Chapter 7

The rain carried on falling all through the afternoon, and time passed slowly for Rosemary and Sarah, who were both wanting to be furthering their investigations. They found themselves getting extremely bored, and it was a relief when someone knocked on the door at around four o'clock that afternoon.

Sarah had jumped up immediately, and she opened the door to reveal Herr Braun. She promptly invited him into their room, but he declined.

"Oh, Nein, Fraulein Sarah. It is I who come to invite you ladies to take Kaffee und Kuchen with myself in one of the private salons downstairs."

Rosemary had stood at this invitation, and she now replied. "That would be very kind of you, Herr Braun. There are some things which I would like to ask you, as our investigations have been rather washed out today." She smiled at her involuntary joke.

Herr Braun also smiled. "Then if I may escort you, Frau Kitwood?"

"Of course." Rosemary agreed, and taking his arm they made their way downstairs.

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Herr Braun made sure that Rosemary and Sarah had all they wanted for their meal before he sat down himself, having provided both with large cups of coffee, Sarah's being milky, and bread twists.

"Now, what is it you wish to ask of me?" he asked, having taken a sip of his own coffee first.

"I was hoping that you would be able to give us some more information on the cleft in the mountains, where the young girl was found with the madman."

Herr Braun sighed. "Alas, I am afraid that I have already told you all I know. I do not believe, as many do, that it is the entrance to Hell, but I am unable to tell you where the cleft does lead."

Rosemary sighed, she had been afraid of this. "Is there nothing at all, Herr Braun. Even legends may be of use. We are desperate for your help, with the weather as it is, we are unable to explore further ourselves."

Herr Braun sat quietly for a moment, thinking, and then he spoke. "There is an old tale, I suppose you would call it a legend, of how the Tiernsee became a lake. I cannot recall the tale fully at this time, but it tells how there was a great city, who turned away from God, and as a result water came up from below the stones and the city was drowned, along with all in it."

"Thank you, Herr Braun." Rosemary said, after absorbing this. "I doubt that the story ever happened as you told it. But many legends have their roots in fact, and there may have been a city which became inundated. There may be caves, but until we can explore, I'm afraid we will not know." She paused, and then smiled. "Now let us talk of other than business."

"Please, Aunt Rosemary, may I ask Herr Braun some questions." Sarah said, choking slightly as she had swallowed her last mouthful too quickly, in order that she might ask the question before the chance was gone.

"Of course, Sarah." The Watcher replied. "But finish your Kaffee first!"

Sarah groaned at this embargo, but carried on eating the bread twists and drinking to coffee, which took the place of Afternoon Tea here.

Presently she finished, and turned to the Hotel Proprietor.

"Herr Braun." she started, hesitantly. "You know a lot about the Chalet School, don't you?"

"I do, Fraulein Sarah," he replied. "What is it that you wish to know?"

"Well. I've been thinking, more worrying really. Will I be able to carry on patrolling once I start school after Easter." She looked down, a little embarrassed. "I've read some stories and they say that you sleep in a room with other girls." Sarah looked horrified at this invasion of her privacy, conveniently forgetting that she was currently sharing a room with her Watcher.

"But yes, the little ladies all sleep in dormitories. However there is some privacy, as each room is divided into individual curtained cubicles." He paused, as the full implications of the situation came to him. "But I can see where that is a problem, Unless…."

"Yes?" Sarah interrupted Herr Braun in her eagerness, then, realising what she had done. "Sorry."

"It is fine." Herr Braun continued. "I understand your worries. What I was going to suggest is that Frau Kitwood write to the school stating that you must have a cubicle with a window. That would allow you to patrol, providing you tread quietly within the house, and wait until the staff have retired before setting out. Is that possible, Meine Frau?" he asked, turning to Rosemary.

Rosemary paused for a second before replying. "Yes. It is something that will be necessary." She said decidedly. "I shall tell them you became trapped in a cupboard once when you were younger, and that since then, you have not been able to bear being in an enclosed space." She paused again, turning something else over in her mind. "I think it may also be prudent for you to not patrol for the first week or so. I recall the Matron at my school making rounds before she retired, and sometimes again during the night. If you can sleep in such a way that your face cannot be seen from the entrance to the cubicle, then the Matron will become accustomed to that and you should be able to patrol with less chance of your absence being discovered."

Sarah took all this in thoughtfully. She had not realised that attending school would require so much deceit on her part. Although she hated the thought of lying, having being brought up to be an honest girl, she realised that in this case, the deceit was necessary for the safety of her fellow pupils, and this knowledge was to stay with her. Not only for the rest of the afternoon, as they discussed safer topics, but also for the rest of her days.