Alexander Altmann A10567 by Suzy Zail Read Free Book Online Page B

and slipped it into the rolled-up cuff of his trousers. Most of the men in the barrack smoked, the Rat included. It wouldn’t hurt to have a cigarette up his sleeve. Or in his trouser cuff.
    “Her name is Chestnut,” he said to the next child, forgetting himself.
    “I didn’t ask you to talk,” the boy’s father said, lifting his child onto the pony. So Alexander didn’t. He led Chestnut around the ring, slowly, and deposited the child at the gate. He then helped the next one on. And the next child and the next, until they all looked alike, and his shirt was wet with sweat and he was dizzy with hunger.
    “Over here!” The kapo waved Alexander to the stable door after the last child had left. “It’s hot out there, give her a drink.” He pointed to the water trough. Alexander hung the helmet on a fence post and led Chestnut to the metal trough. He shooed the flies from her eyes and watched her slurp the water, wishing he could touch his tongue to the wet metal. He hadn’t been this thirsty in a long time. Not since the cattle train. When Chestnut raised her head from the trough and shook it, Alexander leaned in to catch the spray coming off her mane and when she stopped, and he saw the water drip from her nose, he reached out to catch it. He rubbed her wet neck and ran his hands over her soaking muzzle and brought both hands to his lips to suck the moisture from his fingers.
    The men in the Horse Platoon filed out of the stable. In the harsh light Alexander could see their bruised skin and the dark circles under their eyes. Their shirts were stained blue-black at the armpits and their pants flecked with mud, but their horses’ coats gleamed. The commander strode into the sunshine after them.
    “Get to work! These horses need exercise. Run them around the paddock. I want to see them sweat.” He raised his whip and brought it down hard against his boot. The men hurried into the yard, pulling their horses after them. The breeder’s son, Nussbaum, left the stable last. He held his lead loosely, the commander’s white stallion stepping into the sunshine after him. The horse’s forelock had been combed back from his chiselled head and his feet were sponged clean. His muscles rippled. Alexander couldn’t take his eyes off the horse. He watched them enter the paddock, wishing that it was his hand wrapped around the reins, his foot sliding into the stirrup. It wasn’t fair, to be landed with the pony while the rest of the men – Isidor included – spent their days riding horses. Alexander gritted his teeth.
    Nussbaum sprung off his right foot and raised himself up in the stirrup. The Horse Platoon fell silent. Men dropped reins, heads spun around. The kapo stiffened, backed away from the water trough and ran for the gate. Alexander watched him go, saw him lope into the paddock, lunge at Nussbaum and shout, “No!”
    Alexander stared up at the boy who was frozen in ascent, having realised his mistake. No one else was on horseback.
    “Get down!” the kapo hissed, clawing at the boy’s pants. The boy swung his leg back over the horse but his foot didn’t touch the ground.
    “How dare you!” The commander’s face twisted in anger. He grabbed Nussbaum by the collar, dragged him from the horse, yanked the boy’s arm behind his back and marched him from the paddock.
    “Tie him up and bring the rest of them.” The commander stopped at an upright post sunk into the ground and shoved the boy onto his knees so that he kneeled before it. He kicked the boy’s arms out and waited for a guard to tie his wrists to the post. Alexander felt winded. He’d thought the post was for tethering horses. He looped Chestnut’s lead rope around a fence post and stepped into line. “Make sure they’re watching.” The commander turned to the inmates. “If anyone looks away, they get shot.”
    Alexander was going to have to watch. He dug his nails into his palms and forced his eyes to follow the sweep of the commander’s