e anxious to
see the bales disposed of to your liking on the barge."

The captain thereupon took himself off, and Roland came to the
conclusion that he liked this rough-and-ready mariner with so little to
say for himself; a silent man of action, evidently.

Herr Goebel turned his attention to Roland.

"I have ordered bales of cloth to the value of a trifle more than four
thousand thalers to be placed in the barge," he said. "The bales are
numbered, and I have given the captain an inventory showing the price of
each. I suppose you despise our vulgar traffic, and, indeed, I had no
thought of asking so highly placed a person as yourself to sell my
goods, therefore Blumenfels will superintend the marketing when you
reach Cologne--that is, if you ever get so far."

"Your pardon, Herr Goebel, but I have my own plans regarding the
disposal of your goods. I intend to be quit of them long before I see
Cologne. Indeed, should I prosper, I hope your boat will set its nose
southward for the return journey some distance this side of Coblentz."

The merchant gazed up at him in astonishment.

"Your design is impossible. There is no sale for cloth nearer than
Coblentz. Your remarks prove you unacquainted with the river."

"I have walked every foot of both sides of the river between Ehrenfels
and Bonn. There are many wealthy castles on this side of Coblentz."

"True, my good sir, true; but how became they wealthy? Simply by robbing
the merchants. Are you not aware that each of these castles is inhabited
by a titled brigand? You surely do not expect to sell my cloth to the
Barons?"

"Why not? Remember how long it is since a cloth-barge went down the
Rhine. Think for a moment of the arduous life which these Barons lead,
hunting the boar, the bear, and the deer, tearing recklessly through
thicket and over forest-covered ground. Why, our noble friends must be
in rags by this time, or clad in the skins of the beasts they kill! They
will be delighted to see and handle a piece of well-woven cloth once
more."

For a full minute the merchant gaped aghast at this senseless talk so
seriously put forward; then a smile came to his lips.

"Prince Roland, I begin to understand you. Your words are on a par with
the practical joke you played upon me so successfully last night. Of
course, you know as well as I that the Barons will buy nothing. They
will take such goods as they want if you but give them opportunity. What
you say is merely you