t have greatly distinguished himself. I do not suppose that he will
himself tell us his exploits; but I shall soon learn all about them from
others. I am to meet his colonel this evening at a dinner at the palace,
and shall be able to give you the whole history tomorrow."

"But I want the history now," Thekla said. "It is much nicer to hear a
thing straight from some one who has done it, than from any one else."

"There is no story to tell," Malcolm said. "I had been promised my
lieutenancy at the first vacancy before I was at Mansfeld, and on my
return found that the vacancy had already occurred, and I was appointed.
I got my company the other day for a very simple matter, namely, for
swimming across the Rhine with a barrel fixed on each side of me to
prevent my sinking. Nothing very heroic about that, you see, young
lady."

"For swimming across the Rhine!" the count said. "Then you must have
been the Scottish officer who with a sergeant swam and fetched the boat
across which enabled the Swedes to pass a body of troops over, and so
open the way into the Palatinate. I heard it spoken of as a most gallant
action."

"I can assure you," Malcolm said earnestly, "that there was no gallantry
about it. It was exceedingly cold, I grant, but that was all."

"Then why should the king have made you a captain for it? You can't get
over that."

"That was a reward for my luck," Malcolm laughed. "`Tis better to be
lucky than to be rich, it is said, and I had the good luck to discover
a boat concealed among the bushes just at the time when a boat was worth
its weight in gold."

For an hour Malcolm sat chatting, and then took his leave, as he was
going on duty, promising to return the next day, and to spend as much of
his time as possible with them while they remained in the city.

CHAPTER XII THE PASSAGE OF THE LECH

For the next two months the Green Brigade remained quietly at Maintz,
a welcome rest after their arduous labours. The town was very gay, and
every house was occupied either by troops or by the nobles and visitors
from all parts of Northern Europe. Banquets and balls were of nightly
occurrence; and a stranger who arrived in the gay city would not have
dreamt that a terrible campaign had just been concluded, and that
another to the full as arduous was about to commence.

During this interval of rest the damages which the campaign had effected
in the armour and accoutrements of men and officers were repaired,