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Fanfare, November 1950

Page 19

which was used by the local peasantry in transporting their few produces between two places. It was then the ugly, dark patches had appeared in the sky above the black peaks to the west.
Anxious to get to my room in Kleindorf before the rain, I had hurriedly begun the short journey, wearily lugging my two heavy suitcases along. Doing this, it had turned out, was a bad mistake. Before I had attained the half-way mark, the swirling banks of water-laden vapor had arrived over the valley, pouring forth a warm, soaking drizzle. In the murk, the close packed trees on either side of the barely distinguishable wagon track had merged into a solid, impenetrable path of dreary grey. Unable to locate my landmarks in the blackness, I had strayed into the thickets and now I admitted to my self the hopelessness of soon finding my way again to the little forest rut.
The ground under the trees was luckily spongy in nature, and thus it absorbed most of the falling moisture, so there was little mud to impede my progress. I managed to fit my two suitcases both under one arm and used the other to light my way to some extent with a tiny pocket penlight. In this manner I continued to stumble in what I took to be the direction of Kleindorf for about an hour by my wrist watch.
At the end of this time the rain had ceased to fall and the clouds had degenerated into broken fragments, allowing a certain amount of moonlight to illuminate my surroundings. When I judged I had been walking long enough to reach the village I stopped, lowered my two heavy burdens to the ground and sat down on an adjacent rock to rest. Kleindorf was still nowhere in sight.
I had no great desire to spend a night in the woods without shelter or food, but it was then obvious I had no alternative. I was considering whether to stick it out on the ground or in the crotch of some tree where I would be safe from snakes, when I noticed the boulder on which I was seated was not one of natural formation. I got down on my knees for a closer look. It was smooth granite, about four feet in length and width and approximately two and a half feet in height. There was still a fragmentary suggestion of cement clinging to the flat top.
As it was evidently a ruined portion of some building I began to probe the shadows for others in the hope of finding enough of the structure from which they had come left standing to afford me a suitable, if rough, shelter for the night. Ten minutes later I had found the ruins of a once tremendous stone wall. What lay beyond I was unable to see. I went back to the clearing for my bags and then started to search along the rotting edifice for a rent in it large enough to afford entry for myself.
There was one near the far end of the wall, which I reached after five minutes of poking along, and I promptly stepped through. On the other side lay the somber ruins of a magnificent feudal castle. It had been, Is aw, one similar to those which still contribute a great deal to the scenic beauty of the banks along the Rhine River. At any rate, it would serve my purpose if I could find a portion of it retaining a roof.
I skirted the border of the desolation, peering into the dark corners trying to locate a doorway of sorts. It seemed my quest was doomed to end in disappointment for me, when I spotted just what I had had in mind. A small building near what must have been the rear of the place had manged to escape the general weathering processes
page 19

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which was used by the local peasantry in transporting their few produces between two places. It was then the ugly, dark patches had appeared in the sky above the black peaks to the west. Anxious to get to my room in Kleindorf before the rain, I had hurriedly begun the short journey, wearily lugging my two heavy suitcases along. Doing this, it had turned out, was a bad mistake. Before I had attained the half-way mark, the swirling banks of water-laden vapor had arrived over the valley, pouring forth a warm, soaking drizzle. In the murk, the close packed trees on either side of the barely distinguishable wagon track had merged into a solid, impenetrable path of dreary grey. Unable to locate my landmarks in the blackness, I had strayed into the thickets and now I admitted to my self the hopelessness of soon finding my way again to the little forest rut. The ground under the trees was luckily spongy in nature, and thus it absorbed most of the falling moisture, so there was little mud to impede my progress. I managed to fit my two suitcases both under one arm and used the other to light my way to some extent with a tiny pocket penlight. In this manner I continued to stumble in what I took to be the direction of Kleindorf for about an hour by my wrist watch. At the end of this time the rain had ceased to fall and the clouds had degenerated into broken fragments, allowing a certain amount of moonlight to illuminate my surroundings. When I judged I had been walking long enough to reach the village I stopped, lowered my two heavy burdens to the ground and sat down on an adjacent rock to rest. Kleindorf was still nowhere in sight. I had no great desire to spend a night in the woods without shelter or food, but it was then obvious I had no alternative. I was considering whether to stick it out on the ground or in the crotch of some tree where I would be safe from snakes, when I noticed the boulder on which I was seated was not one of natural formation. I got down on my knees for a closer look. It was smooth granite, about four feet in length and width and approximately two and a half feet in height. There was still a fragmentary suggestion of cement clinging to the flat top. As it was evidently a ruined portion of some building I began to probe the shadows for others in the hope of finding enough of the structure from which they had come left standing to afford me a suitable, if rough, shelter for the night. Ten minutes later I had found the ruins of a once tremendous stone wall. What lay beyond I was unable to see. I went back to the clearing for my bags and then started to search along the rotting edifice for a rent in it large enough to afford entry for myself. There was one near the far end of the wall, which I reached after five minutes of poking along, and I promptly stepped through. On the other side lay the somber ruins of a magnificent feudal castle. It had been, Is aw, one similar to those which still contribute a great deal to the scenic beauty of the banks along the Rhine River. At any rate, it would serve my purpose if I could find a portion of it retaining a roof. I skirted the border of the desolation, peering into the dark corners trying to locate a doorway of sorts. It seemed my quest was doomed to end in disappointment for me, when I spotted just what I had had in mind. A small building near what must have been the rear of the place had manged to escape the general weathering processes page 19