"But he learns other useful things," said Paul.

"What are you going to be when you grow up?"

"A teacher, like my father."

"Bah, a teacher! I suppose it is a great pleasure to cudgel some boy every day. Oh, what I have endured from teachers is more than I can tell."

"A good teacher knows how to manage a bad boy without using the cudgel.

It is a weak teacher who knows no other way."

"Oh, just hear our wise one! Let me tell you that your father, great as you appear to think him, could not manage me."

"No, not now, but if you were a boy under his care you would see that he would manage you."

"What are you going to be?" he asked of Fritz.

"A clothing merchant, like my father."

"And cheat buyers by selling poor cloth."

"My father is no swindler," cried Fritz.

Franz had stood back; he did not like the looks of the group, but the roughest looking of the three now put the same question to him.

"A forest-keeper, like my father."

"Then it would be well for you to learn to be a butcher, as I am doing, so you could kill wild animals and dress them."

"Dress them!" exclaimed the boys in surprise.

"Yes, cut them up for packing, as we do cattle. Do you see this butcher knife?" and he held it up to view.

The triplets did not like the look of the butcher and his knife. They were anxious to move on and let the three strangers finish their sleep in the gra.s.s, but this was not the wish of their new acquaintances.

"I will tell you what we will do," said the butcher after the three had talked a moment in a low tone. "We are not far from a village where we intend begging food. We will each take one of you boys to help, and when we reach the end of the village we will divide what we have begged."

"No, we have never done that," cried Fritz. "We will not go from door to door holding out our hands."

"No, we cannot do that, but we will each give you a nickel," said Paul quickly, for he noticed frowns upon the faces of the strangers.

"Agreed!" said the three in a breath, and, rising to their feet, they held out their hands.

Paul and Franz gave out their share immediately, but Fritz fingered so long that the gold-piece fell out, and was seen by the three pairs of eyes. Fritz picked it up quickly and replaced it in his purse, and the three nickels were in the grimy hands of the strangers, who set out for the village.

"You should not have let that butcher boy see your gold-piece," said Paul. "We are traveling the same way, and we don't know what they are planning. The thief in Frankfort got your money out of your pocket with smooth words, but this butcher boy might take a shorter way."

"Let us lose no time in getting out of their path," advised Franz. "I believe the better plan would be to take a train home."

"Oh, no!" objected Fritz; "the Trojans would never get done laughing at us. It is bad enough that we have ridden part of the way, when we boasted so much of taking the whole trip on foot."

"But Paul is right about that butcher boy. I believe that he would stick a boy as willingly as he would a calf."

"I will tell you my plan," said Paul. "Those three tramps have taken the main road; we will take the forest, and walk along where we can see them, and they cannot see us. Then if they strike off in another direction we will come out in the road again."

"That is a first-rate plan," said Fritz; "and it will be so cool and pleasant in the woods."

The boys now took a long look at the apprentices, fearing they would turn and see them enter the woods; but no, they were pa.s.sing along quietly, and the three darted in, and felt that they had escaped a great misfortune. For a long time they kept the road in sight, then, without them knowing how, it disappeared from view, although they believed that they had been keeping a straight course. It seemed to have grown suddenly dark, and there was the low rumbling of thunder.

"That is the reason that it is growing dark; a storm is coming up,"

remarked Paul. "We must have a place of shelter. Let us hurry to the road, and it may be that we will see a house or barn."

It was raining fast by this time. It had not occurred to them to take their rain-coats from their knapsacks, but trudged along in the downpour, the woods now so dark that they could scarcely see each other.

"I wish I had something to eat," said Fritz. "I am as hungry as a wolf."

"And I," seconded Franz.

"And I," agreed Paul.

"Follow me, and we will soon be out of this dark woods," commanded Fritz.

The others obeyed, stumbling over stones, tripping over roots, and running against stumps and briars; but they kept along cheerfully, believing that they would soon reach the road where it would not be so dark.

"I wish I had a piece of that cake that Uncle Braun bought for us the day we went to the tower," remarked Fritz.

"Oh, don't speak of it! It makes me hungrier than ever," said Paul.

"Oh, boys, I see a light, a dim one, but it may be in a house, and the people will give us something to eat. I told you I would lead you right if you would follow me."

"If it is a house, and they will give us some straw to sleep on, we will not try to reach the village where we were to stay all night, for I believe it is growing late," suggested Paul.

"Oh, we have come to a swamp," cried Fritz. "Halt! my shoes are full of water. Now one of them has come off, and is sticking in the mud."

"Here it is," said Paul as he pulled it out, "take it and put it on."

"But I can't stand and put it on. What shall I do?"

"You cannot sit down in the swamp, that is certain. Here, Franz, do you get on one side of him and I on the other and we will hold him up while he puts it on. Now, Fritz, hurry."

Fritz took his shoe, shook out the water, and tried his best to make it go on, but without success. His comrades on either side put out a helping hand, but lost their balance, and all three sat down suddenly in the swamp.

"Now we are wet in the only place we were dry," exclaimed Paul.

"Yes," comforted Fritz, "but my shoe is on, so it is well that we did sit down."

"But there was no need for us all to sit down. If you had taken a seat at first, we could have kept dry."

"But see! the light is still there. Let us hurry. Oh, how glad I am to know that we will see people."