an element in Heppner's nature came out, and his love for them
almost amounted to superstition. There must always be a goat about the
stables, for it was an old belief that the strong smell of that animal
was a preventive of disease, and the long-bearded Billy was the special
_protege_ of the deputy sergeant-major. Now and then there were
difficulties concerning him; as, for instance, when an unexpected
attack in the rear knocked the major down in the dust before the whole
corps. It was only by desperate entreaty that Heppner succeeded in
saving the life of the bleating culprit, and then a curious chance
led to his reinstatement. The very first night that the goat was
turned out of the barracks, two of the horses began to cough the vet.
hinted at bronchitis--four weeks only from the man[oe]uvres, and
bronchitis!--Billy was at once restored to his place in the stables,
and both horses ceased to cough.

The deputy sergeant-major would have found it difficult to answer had
he been asked which he preferred: to play cards in a beerhouse with a
buxom Bohemian waitress beside him, or to be in the neat stables amid
the chain-rattling, snorting, stamping company of the horses. Both were
to his taste; but perhaps on the whole he was really happiest walking
up and down before the stalls, with the goat trotting after him, and
the horses turning their heads to follow him with their sagacious eyes.

But as soon as the stable-door closed behind him the soft look would
vanish; and as he opened the door of his own quarters an evil
expression would overspread his face, as if he were ready at once to
fall upon his defenceless wife.

Through grief and illness the unfortunate woman became at last
incapable of attending to her domestic duties. She cast about for
an assistant, and at last wrote to her sister Ida, who was in
service in Lusatia. Ida willingly threw up her situation, came to her
brother-in-law's dwelling, and immediately took over the management of
the little household and of the invalid.

For a time it seemed as if the loathsome atmosphere of hate and squalor
must disappear in presence of the tall fresh country girl; the deputy
sergeant-major put a restraint upon himself before his sister-in-law,
and the sickly wife found comfort and relief in talking to her. But
eventually the presence of this third party transformed the house into
a veritable hell.

The eyes of hatred are as keen as those of love. Julie Heppner soon
dis