ith his stories of rivers and cities and countries
that he had seen, and of battles fought along rivers and across them.
Then, suddenly, the gruff voice grew deep and savage, like the growl of
an angry bear, and he exclaimed:

"I haf seen some men, too, of de kind I run avay from--"

"Policemen?" said Jack.

"Yah; dat is de name I gif dem," growled the angry German. "De Tsar of
Russia, I vas see him, and he vas noding but a chief of boleece. De
old Kaiser of Germany, he vas a goot man, but he vas too mosh chief of
boleece. So vas de Emperor of Austria; I vas see him. So vas de
Sultan of Turkey, but he vas more a humpug dan anyting else. Dere ees
leetle boleece in Turkey. I see de Emperor Napoleon before he toomble
down. He vas noding but a boleeceman. I vas so vild glad ven he comes
down. De leetle kings, I care not so mosh for. You comes to
Vashington, and I show you some leetle kings--" and Mr.
Guilderaufenberg grew good-humored and began to laugh.

"What kind of kings?" asked Jack.

"Leetle congressman dot is choost come de first time, und leetle beeg
man choost put into office. Dey got ofer it bretty soon, und de fun is
gone."

There was a long silence after that. The broad German sat in an
arm-chair, and pretty soon he slipped forward a little with his knees
very near the network below the rail of the Columbia. Then Jack heard
a snore, and knew that his traveler friend was sound asleep.

[Illustration: _His traveler friend was sound asleep_.]

"I wish I had a chair to sleep on, instead of this campstool," thought
Jack. "I'll have a look all around the boat and come back."

It took a long while to see the boat, and the first thing he discovered
was that a great many people had failed to secure staterooms or berths.
They sat in chairs, and they lounged on sofas, and they were curled up
on the floor; for the Columbia had received a flood of tourists who
were going home, and a large part of the passengers of another boat
that had been detained on account of an accident at Albany; so the
steamer was decidedly overcrowded.

"There are more people aboard," thought Jack, "than would make two such
villages as Crofield, unless you should count in the farms and farmers.
I'm glad I came, if it's only to know what a steamboat is. I haven't
spent a cent of my nine dollars yet, either."

Here and there he wandered, until he came out at the stern, and had a
look at the foaming wake of the boat, and at t