H. Adler - Panorama

The train is already almost an hour late before it finally departs, so that already some of the boys have grown impatient, one of them calling out, “We should be helping the engineer!” Willi hears this from the neighboring compartment and replies that such help will be needed on the narrow-gauge train to Adamsfreiheit, when it will be hard for a pedestrian to walk as slowly as the train as it climbs the mountain, and, should the train be completely full, the conductor will ask them to get out and help push it, the danger being that you have to make sure to quickly jump back on as soon as it starts heading down the mountain, for then the train begins to race madly along. Hans states that he has heard from the station manager about the kinds of mishaps that have happened on the railroad, and which required only the most courageous of engineers, a cow once having walked onto the tracks that refused to budge, the express train having to slam on its brakes, the whistle blowing for all its might, though the beast didn’t stir from its spot, the engineer finally having to climb down with some valiant men, who talked soothingly to the cow for a long time, until the cow standing there with its long rope finally grasped that the express train desired free passage to Adamsfreiheit, at which the cow quite courteously moved away from the tracks, and the train steamed off to its final destination without further mishap.

The train was off as soon as Hans finished his thrilling story, the conductor then appearing to ask for their tickets, as Hans begins to look around but cannot find them, saying that Willi must have them, though Willi answers back, “No way that I have them! You’re the one who paid for them and stashed them away!” Then Hans looks some more, Willi beginning to search as well, both of them finding nothing, and then Hans begins to think that it’s not entirely impossible that he gave the tickets to Alfred when they came through the gate, therefore the tickets must be with the money, at which Alfred begins to rummage around, even though he also protests that this couldn’t be true, as he confidently pulls out the wallet, there being no trace of the tickets inside it, the conductor growing impatient, which causes Alfred to explain to him in detail that they couldn’t possibly be trying to get away with something, for the group would not have been let through the gate without any sign of having tickets. The conductor then says that he’d love to believe that but he still needs to see the tickets, and Alfred responds that he understands but certainly the three reserved compartments are evidence enough that they also had tickets, to which the conductor answers that he doesn’t doubt anyone, he really doesn’t, but he still needs to be able to say that he has punched their tickets, otherwise he will have difficulties if an inspector shows up, at which Willi, Alfred, and Hans rummage frantically through all their bags, pulling everything out, the others beginning to rummage as well, even the smallest, as Hans calls out in exasperation, “I don’t have the tickets! Everyone keep looking!” Everyone searches now, all of them nervous but remaining calm, only Hans sweating, upset and angry as he is with FHF, as he declares, “What a fine beginning to the history of the Landstein summer camp this will make. And so the epic will start. A classic Homeric opening, the heroes search for a flea.” FHF replies by saying that he doesn’t need to search, he knows that he for sure doesn’t have the tickets. Meanwhile the conductor’s face begins to darken, as he says impatiently that he doesn’t have all day to waste his time with the young gentlemen, the train is overfull, but by the time they get to Beneschau he has to make sure to get through the entire train, the rules are the rules and they have to be followed, and he can’t be blamed for doing his job, it being the young gentlemen who are causing all the trouble. Alfred tries to appease the conductor, saying that the Wanderers certainly don’t want him to neglect his duty to the railroad, they will find the tickets, Alfred asking the conductor if he could go through the rest of the train and then come back to them, by which time the tickets will surely have been found, at which the conductor asks where the young gentlemen are traveling to, and when Alfred tells him their destination he calculates with relief that it will be almost five hours before they change trains, which means there’s plenty of time, at which Alfred hands him three cigarettes, which he always keeps with him for such moments, as the conductor thanks him with a smile and heads off in an amiable manner.

Now the real search begins, Alfred, Hans, and Willi trying to think what could have happened to the tickets, combing their memories for any possible clue, but it does no good, each asking the other’s pardon, though the tickets don’t turn up, and Hans complains how awful it all is, such a drain on their funds, meaning that the camping trip will have to be cut short by two or three days or they will have to eat less, though Alfred tries to calm him down, saying that Hans shouldn’t worry his head about all that right now or about anything else for that matter, but instead just take out everything from his pack, everyone needing to look around as well under the seats, Bambus finally walking over from his compartment to stand in the passageway outside Hans’s compartment, watching for a while before he asks, “Hans, where did you put your map case?” This is a case for the maps that belong to the pack, and Hans slaps his forehead as he says, “That could be it!” He reaches for the map case and, indeed, there are the tickets, everyone quickly relieved, a cascade of laughter and ribbing pouring over Hans, Willi giving him a second friendly slap on his forehead, as Alfred says, “In the end it didn’t matter, but the Landstein Camp has survived its first great adventure even before opening up.” FHF then adds somberly, “The historian, meanwhile, notes the loss of three cigarettes to the conductor.”

After this tense incident, it’s time to think about sleep, and since most of the scouts are tired there’s no need to remind them, they just go to sleep, only FHF and Josef remaining outside in the corridor in order to talk as they exchange impressions, share with each other what they’ve been reading and what they thought of it. Finally they are also tired and want to go back to their seats, but the little ones are already sprawled across them, so the two friends sit down on the fold-down seats in the corridor and nod off. Josef then suddenly awakens to find the conductor back again with his lantern, and he tells him that the tickets have been found, the conductor replying that’s good, for he would have had to charge them a higher price than at the station, though the snoring Hans is not easily awakened as, foggy with sleep, he hands over the tickets, and Alfred wakes up and sees FHF and Josef in the corridor, remarking, “Are you crazy? Why aren’t you in your seats?” FHF is about to explain why they are hunkered down in the corridor when Alfred interrupts and says, “Of course, our camp philosophers! Get back to your compartment!” Quietly they take back their seats, and so the journey continues in sleep or in half sleep until the station where they change trains, the troop almost sleeping through it, the conductor showing up on time and announcing that it’s time the young gentlemen got all their bags together, if indeed their destination is still the same, but Alfred thanks him and says, “No, my dear sir, we are still headed to Adamsfreiheit!” Alfred then wakes up anyone in the pack who is still asleep, all the boys gathering their things and stumbling onto the dark platform, as they look for the waiting room, though it’s locked, someone from the railroad obliged to open it up for them, the Wanderers pulling out their flashlights, the sooty, smelly room not all that inviting, though the benches are long enough that they can stretch out on them. The railroad worker promises to wake them on time, it’s a good four hours before the next train arrives, the worker wishing them a comfortable rest as he closes the door, everyone already asleep, since Wanderers are used to such things, even dozing through the night on small, hard wooden benches with uncomfortable slats, the philistines generally not being able to sit on them for even a little bit when awake.