dog, who, true to his post, had been barking round the flock, and
now came back to give his master's legs a confidential flap with his
tail. "Look at this dog! When I have had a dog in training for two
years, he is either good or not. If not, I send him away, and have done
with him; if good, I can trust him as I do myself, so long as he lives.
That boy yonder with the wethers I have had three years with me, and I
can never tell the hour that some confounded freak or other may not come
into his head, or that, instead of driving my sheep to the right, he may
not run off to the left. That's why I say there's not much reliance to
be placed upon men."

"And on whom do you rely in this world?" asked Anton.

"First of all on myself, for I know myself; then on my dog Crambo, for I
know him too, and, besides, I trust as I ought." He looked up for a
moment, then gave a low whistle, and Crambo again set out on his rounds.
"And you, sir," continued the shepherd, "shall you remain with the
baron?"

"I think so."

"May I ask as what? You are neither steward nor bailiff, for you have
not yet looked at the wethers. The wethers should be sold; it's high
time for it. So may I ask what you are to the new landlord?"

"If you want a name, you may call me his accountant."

"Accountant," said the shepherd, thoughtfully; "then I am to discuss my
allowance with you."

"You shall do so the next time we meet."

"There is no hurry," said the shepherd; "but one likes to know how one
stands. There is a pane broken in my room; the glazier will be coming to
the castle, and I hope, Mr. Accountant, you will remember me."

Karl and the farmer now joined them. "To the forester's!" cried Anton to
the driver.

"You mean to go to the forester's?" inquired the farmer.

"To the forester's!" repeated the shepherd, drawing nearer.

"Why does that surprise you?" inquired Anton from the carriage.

"Only," stammered out the farmer, "because the forester is a strange
man. If the baron himself were to come, he would not surrender."

"Does he live in a fortress, then?" inquired Anton, laughing.

"He locks himself up," said the tenant, "and lets no one enter; he has a
way of his own."

"He is a wild man of the woods," said the shepherd, shaking his head.

"The Poles say that he is a magician," continued the farmer.

"He can make himself invisible," cried the shepherd.

"Do you believe that?" asked Karl, much amazed.

"Not I, but there are plenty