to expose himself to the unfavorable opinion of the world; and since in the present case this had been done, it was necessary to point out to Captain Konig that his proceeding at the time in question had been incorrect and injurious to his honor as an officer.

Konig read this official communication calmly, while a scornful smile played around his lips; and on that same night his resignation had been filed at the regimental headquarters.

The colonel himself was not able to see in his official capacity this outcome of his foolish measures. A few weeks previous to the occurrence just described, he himself had received a letter; but that came from "above," and it was enclosed in the fatal "blue envelope."

He had been told in it, in the well-known diplomatic language employed for such occasions, that H. M. fully valued his faithful services, but was unable to avail himself of them any longer.

One fine day a huge furniture van stopped in front of the fine house at the end of the town, where the colonel had made his stately home for so many years, and into its capacious maw brawny men packed, shoved, and kicked everything of his household goods that was worth while transporting to the far-away district near the borders of Russia, to which the deposed military autocrat was returning, with the intention of spending the remainder of his days amid the peaceful calm of his carrot fields and haylofts.

When the colonel and his wife took final leave of the little garrison, there was n.o.body at the station to bid him a tearful farewell. His orderly alone stood on the platform, loaded down with a dozen handbags and bandboxes the contents of which the Frau Colonel required on her long journey eastward. When the colonel, his wife, and his extensive family of younger children had bestowed themselves in the interior of a vast compartment, he leaned out of the window and handed the orderly a small coin of the realm. The man looked at it and then spat in disgust.

Of all those who in the opening chapter of this veracious tale had a.s.sembled around the hospitable board of the Konigs, barely a handful remained in "the little garrison." The weeding-out machine had been set in motion by H. M.'s private military cabinet, and lo! this was the result.

CHAPTER X

UNTO THIS LAST