Page:The Jail, Experiences in 1916.pdf/151

 eyes, saying that he had no rest, that life had become loathsome to him and that he would rather beat his head against the wall until it burst. He said that all Cracow, in fact, all Galicia knew him, and were all now aware that he was in jail for deception and fraud, and God knew he was innocent. Perhaps if he had been put. into our cell, the thing would not have happened which happened later...

The gloating of people who were rid of others did not last long. On the following day quite early we had a new arrival—another corporal. A short thick-set man, with a face of which Hedrich, when he had looked at it, remarked that it was one of those which a man would rather not see when he is by himself in aforest or upon a lonely road. The fellow looked around; noticed that all the people were of a better class (Intelligenz-Zimmer!), probably wanted to impress them, and began holding forth. He and a comrade had stolen the regimental cashbox, had carried it off somewhere, opened it and removed seventy-five thousand crowns. When it came out, they made a small fire, and it seemed that the worthy authorities actually discovered corners and edges of the burnt thousand-crown hanknotes. And when doubts arose as to whether the whole quota had been burnt, our corporal suggested to them that they themselves should also burn seventy-five thousand-crown notes and weigh the ashes,—there would not be an ounce more than the ashes from what they had burnt in their fit of panic. And at this he laughed until his eyes filled with tears, the worthy authorities had by no means been prepared to make such a test. The censorists were enormously interested by this story, they asked about one thing after another, and the corporal told his tale in a very open and self-possessed manner. He would get at the most eight years for it, not more. The sentences for such thefts increased in a very moderate proportion; for five thousand he would get two years, for