should be conducted back to his cell, while Findeisen was to
be confronted with the corpse of the sergeant.

Keyser's death had resulted from fracture of the skull, due to its
forcible impact against the wall. The medical report, however, stated
that fatal consequences had resulted on account of the unusual thinness
of the skull.

The two orderlies took Findeisen between them and escorted him to the
infirmary. Wolf went with the soldier on guard diagonally across the
yard back to the guard-house. He mounted the steps composedly. Before
the door he stopped for a moment, drew the fresh air deep into his
lungs, and looked all round him. Then he was locked into his cell
again.

The examination had opened his eyes; he had been on quite a wrong tack
when he had hoped to convince his judges by a fiery speech. In the
midst of this cold calm procedure, his words would sound distorted and
fantastic, and his eloquent tongue would fail him. The views of these
men were separated from his by an impassable gulf. However good a will
they might have, they were absolutely incapable of understanding him.

No, he would undergo his examination quietly and without any attempt at
eloquence. Would not the naked facts speak loudly enough in his favour?

He no longer had any hope of an acquittal. On the contrary, he knew he
would be condemned; but his punishment could not be severe. He called
to memory all the similar cases that he had known. They had almost
always resulted in less than a year of imprisonment. It was true that
in none of these had there been an actual assault on the person of a
superior, such as he had committed. But could that make a very great
difference?

On the whole he thought it most likely that he would get off with about
six months, and he already began to arm himself with patience to bear
the hundred and eighty dreary days. It was quite certain that even one
hundred and eighty days must have an end.

Suddenly he felt hungry, greedily hungry, and he hastily attacked the
food he had hitherto left untouched. The meat lay in the cold gravy
surrounded by congealed fat. The first mouthful gave him a strong
feeling of disgust; nevertheless, he swallowed the meat down quickly,
and finished the gravy to the last drop.

It was soon disposed of, and then he began to take stock of his
surroundings: the grey walls, the water jug, and the stool in the
corner; the plank bed, strapped up to the wall during the day. The
grate