All eyes were on Will, and he suddenly felt uncertain. Swallowing nervously, he answered, “I just don’t think you should goad him about his mother, sir.”
The sergeant took a moment and seemed to fall into deep reflection before saying, “Is that so?” Then he looked down at Tiny. “Mister Shaw, according to Mister Cartwright I owe you an apology. Did it hurt your feelings when I suggested that the reason you’re such a colossal turd is because your mother was a farm animal?”
Facing the sharp end of a spear had caused Tiny to calm down quickly, but he still answered honestly, “A little bit, sir.”
Sergeant Nash planted the butt end of the spear in the ground and offered his other hand to the fallen soldier. “Then I apologize, Mister Shaw. Let me help you up.” Once Tiny was back on his feet, the sergeant addressed the company again, “I hope you all learned a lesson in courtesy from Mister Cartwright here.”
Will’s shoulders itched as he felt everyone’s eyes on him.
Chapter 38
That evening Will managed to save a few extra bites for Tiny, but it was an exercise of willpower for him. The long day’s labor had given him a tremendous appetite. But if I’m this hungry, how bad is it for him? he asked himself.
Dave glanced up at them. “Ain’t that cute. Will’s got himself a girlfriend.”
They ignored the remark, but Corporal Taylor took notice, staring at Tiny for a second as though he had just remembered something. Finally, he said, “They want you lean, Tiny, but given your size you probably need a little more.” He offered the big man the last portion of his pottage. “I’ll talk to the mess sergeant later and see if they can give you a little more from now on.”
Tiny seemed embarrassed, and he stared at his knees. “Thanks, Corporal.”
Dave spoke up again. “Sergeant Nash really seemed to love you, Cartwright.”
Before Will could reply, Sven jumped in. “Just his bad luck. They always single someone out like that.”
Corporal Taylor nodded in agreement, but Will was confused. “What do you mean?”
Sven waved his spoon as he talked to emphasize his point. “This ain’t my first time in the army. I served five years as an enlisted soldier when I was a lot younger. They always pick someone and praise them like that. They try to make the others jealous. If he’s a good instructor he’ll switch to someone else in a few days, before the men get so mad they start laying for you at night. He’ll probably turn you into his problem child just to fuck with your head.”
Will didn’t like the sound of that. Either way, it seemed like he was in trouble. Either the sergeant would start picking on him, or the other men would start trying to catch him alone. Pushing that thought aside, he asked, “What about Tiny? Why’d he go after him like that?”
“He was the best example, given his size,” answered Corporal Taylor.
“Example?” Will was confused.
Sven pointed at Tiny with his spoon. “Look at him, he’s huge. Probably the biggest guy in the whole cohort. The sergeant needed someone to teach the hotheads in the company a lesson. Otherwise someone might decide to take a shot at him when he isn’t looking.”
“At who?” asked Will.
“At the sergeant, dumbass,” said Sven. “Everyone hates them, or at least they will by the time they get through breaking us in. So what they do is pick out someone that looks big, or maybe someone who seems especially tough. They push ‘em until they have no choice, and when the poor guy snaps they put him down fast so nobody else will get the same idea.”
“That’s stupid,” said Dave, spitting out a piece of gristle.
“Would you take a shot at the sergeant then?” asked Sven.
Dave huffed. “I’m not afraid of him, but I guess I’d think twice about it after today.”
“I’ve made my point,” said Sven smugly. “You’re exactly the sort of asshole that demonstration was meant for.”
Dave started to jump up, but Corporal Taylor grabbed his arm. “Simmer down, Wilson. You’re gonna have to grow a thicker skin if you want to survive around here.”
Dave glared at the corporal and then relaxed. Picking up his bowl, he turned it up and swallowed the last of his food before leaving by himself. Corporal Taylor watched him go, uncertainty written on his face.
Sven was the first to speak, glancing at Will. “He won’t last long at this rate. He got into two fights the day before you got here.”
“Didn’t they punish him for that?” asked Will.
“Only if an officer or sergeant sees it,” said Sven. “Most guys try to avoid that, even if they get their ass kicked, and if you snitch the other guys will do worse to you.”
“That doesn’t seem right.”
Sven shrugged. “Fights happen when you cram this many men into one place. The sergeants know that. They prefer it this way. If they started paying close attention, they’d have to have half the men whipped before they even finished training. They’ll turn a blind eye unless someone gets hurt bad.”
The next days were similar to the first, except that the men spent more time digging trenches and creating long rolling mounds of soil for the earthworks. The idea was to create a wide, sloping trench and pile the earth on one side, effectively creating a wall they could shelter behind. It wasn’t too good against arrows, but for that reason they would erect a small timber wall at the top once the earthen portion was finished. Even without the wall, any enemy charging at them would be forced to first run down into the trench and then up the sloping earth, putting them at a serious disadvantage.
They spent the afternoons drilling, marching, and occasionally sparring. During most of the breaks, one of the sergeants would lecture them on the importance of this or that. Will was particularly interested in a demonstration given by Sergeant Eckels from the Third Platoon.
Eckels was a burly man with an exceptionally thick beard. He stepped out in front of them while they were resting after a particularly long drill session. “I’m going to talk to you about the drills we’ve been doing and why we do them.”
No one said anything.
“You may wonder why we spend more time practicing holding lines and using the spear and shield when you have a perfectly good sword at your side. The main reason for that is because we fight as a team, not as individuals. The sword is a backup weapon for when you’ve either lost your spear, or the enemy has gotten too close for you to use it effectively. We don’t spend as much time on sparring because if you do wind up that close to the enemy you won’t be sparring. There’s no fancy swordplay involved when you’re shoulder-to-shoulder and face-to-face. The only effective thing you can do at that point is thrust, and we’ll make sure you get plenty of practice at that. Any questions so far?”
Again, no one spoke.
The sergeant gestured to two men standing off to one side. They carried a large, weighted pell onto the field. While most of the practice pells they had seen before were wrapped with leather and padding, this one was different in that a standard padded linen gambeson had been placed over it and tied in place.
“Do any of you know why the padded jack is the one piece of armor we issue to every soldier?” asked the sergeant.