noon
For Specht had in his hurry forgotten to remove his artificial moustache , and this gave him such an unusual appearance that it was only when his voice , somewhat shaken by alcoholic excesses , met the soldiers ' ears that they felt sure whom they had before them . The `` instruction '' he thus imparted was certainly very far from enlightening their minds on the duties falling to the share of a defender of the fatherland . Most of the other officers preferred , however , a good long sleep , and simply ignored the work of the day . It was only towards noon when the first captain showed his face at the barracks . Captain König and his faithful Lieutenant Bleibtreu were , in fact , the only officers of the whole regiment who attended to their duties in the forenoon , they having gone home at reasonable hours . Their principle was : first the work , and then the amusement . Captain Hagemann showed himself in the streets , mounted on his favorite horse , as the noon hour struck .