alk about until the train started, on
parole. The request was--upon the favorable report of the
sergeant--granted at once; and they were told that no train would
go off until next morning, and that they might sleep in the town,
if they chose.

Thanking the officer for the permission, they went out of the
station; when a tall, big-bearded German sergeant stopped before
them.

"Donner wetter!" he exclaimed, "so here you are, again!"

The boys gave a little start; for they recognized, at once, the
sergeant who had so closely questioned them in the cabaret, upon
the night when they had carried off and hung the schoolmaster.
Ralph saw, at once, the importance of conciliating the man; as a
report from him of the circumstances might render their position a
most unpleasant one and--even in the event of nothing worse coming
of it--would almost ensure their captivity in some prison upon the
farther side of Prussia, instead of at one of the frontier
fortresses.

"Ah, sergeant, how are you?" he said, gaily. "It is our fate, you
see, to be made prisoners. You were very nearly taking us, and now
here we are."

"A nice trick you played me," the sergeant said, surlily, "with
your woodcutters, and your lame brother, and your sick sister, and
your cask of beer. I got a nice reprimand over that affair."

"Come, sergeant," Ralph said, laughing, "let bygones be bygones.
All is fair in war, you know, and we did not touch a single hair of
any of your men's heads. All we wanted was the schoolmaster. It
would not do you any good to talk about it, now, and it might do us
harm. It's quite bad enough for us, as it is."

"You're nice boys, you are," the sergeant said, with his face
relaxing into a smile. "To think of my being taken in, by two lads
like you. Well, you did it well--monstrously well, I will say--for
you never flinched an eyelash.

"So you are officers, after all. I never suspected anything about
it, till three hours afterwards, when we went to relieve the
sentry; and found him lying there, tied up like a bundle. We
couldn't think, even then, what it meant, for you had made no
attack; and it wasn't till morning that we found that the old
schoolmaster had been fetched out of bed, and carried off on the
heads of twenty men.

"Well, it was well done, and I bear you no malice."

"That's right, sergeant. Now come and have a jug of beer with us;
you know, we had one with you, before. Don't you remember, we drank
to the health