THE PRUSSIAN OFFICER

The Prussian Officer

I

They had marched more than thirty kilometres since dawn, along the white, hotroad where occasional thickets of trees threw a moment of shade, then out intothe glare again. On either hand, the valley, wide and shallow, glittered withheat; dark green patches of rye, pale young corn, fallow and meadow and blackpine woods spread in a dull, hot diagram under a glistening sky. But right infront the mountains ranged across, pale blue and very still, snow gleaminggently out of the deep atmosphere. And towards the mountains, on and on, theregiment marched between the rye fields and the meadows, between the scraggyfruit trees set regularly on either side the high road. The burnished, darkgreen rye threw on a suffocating heat, the mountains drew gradually nearer andmore distinct. While the feet of the soldiers grew hotter, sweat ran throughtheir hair under their helmets, and their knapsacks could burn no more incontact with their shoulders, but seemed instead to give off a cold, pricklysensation.

He walked on and on in silence, staring at the mountains ahead, that rose sheerout of the land, and stood fold behind fold, half earth, half heaven, theheaven, the banner with slits of soft snow, in the pale, bluish peaks.

He could now walk almost without pain. At the start, he had determined not tolimp. It had made him sick to take the first steps, and during the first mileor so, he had compressed his breath, and the cold drops of sweat had stood onhis forehead. But he had walked it off. What were they after all but bruises!He had looked at them, as he was getting up: deep bruises on the backs of histhighs. And since he had made his first step in the morning, he had beenconscious of them, till now he had a tight, hot place in his chest, withsuppressing the pain, and holding himself in. There seemed no air when hebreathed. But he walked almost lightly.

The Captain’s hand had trembled at taking his coffee at dawn: his orderlysaw it again. And he saw the fine figure of the Captain wheeling on horsebackat the farm-house ahead, a handsome figure in pale blue uniform with facings ofscarlet, and the metal gleaming on the black helmet and the sword-scabbard, anddark streaks of sweat coming on

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