very, very good. Thus Max was conquered by a kiss at the wayside.

The girl was very pretty, Max was very good, and she helped me
wonderfully in reducing his superfluous dignity. Her name was Gertrude,
and we spoke of her afterward as "Gertrude the Conqueror." She was a
most enticing little individual, and Max learned that persons of low
degree really may be interesting. That was his first great lesson. I had
some trouble after leaving Augsburg to keep him from taking too many
lessons of the same sort.

Our contract with Franz provided that we should receive no compensation
until after his merchandise had safely reached Basel, but then our
remuneration was to be large. Max had no doubt as to the safe arrival of
the caravan at Basel, and he rejoiced at the prospect. I tried to reduce
the rosy hue of his dreams, but failed. I suggested that we might have
fighting ahead of us harder than any we had known, though we had given
and taken some rough knocks on two of our expeditions. Max laughed and
longed for the fray; he was beginning to live. The fray came quickly
enough after we reached the Black Forest, and the fight was sufficiently
warm to suit even enthusiastic Max. He and I were wounded; one of our
men-at-arms was killed, and Franz's life was saved only by an heroic
feat of arms on Max's part. The robbers were driven off; we spent a
fortnight in a near-by monastery, that our wounds might heal, and again
started for Basel.

During the last week in March we approached Basel. Max had saved the
merchant's life; we had protected the caravan from robbery; and good
Franz was grateful. Notwithstanding our sure reward, Max was gloomy. The
future had lost its rosiness; his wound did not readily heal; Basel was
half a hundred leagues off our road to Burgundy. Why did we ever come to