fast!"

They soon made acquaintance. Weise was the man's name, and he was a
locksmith from a factory in the neighbouring coal-district. But they
only had time to exchange the barest preliminaries of intercourse when
they had to get up again, go and wash their dishes and spoons at a tap,
and then return.

Outside in the court-yard, in front of the quarters of another battery,
some recruits who had arrived still earlier were standing, looking
hungrily towards the kitchen.

"We've come off better than they," remarked Weise. "Things are going
well with us, it seems."

Now again they had to go outside, and the reading over of names began
once more. This time the standing-orders were given out, and during
this performance their captain came into the barrack-yard. He
dismounted, and walked up and down, sometimes behind and sometimes in
front of the recruits, occasionally standing still and examining a man
with special attention. It felt very uncomfortable if the little
captain paused too long behind one; but--so much they had learned
already--it would not do to turn round.

It was a considerable time before the last standing-order was given
out, after which the sergeant-major desired those who wished to attend
to the horses and to be drivers to stand on one side, and those who
wanted to be gunners to take up their position on the other. Vogt and
his new friend Weise placed themselves with the gunners, Vogt in this
acting after his father's advice. "Youngster," the old man had said,
"first and foremost be a good gunner. Then if you want to go on serving
and become a corporal, you will get on faster than you would otherwise.
You will know your gun and will only have to learn to ride."

Vogt began now to long for the end of all this. He felt tired in every
limb, and would never have believed that waiting and standing about
could take it out of one to such an extent. But what had gone before
was child's play compared with the tiresome business of getting fitted
with a uniform, which now began. Vogt himself came off rather well: the
trousers, measured according to the length of the outstretched arm,
fitted exactly, as did also the second coat he tried on; the leather
belt with sword attached he buckled on at once, and cap and helmet were
soon forthcoming, but he had to put on several pairs of boots before he
found the right ones. Then the corporal tossed him over a drill suit as
well, and he was ready.

But with some of th