Harper's Round Table, March 9, 1897

A teenage Tom Rodman finds himself thrust into the bustling streets of a Rhine town just as the Franco‑Prussian war erupts. Living with the scholarly Schinkel family, he watches a troop of German soldiers claim the houses as night quarters, and his curiosity quickly turns to admiration for the stout, charismatic Corporal Kutchke who shares lively tales of army life.

Tom’s eagerness to help—running for bread and meat, arranging beds for the weary troops—reveals a young boy yearning for purpose and adventure far beyond the classroom. The narrative captures the vivid clash of cultures: an American youth, fluent in German, confronting the realities of war through the eyes of seasoned soldiers, while the town’s civilians scramble to accommodate the marching men.

The opening sets a lively tableau of 1870s Europe, blending humor, youthful idealism, and the stark demands of military duty, inviting listeners to experience Tom’s first steps toward an unexpected destiny.