e peasant I seemed to be, down the Rhine, now
on one side, now on the other, until I came to the ancient town of
Castra Bonnensia of the Romans, which name the inhabitants now shorten
to Bonn. There I found the Archbishop in residence, and not at Cologne,
as I had supposed. The town being thronged with soldiers and inquisitive
people of Cologne's court, I returned up the Rhine again, remembering I
had gone rather far afield, and although you may not believe it, I
called upon my old friend the custodian of Ehrenfels, and enjoyed an
excellent meal with him, consuming some of the seductive wine that is
grown on the same side of the river about a league above Ehrenfels."

"I dare say," said the merchant, "that I can give the reason for this
apparently reckless visit of yours to Ehrenfels. You were in want of
money, the five hundred thalers being spent."

"Sir, you are exactly in the right, and I got it, too, without nearly so
much talk as I have been compelled to waste on the present occasion."

"What was your object in going down the river instead of turning to
Frankfort?"

"I had become interested in my prison, and had studied methods by which
it could be successfully attacked. I knew that my father allowed the
Barons of the Rhine to override him, and I wondered if his wisdom was
greater than I thought. Probably, said I to myself, he knew their
castles to be impregnable, but, with the curiosity of youth, I desired
to form an opinion of my own. I therefore lodged as a wayfarer at every
castle to I could gain admittance, making friends with some underling,
and getting a bed on occasion in the stables, although often I lodged
within the castle itself. Thus I came to the belief, which I bring to
you, that assisted by twenty fearless men I can capture any castle on
the Rhine with the exception of three. And now, Herr Goebel, I have said
all I intend to say. Do you discredit my story?"

The merchant gazed across at him quizzically for some time without
making any reply, then he said:

"Do you think I believe you?"

"Frankly, I do not."

"If I am unable to give you the gold, I can at least furnish some good
advice. Set up as a poet, good Master Roland, and weave for our
delectation stories of the Rhine. I think your imagination, if
cultivated, would give you a very high place among the romancers of our
time."

With a patience that Herr Goebel had not expected, Roland replied:

"It grieves me to return empty-handed to