The young man strode forward, drew back the bolt, and flung open the door.  An officer, with two soldiers behind him, came across the threshold, and at the side-motion of the officer’s head a soldier closed and bolted the door.  Roland experienced a momentary thrill of indignation at this rude intrusion, then he remembered he was a mechanic, and that his line must be the humble and deferential.

“You came to-night from the Imperial Palace.  What were you doing there?”

“I was trying to gain admission, sir.”

“For what purpose?”

“I wished,” said Roland, rapidly outlining his defense in his own mind, “I wished to see some high officer; some one of your own position, sir, but was not so fortunate as to succeed.  I could not pass the sentries without a permit, which I did not then possess, but hope to acquire to-morrow.”

“Again I ask, for what purpose?”

“For a purpose which causes me delight in meeting your excellency.”

“I am no excellency.  Come to the point!  For what purpose?”

“To show the officer a sword of such superior quality that a man armed with it, and given a certain amount of skill, stands impregnable.”

“Do you mean to tell me you went to the Royal Palace for the purpose of selling a second-hand sword?”

“Oh, no, my lord.”

“Do not be so free with your titles.  Call me Lieutenant.”

“Well, Lieutenant, sir; I hope to get orders for a hundred, or perhaps a thousand of these weapons.”

“Where did you go after leaving the Palace?”

“I went to the residence of that great Prince of the Church, the Archbishop of Cologne.”

“Ah!  You did not succeed in seeing his Lordship, I suppose?”

“Pardon me, Lieutenant, but I did.  His Lordship is keenly interested in both weapons and armor.”

“Did he give you an order for swords?”

“No, Lieutenant; he seems to be a very cautious man.  He asked me to visit him in Cologne, or if I could not do that, to see his general, now in Frankfort.  You understand, Lieutenant, the presence of the three Archbishops with their armies offers me a great opportunity, by which I hope to profit.”

The officer looked at him with a puzzled expression on his face.

“Where next did you go?”

“I went to the house of a merchant in the Fahrgasse.”

“Ah, that tale doesn’t hold!  Merchants are not allowed to wear swords.”

“No, Lieutenant, but a merchant on occasion can supply capital that will enable a skilled workman to accept a large contract.  If I should see the general of his Lordship to-morrow, and he gave me an order for, say, two thousand swords, I have not enough money to buy the metal, and I could not ask for payment until I delivered the weapons.”

“Did the merchant agree to capitalize you?”

“He, too, was a cautious man, Lieutenant.  He wished first to see the contract, and know who stood responsible for payment.”