Posted As Missing

Chapter Thirteen

The sun had already lit the tops of the rock face above them, across on the other side of the gully, when David gently untangled from Maria and crawled to look out through the triangle. He checked his watch.

Eight thirty-five. I've slept in, Maria's still asleep.

Rachel walked toward him with a hot cup of tea as he dressed. "You had a very long sleep," she said as she passed him the cup. "You must have been exhausted."

"It's not a good idea to miss a night's sleep," he replied, and pointing into the little canvas shelter, he added, "Maria's still asleep."

"No, I'm not. How can anyone be expected to sleep with so much noise?" She giggled, then asked, "What time is it?"

"Almost quarter to nine. Did you sleep well?"

"Too well. Out of my way, I'm coming through, desperate to pee." She crawled out and trotted past them holding herself.

David reached into the shelter, pulled out the top blanket set and walked across the slab with it. "Put this around you," he said as she got up from her squat and walked toward him. "It's quite cold still, and you'll catch a chill. We all need to remain healthy." He draped the blanket around her and gave her a gentle kiss.

"These rocks are nearly freezing," she said as she began tiptoeing toward the shelter, appearing to be trying to keep her feet off the cold rocks. David swept her off her feet and carried her the rest of the way. She sighed, then as they passed Rachel, she said, "Good morning, Mama, have you been up long?"

"Almost an hour, I scampered off without the audience." She laughed. "And without a gentleman to bring a blanket for me and carry me back. Crawl inside and sit in the blanket for a while. Warm up a bit before you dress, I should have done that. It took me a long time to re-warm. I'll bring you a cup of tea."

David came back, rubbing his hands together to dry them. "I'll start cooking breakfast. What should we have?"

"There are still seven eggs." Rachel pointed to them by the stove. "I can scramble them in butter. You can slice some ham off the bone."

As they sat quietly eating their ham and eggs with thick slabs off the remains of the dark rye loaf, David was turning plans over in his mind. He set his emptied plate on the rock and nibbled at the crude ham sandwich he had made. His jaw was still sore when he opened his mouth too wide, so he took little bites. Between his nibbles, he said, "I'm thinking of going out for a careful look around, see if I can plot a safe route onward. See if I can spot Fritz or identify any of the places they may be posted."

"Fritz? Who's Fritz?" Maria asked, wrinkling her brow.

"That's the name we call the German soldiers, the whole German Army, we refer to as Fritz, individually and collectively."

"I guess it's an outside joke, then." Rachel chuckled. "Only those outside Germany would know it."

David nodded as he continued, "I've been looking around. I'm now certain that the only way into this little nook, is the way we came in. The rock walls at the back and sides of the gully are too steep, and besides, they're covered in slippery growth from the spray of the waterfall." He pointed out toward the line of the Alps across the tops of the trees. "Over there, the edge of the slab drops vertically. It actually overhangs, and the little stream begins another waterfall."

He tilted his head to the left. "Over there, the thick stratum of gabbro juts beyond the sandstone face below it. There is no way in from that direction. No wonder you couldn't find it again. Thirty feet higher or thirty feet lower heading east across the side of the ridge, and you'd walk right past it. Heading west, you'd never find it."