RESIGNATIONS ARE IN ORDER
Sergeant-Major Krohn, the regimental chief clerk, was leaning against
the iron railing which shut off from the vulgar civilian world the
edifice holding the offices and administrative bureaux.
He was smoking his morning cigar with considerable zest and reading
the _Deutsche Zeitung_, which the letter-carrier had just left for the
colonel. He was at leisure just then, for the colonel had gone on
horseback to view the regimental drill on the parade grounds, quite a
distance from town; and on such days it was the habit of the adjutant
to recompense himself by a sound matutinal slumber for the nightly
sleep he had missed in attending this banquet or that carousal.
Krohn was deep in the study of the advertisements he had found in the
paper when his "colleague," Sergeant-Major Schönemann, stepped up to
him, dragging his clanking sabre at his heels, and with a cigarette
between his lips.
"Morning, morning, Herr Commander!" he addressed Krohn in a jocular
spirit. "What is the news?"
The minor dignitary thus addressed smiled pleasantly, and sent a small
cloud of fragrant smoke into the air before answering.
"Great things are going on, noble brother-in-arms. I had almost
forgotten about that."
"You don't say! Has H. M. at last sent me a decoration?"
"Not precisely, but something almost as unlikely,--König has been
placed under arrest."
"What? König? Thunder and lightning! What the dickens has he been
doing?"
"Why, they say he has been putting his fingers into the squadron fund,
and that some of the gold has stuck to them. Really, it's a disgrace;
a fellow like him, too, quite wealthy, and all that."
"The devil! I should never have supposed that of him; no, not of
_him_! And how did they find it out?"
"Haven't the faintest idea. I presume the colonel must have heard
something about it. Yesterday afternoon he had him up in his room and
charged him with the thing to his face. I peeped through the key-hole,
and saw the poor fellow becoming pale under the accusation. He wanted
to fetch his books at once; but the colonel wouldn't listen to him,
and ordered him forthwith under arrest."
"But these two used to get along so well together!"
"Of course! And I presume there must be some truth to the story, else
the colonel would probably have managed the thing otherwise,
especially as he himself is in disfavor with the powers that be. This
new affair will break his neck."
"Well, as for me," said Schönemann, "I don't believe in the story
until I see it in print. König 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 König
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 König 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.
König 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 König so much in his
talks with the junior officers as to create quite a strong feeling
against him. He had stated that König, although abundantly able to
help some momentarily embarrassed 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
König 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 König's arrest.
It was only by furnishing an extravagantly high amount of bail that
König 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 König 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 circumstances 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 König'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 König'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 assuming a hostile attitude 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 König on various
occasions. It was owing to all these mitigating facts that König
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.
König, 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.
König 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 König 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 Königs 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 petition 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
König 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 König. "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," König 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 König
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 König that his proceeding at the time in question
had been incorrect and injurious to his honor as an officer.
König 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 nobody 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
assembled around the hospitable board of the Königs, 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.