Before I had been talking long, I made the acquaintance of a beggar belonging to the class called _Kommando-Schieber_. These fellows beg usually within very small districts, and know every house that is "good" for a meal or a pfennig. My newly made friend was kind enough to instruct both Carl and me in regard to Magdeburg. "This town is rather _heiss_ [unfriendly]", said he, "but if you look out and beg very carefully you can get along. A great trick here now is to tip the _Portier_ of good houses, and thus get the pull on every flat in the building. You've got to look out for the _Putz_, though, for if you're caught, you're sure for twenty-four hours in the _Kasten_ [prison]. Another scheme that works pretty well with us fellows who know the town is to send around begging letters. You can easily make quite a _Stoss_ [haul] if you work the plan well. Still, it's risky for strangers. If you're going to stay here long, you'd better make friends with the _Herbergsvater_. He's a pretty good _Kerl_ [fellow], and if you let him know that you've got a little money, he'll look out for you when the Putz makes his inspection now and then. There's nothing, you know, like standing in with them that are _klug_ [clever], and you can bet that fellow is.... What do you say to a schnapps, brother?" He had earned his drink, for he gave me a great many hints which were necessary to successful begging. One of them was about getting a pass. "Now, if you can scrape a little coin together," he said, "I'll tell you how to get a _Flebbe_ that no Putz can find out whether it's forged or not. You see that fellow over there near the window--well, he looks like a fool, but if you can give him five marks, he'll get you a _Wanderbuch_ that'll pass you anywhere. But don't go at him too clumsily, you know; take the matter easy. Nothing like taking your time, brother, is there?" I agreed that this was orthodox tramp doctrine, and determined to think the matter over, which I did, and came to the conclusion that I might eventually get into more trouble with a false pass than without any. And later experience approved the decision.