If Dermot Tregarland was not married, if she saw him again…this might just turn out to be not like one of those incidents. He lived some way from us. Perhaps in a few weeks he would become just another of those passing encounters…he would just be a part of the holiday in the Böhmerwald.

However, we parted on very friendly terms that night, and I knew Dorabella had a somewhat restless night.

Edward had made arrangements to go on another jaunt with Kurt the next day and, as we had behaved so foolishly, he refused to leave us behind on this occasion.

A party should be made up which included Dorabella, myself, and Gretchen.

Gretchen was delighted to come with us. I fancied that she was attracted by Edward, as he was by her; but she did not show her feelings—in fact neither of them did—as blatantly as Dorabella showed hers.

Dorabella herself was inclined to be sulky; she would have preferred to go into Waldenburg, and drink coffee so that Dermot could have joined us, but Edward was adamant and so we went off with the party.

It was a pleasant day; the weather had changed again; the skies were blue and we were back in summer. Kurt knew the forest well; there were several roads cut through it and he wanted to show us some of the charming little villages.

I enjoyed it very much; the small hamlets were very attractive with their mellowed brick houses, their cobbled streets, their old churches, and their general air of orderliness.

The people were very friendly. We had lunch in an old inn, with the sign of a mermaid outside—Die Lorelei it was called, and we recalled the poem we had learned at school and Gretchen recited it for us. She had a sweet, tremulous voice, and Edward led the applause.

We were taken down to see the ancient wine cellars and were told that at one time the inn had been part of a monastery, and the cellars were those in which the monks had once made their wine.

It was all very pleasant, but Dorabella was impatient to return, because in the evening Dermot Tregarland would be joining us at the schloss for dinner.

I shall never forget that night and the disaster which was all the more horrific because it was so sudden. It was as though the faces of benign friends suddenly changed into those of monsters before one’s eyes, leaving us quite bewildered because we were so unprepared.

When we returned from our day’s sightseeing, Dorabella and I changed in our room, Dorabella putting on the best of the dresses she had brought with her. She was in high spirits. She was certain now that the end of the holiday would not be the end of her friendship with Dermot Tregarland.

She chattered while we dressed and said how much she would like to see that place of his. It sounded fun and it was not really so very far away. She was going to suggest to our mother that we ask Dermot to Caddington.

He had arrived before we went down. We were going to eat in the inn that night. The family would be busy and would not dine until much later. Kurt and Gretchen would join us.

It was a pleasant meal, with lots of merry chatter, and afterwards we went into the inn parlor, where there were more people than usual. But we managed to get a table to ourselves.

It must have been about nine o’clock when a party of young men came in. It occurred to me at once that I had seen one of them before. I remembered immediately. He was Else’s young man, the one whom I had seen delivering a parcel at the coffee shop.

He looked different. He was wearing some sort of uniform, as were his friends. On his right sleeve was an armlet. I wondered if he had come to see Else.

They sat at a table and Else served them with beer. They joked with her and the young man laid a proprietorial hand on her arm. The group laughed loudly. They said something to Else, who nodded in the direction of the dining room. The young man began to sing one of the songs I had often heard. It was something about the Fatherland. Quite a number joined in. Then Helmut came into the parlor accompanied by his father.

That was the signal.

Else’s young man, who was obviously the leader, stood up suddenly and shouted something about Jews.

Pandemonium began. Someone hurled a tankard at the wall. Others did the same. One threw his at Helmut. It very narrowly missed him.

Dermot put his arm round Dorabella and she hid her face against him. Edward took my arm and pulled me to my feet and at the same time seized Gretchen.

He said: “They are going to start a riot. We’d better get out of here.”

Gretchen whispered: “Helmut…”

Kurt had gone to his brother’s side. He was very pale. The two of them stood side by side facing Else’s young man. The rest of the people in the room remained in their seats with looks of amazed horror on their faces.

Else’s young man had leaped up to stand on one of the tables. He began haranguing the people. I heard the name of Führer mentioned several times. He was shouting and I wished I could understand what he was saying, but I did realize that he was inciting them to join with him in his fury, which was directed against the schloss and its inmates.

Dermot said quietly: “We’d better get out of this.”

At that moment one of the tables was overturned and the air was filled with the sound of breaking glass.

Helmut said to Edward: “Get the girls out of here. Take Gretchen. This is no quarrel of yours.”

I felt sickened by the look of hopeless despair I saw on Helmut’s face. I did not know then what this was all about except that the young man and his friends seemed to be intent on destroying the place.

It was all so sudden…so inexplicable. Edward was dragging me with Gretchen toward the door. Dermot held Dorabella. One of the young men was watching us but he made no attempt to stop us. I had the idea that they were aware that we were foreigners and he was glad to see us go. In the room beyond the inn parlor Frau Brandt was standing, her hands across her breast and a look of abject terror on her face. I thought I had never seen such fear before. She was shaking.

I put an arm around her.

“They’re here…” she murmured. “At last…they are here…”

“Who…are they?” I asked.

“They are intent on destroying us.”

“You know them?”

“We are not the first. But how did they guess? We have never…”

We could hear the noises from beyond. They were destroying the inn parlor.

Frau Brandt sat down and covered her face with her hands. Gretchen went to her and knelt beside her. “Mutter…” she whispered, trembling.

Frau Brandt stroked her daughter’s hair.

“It has come,” she said. “It is here. I had hoped…”

I felt sick with horror.

Dermot said: “There must be something we can do. Shouldn’t we get in touch with the police?”

Gretchen said: “It would be no use. These people…it is what they do now. We are not the first. We did not think they would bother with us. We are so small…we are far from the town. We always believed they would not bother with us…until now. We are Jewish. It is something which it is good to hide these days.”

“We should go out and give a hand,” said Edward. “Clear them off.”

“Yes,” agreed Dermot. “Come on.”

Gretchen clung to Edward. “No…no,” she said. “You must not interfere with them. They will break up the room and go away.”

“Kurt…Helmut…your father…they are there.”

Gretchen still clung to Edward’s arm.

Dermot said: “I’m going out there. You ladies stay here.”

“I’ll come with you,” said Edward.

I could not understand then what it meant. I just listened in horror. I could hear them singing one of the songs which I was beginning to know by heart.

Then suddenly there was quiet.

Edward was out there, I thought. In danger, perhaps. What I had seen of those young men had led me to believe they were intent on destruction.