Part 15 (1/2)
”Gunther Schlosser?” Dolf asked.
”Is that who that mean-looking man is?” She pursed her lips. ”Yes, it would have to be. There they are!”
She pointed at a group of several determined-looking men moving rapidly in their direction.
Papa ran over to them. ”Heinrich has Carl trapped at the Golden Lion.”
Gunther Schlosser narrowed his eyes. ”If Carl doesn't come out of there in good health, your butcher's going to have to be careful about what meat he buys.”
Dolf s.h.i.+vered at his cold words.
”We'll go in the back door,” Jan Wagner announced.
The two watchmen were on the floor unconscious, blood streaming from their broken faces. Carl held his walking stick at the ready, on the other side of a table from Heinrich, watching the knives in his hands.
”That stick's a lot st.u.r.dier than it looks.” Heinrich moved to Carl's right towards the end of the table.
”You're also a lot better with it than I ever would have imagined.”
”It's almost the symbol of authority for Jena Committee watchmen. I practice with them when I'm in town.”
”Yes, aUniversityofJena student. I don't know Latin so I couldn't tell exactly what you wrote. But I read my name and know who Joachim Thierbach is.” Heinrich made a sudden move around the table and rushed at Carl.
The younger man thrust his staff towards Heinrich and then rounded the far end of the table. ”I thought you'd be smarter than this, Heinrich. Haven't you ever heard that pigs get fat and hogs get butchered?
You weren't just dipping your bucket into the cash stream. You were diverting a good part of it. Did you think no one would notice?”
”Oh, two people did get too nosy.” Heinrich sneered. He grabbed the end of the table, shoving it against the wall. He rounded the table again, now on the same side as Carl. He feinted with his left hand and then lunged with his right. Before Carl brought down his stick on that side, Heinrich had withdrawn again.
Carl took another step back.
”They disappeared before they told anyone. Just like you will. I waited so your disappearance would be about the same time as you said you were going to leave. It won't be noticed.” Heinrich feinted with his right this time. When Carl didn't react, he lunged again with his right. Carl brought down his stick too late to hurt Heinrich. He moved to his right and tripped over one of the fallen watchmen, losing his balance.
He dropped to the floor, his stick falling away from him.
The older man immediately charged and Carl dove under the table. He knocked over three chairs as he rolled quickly to his feet on the other side. A moment later he moved to a different table so as not to be trapped again. As Heinrich came between the tables, Carl shoved the one in front of him at Heinrich, slamming it into his hip. A moment later, Heinrich freed himself and limped forward.
”Little more exercise than you're used to, isn't it, Heinie?” Carl taunted the older man. Both men had sweat running down their faces but Heinrich was also red-faced and puffing. ”Don't forget, you're going to have to come up with an explanation of how the two guys on the floor over there got their faces ripped open.
”One more thing. You should be c.r.a.pping your pants right now. Gunther Schlosser rode into town today. Five will get you ten that the only reason he's not here right now is that he's questioning your other watchmen with Jan Wagner watching. You see, when Joachim didn't receive my letter, he probably sent Gunther to find out why. You really ought to riding out of town rather than chasing after me with knives.”
”A little too late for that now,” a deeper voice came from the backroom side of the bar. Jan Wagner was there with Gunther, two watchmen looking a little worse for the wear and Daniel Bauers.
Dolf watched the excitement from a distance, but was close enough to understand Carl's humor. You were going to have a bad day when Gunther Schlosser came to see you. Herr Schlosser was . . . scary.
While he watched the action with Gunther, Heinrich and Jan Wagner, he lost track of Carl and Papa.
When he next noticed them, they were standing together talking. Carl was giving Papa a double-handed handshake like Herr Oehlschlegel had yesterday. Then both of them turned to look at him with grim smiles. Dolf knew it meant trouble for him.May as well get it over with.
Head down, he trudged over to them. Heinrich had been taken away and men were checking out the tavern's cellar floor. Dolf lifted his head as a thought came to him. In all the excitement, Carl never received his fee for playing at the Golden Lion. He was about to mention it when Adam Oehlschlegel and his wife joined the small group.
”Herr Johantgens, we hear you're leaving today,” Maria Prost began. ”In the two days that you've mentioned us, it seems like the door bell was always ringing. Adam got several orders. So I, and Adam, decided that you should have the s.h.i.+rt anyway.” Carl started to protest. ”No, no, you deserve it.”
Carl flushed. ”Well, thank you. I'll think of you two every time I wear it.”
Adam spoke up. ”Herr Johantgens, if in your travels you come across our son, you can tell him who made this s.h.i.+rt.”
Carl nodded with a slightly vacant stare and looked at the s.h.i.+rt he was holding. ”Right. Adam Oehlschlegel. Parents made this s.h.i.+rt.”
”No, not Oehlschlegel. He latinized his name. He calls himself Adam Olearius now.”
”Olearius?” A line appeared between Carl's eyebrows. ”Like Johann Olearius, the late pastor at St.
Mary's inHalle ? I never met him but I spent some time with his son when I was in Wittenburg.”
”Pastor Olearius was a distant cousin of mine and sponsored Adam's application to theUniversity ofLeipzig 'sSchoolofTheology .”
Carl shook his head and then laughed. ”I don't plan on heading north but if I ever meet your son, I'll be happy to tell him that I got a s.h.i.+rt from you.” He gave a deep, mischievous grin. ”And how his tough old sire almost got into a fist fight right in front of me.”
”Papa? What were you and Carl talking about before Herr Oehlschlegel walked up to us?”
Papa c.o.c.ked his head and looked down at Dolf as they walked back to the village with Mama and Katya. ”Nothing much. Carl really did appreciate your going for help. I agreed with him that a lad with your spirit and intelligence really ought to stay longer in school. Maybe even go on to Latin school.”
”Latin school?” Latin school was where you went if you wanted to get into a university. Dolf suddenly realized that Carl might not have been joking when he talked about Dolf doing what Herr Oehlschlegel's son had done.
”Uh huh. Jan Wagner mentioned earlier that I should be proud to have a son like you, who's not afraid to write to Spartacus. Or to get help when someone's in trouble. I told him I was and always had been.”
Papa laid his hand on Dolf's shoulder. ”Not that I'm going to stop letting you know when you're in the wrong.”
”Uh, Papa, did you go to school with Herr Wagner? I mean, when you were talking with him this afternoon, you acted like you were good friends.”
Papa gave a warm chuckle and tousled Dolf's hair with work-thickened fingers. ”Didn't your friend Carl mention that farmers could be members of a CoC?”
Papa was in the CoC?!!!
GRAND TOUR.
By Iver P. Cooper