“Big L ventured to look at no one; like an ox that has been felled on the forehead, he stood before his comrades. Little L stood behind him, and never once did his eyes leave his brother’s slightest movement.
“The cadet who had made the foregoing proposition began the trial of L No. I.
“‘Does he admit that he took the belt?’
“‘He admits it.’
“‘Does he feel that he has done something that has made him absolutely unworthy of being a cadet any longer?’
“‘He feels it.’
“‘Does he choose that we report him to the captain or that we thrash him soundly and that the matter shall then be buried?’
“‘He prefers to be soundly thrashed,’
“A sigh of relief went through the whole hall.
“It was determined to finish the matter at once then and there.