blow on his nose as to draw blood.
Under this punishment the ungainly soldier rose with difficulty, then
bent down and began to collect the overturned oats. Roth, however, in
his drunken fury gave the man a kick with his heavy boot, sending him
against "Napoleon," whose hind legs he embraced in an effort to
maintain his equilibrium.

But that was more than "Napoleon" would stand. First he didn't get his
oats, and then such practical jokes! He struck out with both hoofs,
hitting the poor devil of a guard against some of the most sensitive
portions of his anatomy, and hurling him into the aisle like one dead.

Roth was frightened. Fortunately for him nobody had seen the incident,
for Schmitz, with the other two men, happened just then to be busy at
the other end of the stable. So he merely called the other two reserve
men, and made them carry his unconscious victim to the reserve
quarters close by. The whole business, though, was very disagreeable
to him, for the poor fellow had been hit hard.

When the first lieutenant the next morning asked why the injured man
had been taken to the hospital, Roth answered:

"He was too clumsy in handling the horse,--frightened it, and the
beast naturally struck out. I understand he has got a good-sized hole
in his head."

"What a beastly fool," scolded the officer. "By rights the fellow
ought to be put in jail besides, as he will only spoil our horses."
But that was the next morning. On the evening in question, as soon as
the accident had happened, Roth felt in worse temper than ever. He
looked around for some one on whom to vent his spleen.

He looked in the fodder chest.

"Give the rest to 'Zeus'; he hasn't got quite enough, and he looks as
lean as a goat," he said to Schmitz.

"No," Schmitz retorted; "he won't get any more. He has got
enough--more than is good for him,--and this morning he struck out and
hit a man. The horses are getting crazy, standing all the time in the
stable and munching their oats."

"Oh, give it to him anyway; he can stand it!"

"But why? It's nonsense!"

Roth had a new access of fury; nothing enraged him as much as to be
contradicted.

"Give him the rest, I say!" he said roughly to Schmitz.

But Schmitz shut the lid of the chest and answered shortly:

"I'm glad when I can save some fodder!" And with that he pushed away
the cart.

Roth, quite beside himself, shouted:

"Sergeant Schmitz, you will not carry out my orders? I shall report
yo