CHAPTER V.

THE BEAUTIFUL CASTLE

"Father's coming, father's coming," cried Bertha, as she ran down the
steps and out into the street.

Her father had been away for two days, and Hans had gone with him.
They had been to Heidelberg. Bertha and Gretchen had never yet
visited that city, although it was not more than twenty miles away.

"Oh, dear, I don't know where to begin," Hans told the girls that
evening.

"Of course, I liked to watch the students better than anything else.
The town seems full of them. They all study in the university, of
course, but they are on the streets a good deal. They seem to have a
fine time of it. Every one carries a small cane with a button on the
end of it. They wear their little caps down over their foreheads on
one side."

"What colour do they have for their caps, Hans?" asked Gretchen.

"All colours, I believe. Some are red, some blue, some yellow, some
green. Oh, I can't tell you how many different kinds there are. But
they were bright and pretty, and made the streets look as though it
must be a festival day."