Good Blood | Page 8

he was hastily called from behind, and as he

turned about, Little L came running up, holding something in his
hand--it was the Primaner's belt.
"Two others happened to be passing at the time, and they afterward told
how deathly pale Little L was, and how every member of his body was
literally shaking. He had whispered something into the ear of the
Primaner, and the two had exchanged all quietly a couple of words, and
then the Primaner affectionately stroked the other's head, took off his
regulation belt, buckled on the fine one and was gone; he had handed
the regulation belt over to Little L to carry back. Naturally the story
could now no longer be concealed, and it all came out accordingly.
"A new assignment of rooms was ordered; Big L was transferred; and
just at the time all this was taking place, he had completed his removal
to the new quarters.
"Afterward it occurred to the cadets that he had kept strangely quiet
about the whole affair--but one always hears the grass growing after it
has grown. So much, however, was certain; he had allowed no one to
help him, and when Big L put his hands to the work, he became quite
rough toward his little brother. But Little L, ready to help as he always
was, did not allow himself to be deterred by this, and as he was taking
out of his brother's locker the gymnasium drill jacket that was lying
neatly folded together, he felt all at once something hard within--and it
was the belt of the Primaner.
"What the brothers said to each other at the moment, or whether they
spoke at all, no one has ever learned; for Little L had still so much
presence of mind that he went noiselessly from the room.
"But hardly was he out of the door and in the corridor, when he threw
the jacket on the ground, and without once thinking of what might be
made out of the affair, he ran up behind the Primaner with the belt.
"But now, of course, it could no longer be helped; in five minutes the
story was the property of the whole company.
"Big L had allowed himself to be driven by the devil and had become

light-fingered. Half an hour later it was whispered softly from room to
room: 'To-night, when the lamps are turned out, general consultation in
the company hall!'
"In every company quarters, you must know, there was a larger room,
where marks were given out, and certain public actions proceeded with,
in what was called the company hall.
"So that evening, when the lamps were out, and everything was quite
dark, there was a general movement from all the rooms, through the
corridor; not a door ventured to slam, all were in stocking feet, for the
captain and the officers still knew nothing and were allowed to know
nothing of the meeting, else we would have brought a storm about our
ears.
"As we came to the door of the company hall, there stood near the door
against the wall one as white as the plaster on the wall--it was Little L.
At the same moment a couple took him by the hands. 'Little L can
come in with us,' they said; 'he is not to blame.' Only one of them all
wished to oppose this; he was a long, big fellow--he was called--name
of no consequence--well, then, he was called K. But he was overruled
at once; Little L was taken in with us, a couple of tallow candles were
lit and placed on the table, and now the consultation began."
The colonel's glass was empty again. I filled it for him, and he took a
long swallow. "Over all this," he went on, "one can laugh now if one
wills; but this much I can say for us, we were not in a laughing mood,
but altogether dismal. A cadet a rascal--to us that was something
incomprehensible. All faces were pale, all speaking was but half aloud.
Ordinarily it was considered the most despicable piece of meanness if
one cadet reported another to the authorities--but when a cadet had
done such a thing as to steal, then he was for us no longer a cadet, and
it was for this reason that the consultation was being held, whether we
ought to report to the captain what Big L had done.
"Long K was the first to speak. He declared that we ought to go at once
to the captain and tell him everything, for at such meanness all
consideration ceases. Now Long K was the biggest and strongest boy in

the company; his words, therefore, made a marked impression, and
besides, we were all of his opinion at bottom.
"No one