oard the ships, much less to climb the rope ladders to the
mastheads. A very sensible prohibition. But the more sensible it was,
the greater was our desire to disregard it, and in the game of "robber
and wayfarer," of which we were all very fond, disregarding of this
prohibition was almost a matter of course. Furthermore, discovery lay
beyond the range of probability; our parents were either at their
"party" or invited to dine out. "So let's go ahead. If anybody tells
on us, he will be worse off than we."

So we thought one Sunday in April, 1831. It must have been about that
time of year, for I can still recall the clear, cold tone of the
atmosphere. On the ship there was not a sign of life, and on the
"Bulwark" not a human soul to be seen, which further proves to me that
it was a Sunday.

I, being the oldest and strongest, was the robber, of course. Of the
eight or ten smaller boys only one was in any measure able to compete
with me. That was an illegitimate child, called Fritz Ehrlich
(Honorable), as though to compensate him for his birth. These boys had
set out from the Church Square, the usual starting-point of the chase,
and were already close after me. I arrived at the "Bulwark" exhausted,
and, as there was no other way of escape, ran over a firm broad plank
walk toward the nearest ship, with the whole pack after me. This
naturally forced me to go on from the first ship to the second and
from the second to the third. There was no going any further, and if I
wished, in spite of this dilemma, to escape my enemies, there was
nothing left for me but to seek a hiding-place on the ship itself, or
at least a spot difficult of access. I found such a place and climbed
up about the height of a man to the top of the superstructure near the
cabin. In this superstructure was usually to be found, among other
rooms, the ship's cuisine. My climbing was facilitated by steps built
in the perpendicular wall. And there I stood then, temporarily safe,
gazing down as a victor at my pursuers. But the sense of victory did
not last long; the steps were there for others as well as for me, and
an instant later Fritz Ehrlich was also on the roof. Now I was indeed
lost if I foiled to find another way of escape. So, summoning all my
strength, I took as long a running start as the narrow space would
permit and sprang from the roof of the kitchen over the intervening
strip of water back to the second ship and then ran for the shore, as
though