The Gossamer Cord Read Free

was fun to ask the way and receive instructions, and in high spirits we returned to the hotel for lunch.
    The dining room was full and there was only one table available; this was for six and we were given that.
    Hot soup was put before us and, while we were consuming it, the waiter appeared with two young men. He asked our pardon. Edward was concentrating hard to understand him and, with the help of a little miming, we discovered that the young men wanted a meal; there was no place for them, so should we mind if they shared our table? So it was amicably arranged that they should sit with us.
    They were tall and blond and we prepared ourselves to enjoy their company and they ours, it seemed. They were interested when they heard we came from England.
    They lived on the outskirts of Munich, which was a very big city—they added proudly, in Germany second only to Berlin.
    We looked suitably impressed.
    They were in the town on business. Things were different now. They had changed since the Führer came to power.
    We listened attentively. There were questions I wanted to ask, but it was a little difficult because of the language problem, though they spoke some English and, with Edward’s German, we could reach some understanding.
    “We like the English,” they told us.
    “We have found the people here very helpful to us,” Edward said.
    “But of course.”
    I put in: “And we like all we have seen.”
    Dorabella was a little silent. She was hurt, I thought, because they did not pay her the attention she was accustomed to receiving from young men. These two seemed to me too earnest for frivolity.
    “It is good that you come here,” said one of the young men whose name we discovered was Franz. The other was Ludwig.
    “It is good that you see we are now a prosperous people.”
    We waited for him to go on.
    “We have suffered much. After the war…there was a harsh treaty. Oh, we suffered. But no more. We shall be great again.”
    “But you are,” said Dorabella, giving one of her most appealing smiles.
    Both young men then regarded her with interest. “You have seen this?”
    “Oh, yes,” said Dorabella.
    “And you will go home and tell your people Germany is great again?”
    Dorabella said: “Oh, yes.” Although I knew she had no intention of doing so and certainly no one would have been interested if she had.
    “We are proud,” said Ludwig, “because it was here in Munich that our Führer made his great attempt to lead our nation.”
    “What year was that?” asked Edward.
    “1923,” answered Franz. “It was the Putsch in the beer cellar.”
    “Beer cellar!” cried Dorabella. “Can we go to a beer cellar?”
    Neither of the young men seemed to hear that. They were staring silently ahead, their faces flushed with zeal.
    “It failed and he went to prison,” said Franz.
    “But that time was not wasted,” added his friend. “For out of it came Mein Kampf .”
    “And then when Hindenburg died he became Chancellor. And then Dictator…and everything was different,” said the other.
    “Oh, good,” murmured Dorabella. “That must have been nice.” There was a touch of asperity in her voice. She was a little bored by these too earnest young men. However, there was a very friendly atmosphere at the table and the food was good.
    We felt distinctly refreshed and spent a pleasant afternoon exploring the Peterskirche—one of the oldest churches I had ever seen. After that we sat outside a restaurant, drank coffee, and ate some delicious cakes. It was interesting to watch the people strolling by. Edward said we must not stay out too long. We had to think of the journey tomorrow, for we should have to rise early.
    We went back to our hotel. Franz and Ludwig were no longer there. We dined and returned to our rooms where Dorabella and I talked of the day’s events until we dropped off to sleep.
    We were greatly looking forward to arriving in Regenshaven.
    As we stepped from the train, I felt I was in an