The president of the court stood up and said
‘The court marshal is now open prisoners may sit’ and the three prisoners sat down, the president sat down too and said after a while.
‘This is a general court marshal, therefore proceed with the necessary formalities’ the president kept quiet and then went on ‘these men are charged for cowardice in the face of the enemy and would be tried for that offence…Mr. Prosecutor’
‘The accused private Ferro ‘said the prosecutor and the solders whose name was called step out and walked to the middle of the court.
‘Private Ferro’ called the persecutor
‘Yes sir’ answered the soldier, the prosecutor stood up and began to pace round him
‘Were you on the first wave during the attack at the anthill’ said the prosecutor
‘Yes sir’
‘Do you refused to advance’
‘No sir’
‘Did you advance?’
‘Yes sir’
‘How far did you advance?’
‘to about the middle of no man’s land sir’ said Ferro who was now breathing very hard, the prosecutor who was standing right in front of the colonel smiled and then walked closer to him
‘Then what did you do’
‘Well sir, I saw…’
‘Reply to the question, the court has no business with you visual experience ‘
‘my what sir’ said Ferro turning his head slowly to the prosecutor
‘Would you answer the question’ said the president
‘What question was it sir’ asked Ferro
‘When you advanced to the middle of no man’s land what did you do then’
‘Then sir?’
‘Did you move forward or backward’ said the president
‘I went back sir’ said Ferro, the prosecutor smiled and took a deep breath and as he walked to his seat he said ‘in other words private Ferro you retreated’
It took along while before private Ferro said yes sir and when he said it, it was in a very low tone.
‘That is all’ said the prosecutor ‘the accused may now return to his sit’
But before private Ferro could put on his cap the voice of the colonel who was standing for them came from the other end of the court. ‘Just a minute’ he said and stood up.
‘Mr. President I will like to question the accused if I may’ said the colonel
‘Proceed’ said the president turning to face the colonel
‘Thank you’ the colonel said and turned his attention back to private Ferro.
‘Private Ferro when you reached the middle of no man’s land where you alone with private Mile’
‘Yes sir’ said private Ferro who had managed a smile when he saw the colonel standing up.
‘What happened to the rest of you company’ asked the colonel now folding his hands
‘Well, I don’t know sir but I guessed they all have been killed’ said Ferro now looking at the colonel
‘You found yourself in the middle of no man’s land alone with private Mile’
‘Yes sir’
‘Why didn’t you attack the anthill alone’ said the colonel
Private Ferro took a deep breath at this point he was speechless the colonel who was standing for them and had been the reason for a little smile despite his thigh condition wasn’t sounding as he had never expected. The colonel bent down a bit and said more seriously ‘why didn’t you stormed the anthill alone’
‘Just me and Mile you are kidding sir’ said private Ferro the colonel stole a look at the president and said ‘yes I am kidding private Ferro….thank you…that is all’
‘I don’t see the point of this line of question’ said the president
‘Well I am attempting to indicate the absurdity of the line of question used by the prosecutor’
‘Mr. Prosecutor’ said the president turning to the other side of the court room where the prosecutor was sitting
‘You freely admitted that you retreated, private Ferro’
‘Yes sir’
‘That is all the accused may now return to his seat’ private Ferro put on his cap and saluted and then walked back to his sit the second soldier was called and he stepped forward immediately and remove his cap. The prosecutor stood up and walked to him.
‘Private Onor did you advance’
‘Yes sir till I was ordered back to the trenches by the captain’
‘How far did you advance’ said the prosecutor
‘Into the wires sir’ said private Onor
‘The enemy’s wire?’
‘no sir it was our wire’
‘you mean to tell me that you didn’t advance any further than our wire’
‘no sir I didn’t ‘ said private Onor
‘how far would you say that was… how many meters’ asked the prosecutor who was now standing behind the soldier.
‘Well I advanced as far as I could’
‘How many meters’ the prosecutor said again
‘Not many ‘said private Onor
‘Not many’ said the prosecutor and then began to pace round him with his boot echoing as it hit the tiles.
‘Now private Onor before you were ordered back did you urge you fellow men forward’
‘Most of them where dead before they were three steps away from the trench’
‘reply to the question’ yelled the prosecutor
‘I didn’t… no sir’ said private Onor the prosecutor smiled and said ‘thank you’ and then went gently back to his sit.
‘The colonel stood up with his hands on his pocket and walked a few feet away from his desk.
‘Did any of your men went beyond that wire’ he said to the soldier who was now staring at him
‘No sir’
‘Well I will like to point out that this soldier has distinguished himself in some of the bloodiest battles in the war’ the colonel too k his hands off his pocket and picked a file from his desk.
‘With the court permission I read citation of bravery that has be honored in two occasions’ the colonel opened the file and was about to read when the president said.
‘That is immaterial colonel the accused his not been tried for his formal bravery but for his recent cowardice’
‘May I call witnesses to his character’ said the colonel
‘You may not, but you may call witness to the effect that he reached the German wire’ said the president with his finger crossed on his desk.
‘Mr. President no one in the entire regiment reached the German wire including myself’ said the colonel.
‘Called the next accused if you are through colonel’ said the president alternating his head between the prosecutor and the colonel’
‘Thank you’ said the colonel moving back to his seat.
The third soldier was called and he stepped out immediately, the prosecutor who didn’t stand up from his seat said.
‘So you never even left the trenches’
‘No sir’
‘That’s all’ said the prosecutor with his usual smile.
‘Corporal Perl why didn’t you leave the trenches’ asked the colonel who was still sitting on his chair
Corporal Perl look to him and said ‘major bojan was shot and he fell on me and knocked me cold sir’
‘Where you lying unconscious in the trenches during the entire attack’ asked the colonel
‘Yes sir’ said corporal Perl
The colonel drew a deep breath and stared to the president and said ‘that is all’
The president who was staring at the prisoner said with his hand folded ‘do you have witness to that?’
‘No sir’ said corporal Perl staring at the president ‘I guessed all of them were too busy to notice me, there were so many other lying dead anyway’
‘But you have no witness?’ asked the president with his hand s still folded
‘No sir, I only have a large cut on my head sir’ said the corporal
The president stared at the injury on corporal Perl’s head and said ‘that could be self inflicted corporal Perl nodded his head not in affirmation but for that fact that the president didn’t believe him
‘you may stand out ‘ said the president and corporal Perl saluted and walked back to his seat, crossing his hands on the table the president turned to the prosecutor and said ‘Mr. prosecutor you can make you plea now’
The prosecutor stood up from the table after a nod and he folded his hands as he paced round the room and then began ‘gentle men of the court, this case speaks for itself all of us witness the regrettable attack yesterday morning, and I say that attack was a stain on the flag of France, a blood on the honor of every man, woman and child of the French nation…’ the prosecutor paused for a while and walked back close to his seat and then pointed at the prisoners ‘I asked this court to find the accused guilty and impose the penalty prescribed by the code of military justice’ the prosecutor said this time very seriously and then sat down on his seat.
The president turned to the colonel and said ‘colonel would you like to make you plea’ the colonel slowly stood up and began pacing the middle of the hall with his hands on his pocket.
‘gentle menh of the court there are times when I am ashamed to be a member of the human race this is one such occasion’ the colonel still with his hands on his pocket gasped for breath and began walking to where his seat was.
‘It is impossible to summarize the case of the defense, the court never allowed me a reasonable opportunity to present my case’ the colonel stopped at his table gazing directly to the walls ahead,
‘Are you protesting against the authenticity of this court ‘said the major-General who had remained quiet and was sitting in an arm chair at the corner of the room
The colonel turned back and said. ‘yes ‘ and began walking to the opposite chair where the prosecutor was sitting and said to him ‘the attack yesterday morning was no stain to the flag of France, certainly no disgrace to the fighting men of this nation’ the colonel turned back to the court
‘but this court marshal is such a stain, such a disgrace, the case made against this men his a mockery to all human justice’ the colonel turned to the table where the president and the other council members were sitting and went on ‘gentle men of the court to find this men guilty will be a crime that will hunt each of you till the day you die therefore I humbly beg you show mercy to this men’ the colonel concluded and went back to his seat.
The whole executive stare after him and a while letter the president stood up and said
‘Execution we take place at 7:00 clock according to the verdict of the court marshal, the accused we be escorted back to the guardroom, the hearing is closed’
The inn was crowned by soldiers who were making sound with their fingers in their mouth, they all had a bottle of bear In their hand and as they listened to the jester who was making jokes on a platform in front of them, they laughed and cheer some of them were hitting their bottles on the table to make the noise louder. Soon the jester left the platform and came with his wife she looked so shy and she had tears in her eyes.
‘She sings like a bird’ said the jester ‘she has the throat of Gold’
The soldiers kept on wailing and then the girl began to sing, and as she sing the loud wailing of the soldier began to go down, and the sweet melodious and melancholic voice began to go up, no one shouted or wail again, no one drank their beers again, the song was like a sword stab into their heart
And soon they began to hum along with her as she sings, indeed the song was coming out from a throat of gold, the humming of the soldier became louder and tears began to fall down from their eyes.
The colonel who after witnessing the execution of some of his men heard their humming as he walked to his quarters and then went to the inn and peered in from the window, he stared for a long time and when he heard the sound of boots approaching he turned back and saw the captain the captain saluted and said,
‘we have been order to return to warfront sir’ the colonel nodded his head and said ‘alright give them a little bit of time’ the captain saluted again as the colonel walked pass him to his quarters.
THE END

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