But the latter did not
even look up from his work, and briefly answered:

"In a moment; sit down!"

The two men were good friends.

Only a few weeks before Schmitz had stood amidst the mechanics at the
lathe, pushing mechanically one cube of wood after the other into the
sharp teeth of the rotating steel. This sort of activity had permitted
him to indulge in his own thoughts, for it did not require him to
expend his intellect as well as his brawn.

But in a short while qualities had been detected in the quiet,
diligent workingman which brought him advancement. His military
training and the self-sufficing determination which he had acquired in
dealing with raw recruits had given him a knack of controlling his
fellow-workers. Thus it came about that Schmitz was promoted to the
position of overseer in the machine hall, the same in which he had so
far toiled with the rest. His fellow-workers, of course, looked with
envy upon this _parvenu_, who had only recently appeared among them
and who now played the part of commander. There was no dearth of
scornful remarks at his expense, but the old soldier understood very
well how to baffle such behavior.

In the morning, after he had seen his men busily at work at their
various tasks, he frequently paid a visit to Maurer, who was employed
as an engineer.

And during these matutinal chats Maurer discovered in Schmitz a man
whom it would be easy to gain for his cause,--the cause of Socialism.
Maurer himself was one of the most notorious local leaders of the
Socialist hosts, and he felt sure that this new man would become a
valuable addition to the ranks of the forces acting under his
supervision.

In this assumption, indeed, Maurer was not mistaken. Schmitz was still
harboring the hatred against militarism and the government, which had
been engendered in him by his own experience in the army. A
deep-seated, grim feeling fermented in his soul because of the bitter
injustice done him. He could not forget that the best years of his
life had been frittered away in a service which in the end proved of
no avail to him. Thus, he had become a recruit for the Socialist
cause, and it had scarcely needed the persuasions of his new comrade,
Maurer, to induce him to forswear all allegiance to the ancient cause
of king and fatherland, and to vow service with body and soul to the
red flag. The loyal soldier had become a strong pillar of the
Socialist Party. On the morrow Schmitz was to m