IN THE PENAL COLONY
103
felt the condemned man's gaze upon him; it seemed to be asking if
he could approve of the procedure described. So the explorer, who
had already leaned back, bent forward once more and asked:
"But he certainly must know that he has been condemned, doesn't
he?" "He doesn't know that either," said the officer, smiling at the
explorer, as if expecting further strange disclosures. "Well, then, "
said the explorer, passing his hand over his forehead, "so this man
still does not know how his defense was undertaken?" "He had
no opportunity of defending himself," said the officer, and looked
to one side, as if he were talking to himself and did not want to
embarrass the explorer by telling these things which seemed to him
self-evident. "But he must surely have had a chance to defend
himself?" said the explorer, rising from the arm-chair.
The officer realized that he was in danger of being held up for
some time in his explanation of the apparatus. So he walked over
to the explorer, took his arm, pointed towards the condemned man
who, seeing that interest was so obviously directed his way, now
stood at attention, while the guard drew the chain tighter. "The
situation is as follows," said the officer. "I was appointed judge in
the penal colony, despite my youth. For I was assistant to the
former commander in all punitive matters and I am the one who
knows the machine best. The principle on which I base my deci–
sions is this: There is never at:J.y doubt about the guilt! Other
courts cannot follow this principle, for they consist of many heads
and also have still higher courts over them. Such is not the case
here, or at least it was not the case with our former commander. To
be sure, the new commander has already shown an inclination to
meddle with my decisions, but I have always succeeded so far in
warding him off, and I shall continue to do so. -You wanted an
explanation of this case: it is as simple as all of them. The captain
notified us this morning that this man, who had been assigned to
his personal service and who slept in front of his door, had fallen
asleep while on duty. For it is his duty to get up each time the
hour strikes and salute before the captain's door. This is certainly
not a difficult duty, but it is a necessary one, for he must be alert
while on guard as well as while serving his superior. Last night
the captain wanted to see
if
the servant was doing his duty. He
opened the door at two o'clock sharp and found him asleep in a
crouching position. He took his riding whip and lashed the man
