"But it will be some years before you are a merchant."

"I am going to join the marines," exclaimed Franz eagerly. "Father
wishes me to be a forester, and I had not made up my mind what I would
be. Now I know. Yes, I will join the marines. Oh, that is a jolly life."

"Are you sure of that, my boy?" asked a man who stood near them on the
crowded bridge, and Mrs. Steiner turned to greet August Stayman whom she
had known from his boyhood, and introduced the boys to him.

"And so you think the life of a marine a jolly one?" he asked, turning
again to Franz. "Well, our kaiser will need good strong men, and I will
not discourage you. I was three years on the sea in storm and adventure,
on a war-vessel, and am yet living and in good health."

"And what are you now?" asked Fritz.

"I am the owner of a cloth and clothing store, and also a tailor, and
can wield the needle as well as ever, although my hands had been
hardened by the heavy ropes."

"Did you have to come to Frankfort to join the marines?" asked Franz.

"No, I was born in Frankfort on the shore of the Main. People used to
call me a water-rat; and they were right, for I became a more expert
seaman on the Main than do many on the ocean. My longing was to be a
seaman, and my mother, who was at first opposed to it, gave consent, and
I have never regretted it. I looked death in the face many times, but
escaped without a scratch."