War is a horrible thing, and Rodolph before long was seen upon the field of victory; here he behaved so bravely that he was made a corporal, and afterwards a sergeant; and at another hard fought battle attracted the notice of his officer, and was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant.
But good fortune was in store for the young soldier, in a way that he would never have thought of; it happened that the wife of the colonel of the regiment to which Rodolph belonged, who had followed her husband to the field of battle, was surprised one day while alone, by two stragglers from the enemy who were proceeding to rob and perhaps murder her; when very fortunately Rodolph and another soldier who happened near the spot, and drawing their swords, attacked the robbers boldly; Rodolph's comrade however received a severe wound, and he was therefore left alone to defend himself and the lady against the ruffians; but Rodolph was fearless and fought desperately; he wounded the two villains, and conveyed the lady in safety to the tent of the officer.
The colonel scarcely knew how to show his gratitude; he gave Rodolph a large sum of money which he immediately sent home to his mother, and gave him also the command of a company of soldiers, after raising him to the rank of captain.
How happy was Rodolph when he was thus raised from a common soldier and many hardships, to independence and honour, notwithstanding all the dangers and sufferings he had encountered. Another officer was, however, very much displeased with the good fortune which had attended one whom he considered to be so much below him, and took every opportunity to insult and injure him. Rodolph bore this for some time with great patience, but at last the gentleman became so ugly and troubled him so much, that he could not bear it any longer; and the consequence was, though he knew it was very wrong, that he was forced to fight a duel, or else be looked upon as a coward by the rest of his companions in arms.
They at length met to fight, and Rodolph not wishing to harm his enemy, fired his pistol in the air, but the other taking advantage of Rodolph, severely wounded him. It was sometime before Rodolph recovered, but he did at last, and by earnestly entreating the officers to save the man who had thus acted treacherously towards him, he escaped a severe punishment which he otherwise would have met with. The noble conduct of Rodolph filled him with gratitude; he asked his forgiveness, which was instantly granted, and they became the best of friends.