"Just because they have a pair of shoulder straps, they think they know it all! I would like to put some of them across my knee!" Fred knew enough of German discipline to be vastly amused by this.

But he had no time now to think of trifling things.

His whole energy was devoted to finding some way to turn this new circumstance to his own advantage.

It seemed to him that there ought to be some way of managing it.

And in a moment he got the idea.