Part 54 (1/2)

The porter at the station did not know where Captain von Wegstetten lived. But the turnpike-keeper had a piece of luck: outside the station he met a gunner, who readily told him the address--”11 Markt Stra.s.se, up two flights of stairs”--and showed him the way to go.

The two flights of stairs tried the old man sorely. He had to wait on the first landing in order to get his breath. ”Have I grown old all of a sudden?” he asked himself in surprise.

A soldier in a red coat opened the door to him.

”Is the captain at home?” asked the turnpike-keeper.

”Sorry, but he's not,” answered the lad.

”Can you tell me where I can find him?”

”That would be no good. The captain's gone away--to a court-martial.”

The turnpike-keeper started violently.

”Is the court-martial on Bombardier Vogt?” he asked.

The soldier answered in the affirmative, and inquired in surprise, ”Who are you, then?”

”Vogt's father. I--I wanted to talk to the captain about my son. But it is too late, I see.”

He turned about, saying, ”Thank you all the same,” and went towards the stairs. In the dark he missed the first step and stumbled; the lad ran after him. He led the old man to the banister and said, ”Take care you don't fall; it is rather dark here. And you know, Herr Vogt, the men of the battery all say it is a mean shame, what's happened to Vogt, a mean shame.”

But the turnpike-keeper did not seem to understand him. He only nodded and said, ”Thank you, thank you,” and tramped slowly down the stairs in his heavy boots.

Whilst Friedrich August Vogt waited for his train in the station of the little garrison town, the trial of his son was taking place before the military court of the district.

There was no doubt about the circ.u.mstances of the case. The two eye-witnesses, Senior-lieutenant Brettschneider and Senior-lieutenant Reimers, were unanimous on the subject, and the accused gave his a.s.sent to the correctness of the particulars.

The trial would therefore have come to an end very quickly had there not been a number of witnesses for the accused.

Captain von Wegstetten, as head of the battery; Captain Guntz, who had commanded it during Wegstetten's temporary absence; Senior-lieutenant Reimers and Lieutenant Landsberg, as officers in the battery; the sergeant-major and other non-commissioned officers: all united in giving Vogt the very best possible character. Wegstetten had had a violent altercation with Brettschneider, not only from personal feeling for the bombardier, but also from annoyance that his best candidate for a non-commissioned officer's post was lost to him through a piece of such tactless mismanagement. Brettschneider had complained about this reprimand, but no notice had been taken of his complaint, and that in itself spoke volumes for the accused. Guntz and Reimers were very warm in their praise of Vogt, and even Lieutenant Landsberg remembered the man as being particularly willing and diligent on duty.

Things looked favourable for the accused.

One of the officers present, a captain of the pioneers, asked Vogt: ”You had just been working very hard, had you not? had fixed the heavy wheel single-handed, and had run very fast to tell Senior-lieutenant Brettschneider?--were you not very much exhausted and out of breath?”

”Yes, sir.”

”I mean, you were rather over-tired and your eyes were dazed?”

”Yes, sir.”

”Perhaps you did not quite know what you were doing?”

The accused hesitated a moment.

Wegstetten and Reimers had remained in the room. The former moved restlessly from one foot to the other. If Vogt were only to say ”Yes,”

then the whole thing would be put down to a temporary aberration of mind due to hurry and fatigue, and the affair would end with his acquittal.