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THE distance from the barracks to the _champ de tir_ was about 4 km., and we walked this four times a day. After the _rassemblement_ the sergeant or lieutenant reviewed the soldiers to see that each man's kit was in good order, that no straps were missing or undone, that the shoes were clean, that the whitish grey trousers of the uniform _campagne d'Afrique_ were immaculate, that the gun was not rusty, and that the knapsack contained the regulation weight for that day. If any one of these things was not in order, the soldier had to return to his room and remedy the neglect, and if it should happen that he was not back in time when the troops marched out, he was meted out severe punishment. But even if he were back in time he was not spared some sort of punishment.
Everything was punished--everything that was not strictly _règlement_. It was as bad as the word _verboten_ in Germany. The word _règlement_ got on one's nerves.