ou are not. The very first proviso is that you pay to me across
this table a thousand thalers in gold."

The smile came again to the lips of the merchant.

"Anything else?" he asked.

"Yes. You will select one of your largest barges, and fill it with
whatever class of goods you deal in."

"Don't you know what class of goods I deal in?"

"No! I do not."

Goebel's smile broadened. That a youth so ignorant of everything
pertaining to the commerce of Frankfort, should come in thus boldly and
demand a thousand thalers in gold from a man whose occupation he did not
know, seemed to the merchant one of the greatest pieces of impudence he
had encountered in his long experience of men.

"After all, my merchandise," he said, "matters little one way or another
when I am engaged with such a customer as you. What next?"

"You will next place a price upon the shipload; a price such as you
would accept if the boat reached Cologne intact. I agree to pay you that
money, together with the thousand thalers, when I return to Frankfort."

"And when will that be, young sir?"

"You are better able to estimate the length of time than I. I do not
know, for instance, how long it takes a barge to voyage from Frankfort
to Cologne."

"Given fair weather, which we may expect in July, and premising that
there are no interruptions, let us say a week."

"Would a man journeying on horseback from Cologne to Frankfort reach
here sooner than the boat?"

"The barge having to make headway against a strong current, I should say
the horseman would accomplish the trip in a third of the time."

"Very well. To allow for all contingencies, I promise to pay the money
one month from the day we leave the wharf at Frankfort."

"That would be eminently satisfactory."

"I forgot to mention that I expect you, knowing more about navigation
than I, to supply a trustworthy captain and an efficient crew for the
manning of the barge. I should like men who understand the currents of
the river, and who, if questioned by the Barons, would not be likely to
tell more than they were asked."

"I can easily provide such a set of sailors."

"Very well, Herr Goebel. Those are my requirements. Will you agree to
supply them?"

"With great pleasure, my young and enthusiastic friend, provided that
you comply with one of the most common of our commercial rules."

"And what is that, mein Herr?"

"Before you depart you will leave with me ample security that if I never