Chapter 23

Anton stood in the darkness.  He had pulled the torch on the wall as Lena had suggested, and to his great surprise, part of the wall had lowered into the ground, revealing a secret room.

 

Anton had entered and pulled on a metal lever inside the room, that he had correctly guessed would close the secret door.

 

And then he had waited.

 

He could hear muffled sounds from the tavern above.  People talking, chairs scraping here and there.  He could smell the food also.  Cheese, meats, fried chips.  It made him hungry.  He had been in such a hurry to track down Maruska, that he had not stopped for a proper meal in days.

 

Time passed and it was obvious Lena was not coming back anytime soon.  Anton took time now to look around the small square room he was standing in.  His eyes had become accustomed to the dark, and so he could see a bit better now.  In the corner of the room was a mattress with some blankets neatly folded on top of it.  Near the bed was a little wooden table that was no higher than Anton’s knee.  There was a big, unlit candle on it, as well as two thick books.

 

The most interesting thing in the room, however, was an iron door on the wall opposite to where the secret entrance was.  Curiosity got the better of him and Anton went over and put his hand on the handle.

 

The door was locked.

 

Anton wondered what lay behind this door and why there was a secret room in Clarence and Lena’s tavern.  Then, having nothing better to do, he went over to the mattress in the corner, lay down and wrapped himself in the blankets.  It was a cozy room.  It would have been a great place to sleep when the weather outside was bad.

 

The smell of food from the tavern above, once again permeated his attention.  His stomach growled and took over his thoughts.  He wondered if the roast boar he had ordered had arrived yet.  He wondered  if they still made the roast boar as deliciously as they did twenty years ago.

 

If you don’t go and eat it now, who knows when you‘ll get another chance?  Maybe never! said a little voice inside Anton’s head.

 

Oh dear, he thought to himself.

 

That voice.

 

It probably originated from his stomach, or a part of his brain that loved food.  All he knew was that voice was powerful, and probably wouldn’t go away.  It was better to do something about it now, rather than do nothing and put up with a constant craving for wild boar.

 

Anton got up and went to the lever he assumed would open the secret door again.

 

Part of him felt this was probably a bad idea.  There was probably a good reason Lena had told him to wait here.

 

But another part of him wanted to eat some hot, juicy, roast boar right now.  With mint sauce.

 

I’ll be quick, thought Anton.  I’ll go eat the boar, then come back down here and wait for Lena.

 

He nodded to himself, and pulled down on the lever.

 

To his relief, once again, part of the wall lowered silently into the ground, and the smell of food hit him strongly in the face.

 

He wiped a bit of drool from the corner of his mouth and headed upstairs.

 

His stomach was pleased with his decision.