Chapter 7 Chapter VII

How to describe the anxious mood of the villagers since the young forest ranger and Doctor Batak left?Time passed, but there seemed to be no end, and everyone became more and more worried. Village Chief Kurz, Jonas, Helmold and several others have been standing on the flat ground.Everyone stared intently at the figure in the distance of the castle, wanting to see if there was more smoke on the tower.There was no smoke—this was observed with a telescope that was always pointed in the direction of the castle.That telescope, which I bought for two florins, really came in handy.Judge Coltz, though he was a prudent man and always kept a close eye on his purse strings, felt no regret at the expense.

At 12 o'clock noon, the shepherd Flick came back from grazing, and everyone asked him a lot.Anything new?What's wrong?What about supernatural phenomena? Frick said he had just wandered around the Hill Valley in Wallachia and found nothing suspicious. After lunch, at about two o'clock, everyone returned to their observation positions.No one wants to stay at home, and no one wants to step through the "King Matthias Hotel", because the horrible voice always echoes in people's ears. As the saying goes, the wall has ears... Now the wall has a mouth! ... Nothing hurts the venerable innkeeper more than the fear of his inn being neglected.If there are no customers to patronize, should he close down and live on his laurels?In order to reassure the people of Welster Village, he once searched the hotel extensively, searched all the rooms, even under the bed, rummaged through boxes and cabinets, and carefully checked the lobby, wine cellar, and attic.Something bad might be playing tricks somewhere.But nothing was found! ...No abnormalities were found at the main entrance to the Niad River.The walls were cut straight, overlooking the swift stream, and the windows were so high that it was impossible to climb into the openings from below.What's the use of doing this?People are afraid for no reason.It seemed that regular customers would have to wait a long time to return to the inn to taste his German rice wine and herbal wine.

Really have to wait long? ... Not necessarily, let's wait and see, this pessimistic prediction may not be accurate. In fact, 12 days later, after a series of unexpected events, the dignitaries of the village reunited in the "King Mathias Hotel", sipping wine and talking and laughing. Let us go back to the situation of the young forest ranger and his companion, Dr. Batak. You must still remember that when Nick Dyke left the village, he promised the sad Milyuda that he would come back immediately after seeing the Carpathian castle.If nothing happened to him, if the threats against him were just empty words, he would probably be able to return that night.So, everyone waited anxiously.But no matter the girl, her father, or the village teacher, none of them expected that the two of them would encounter so many difficulties and obstacles on the road, which delayed the schedule and prevented him from climbing to the high ground before dark.

At this time, the villagers clearly heard the bell of Vulcan Church striking 8 o'clock, and the anxiety reached its peak.What happened to Nick Decker and the doctor, a day and no return?No one wanted to go back to the house to rest without seeing them return safely.Every moment people thought they saw their figures appearing around the corner of the mountain road. The Kurtzes went straight to the end of the street, where the shepherds were grazing their sheep.How many times have they thought they saw two figures appearing in the clearing among the trees in the distance... It was just a hallucination!The pass was as empty and deserted as ever, for the people along the frontier seldom wandered out at night.Besides, today is Tuesday—Tuesday, but a haunted day—on that day, the locals consciously don’t go out after the sun goes down.Nick Deckard was insane for picking such a day to visit the castle.It was really just the ranger, and everyone else in the village didn't think about it at the time.

At this moment, countless thoughts were churning in Milyuda's mind.What a horrible picture appeared in front of my eyes!She had been imagining that she was with her fiancé, walking through the lush forests of the Pleza Mountains and climbing the Algal Heights... Now, it was getting dark, and she seemed to see her fiancé trapped in the old castle, trying to get rid of Kahl Haunted by the ghosts of the Pathian castle...he was their puppet...the object of their vengeance...he was locked up in some cellar...perhaps dead... Heartbroken girl, she would rather abandon everything to find her fiancé!But since she couldn't do that, at least she had to stay on the ground all night, waiting for his return.But her father insisted that she go back.So only the shepherds were left waiting, and the father and daughter returned home.Once she was alone in the hut, she began to howl and cry.She saw him, and loved brave Nick with all her soul, all her being, especially because the young forester had not chosen his bride in a strange way in rural Transylvania.

Every time St. Pierre's feast day, the village will hold a "marriage meeting".On that day, the young girls of the village gathered together.They sat in beautiful carriages drawn by tall horses, and carried dowry, that is, new clothes that they wove, sewed, and embroidered with their own hands, and put them in colorful boxes.They are accompanied by family, friends or neighbors.Young lads, also dressed in smart clothes and with ribbons around their waists, wandered triumphantly around the "engagement meeting".They choose the girls they like, give them rings and handkerchiefs as engagement tokens, and choose an auspicious day to get married after the festival.

Nick Deckard had not chosen Milyoda at such an engagement.Their close relationship was not accidental.The two have been childhood sweethearts since they were young, and they have been in love with each other since they knew how to love.The young forester did not go to the fair to find a girl to be his companion, for which Milyuda thanked him.what!Why is Nick Deckard's character so resolute and stubborn, insisting on fulfilling an apparently imprudent promise!But he loves her, he loves her, but she doesn't have enough influence to prevent him from going to that cursed castle! What a night of anxiety and tears passed the mournful Milyuda!She didn't want to close her eyes at all.She leaned against the window, staring at the uphill road, as if she heard a voice whispering:

"Nick Deck ignored the warnings of the gods!... Milyuda has lost her fiancé!" This is just an illusion that she produced in her extreme annoyance.The silent night is still silent. The unexplainable phenomenon in the "King Matthias Hotel" did not occur in the house of the head of the Kurz village. At dawn the next day, people flocked outside again.From the flat ground to the corner of the mountain pass, some people walked back and forth on the street—the former went to inquire about news, and the latter brought news back.It was said that Flick the shepherd had gone ahead, far from the village, that he had not crossed the Pleza wood, but walked along the edge of it, and that he did so with some reason.

It is necessary to wait for his return so that he can be informed in time.Village head Kerz, Milyuda and Jonas have been standing at the head of the village. Half an hour later, Flick appeared at the top of the mountain road a few hundred steps away. He didn't seem in a hurry, and everyone guessed that he didn't bring any good news. "Well, Frick, what do you know? . . . What have you found? . . . " asked the village head of Kurz, as soon as the shepherd approached. "Didn't see anything... didn't find out anything!" Flick replied. "No news at all!" the girl whispered, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Just as the sun came out," said the Shepherd again, "I saw two people walking a mile away. At first I thought it was Nick Deckard and the Doctor... but it wasn't them!" "Who are they?" Jonas asked. "Two strangers who have just crossed the Wallachian frontier." "You asked them?" "Asked." "Are they coming to our village?" "No, they're heading for the Rediezato, and they want to climb up the mountain." "Is it a tourist?" "It seems so, Mr. Kurtz." "When they passed the Vulkan Pass last night, didn't they see what was going on at the castle?"

"No...they were still on the border at that time." Frick replied. "So you haven't heard anything from Nick Deckard?" "No." "My God! . . . " cried poor Milyuda. "In a few days, you can ask them yourself," Frick continued, "because they plan to stop at Welster Village before going to Crosswall." "I hope no one speaks ill of my hotel!" Jonas thought anxiously, "If they knew the truth, they would never stay in my hotel." For a day and a half, the kind innkeeper worried that no tourists would dare to eat and stay at the "King Matthias Hotel" in the future, and he was uneasy. In short, the questions and answers between the shepherd and his master did not clarify the situation at all.Since it was 8 o'clock in the morning, and the young forest ranger and Dr. Batak hadn't shown up yet, who could hope that they would return? ...and those who approach the castle will not go unpunished! Milyuda could not bear it any longer because of the upheaval of the previous night and the sleepless night.She was so depressed that she could barely walk.Her father had to take her home.As soon as she entered the room, tears fell again... She called Nick's name sadly... She wanted to go out to find him... This scene was really sad, and I couldn't help worrying about her health. A decision must be made immediately.The forester and the doctor had to be rescued immediately, there was no delay.It didn't matter how much you risked, and it didn't matter how much you risked reprisals from whoever or what occupied the castle.The point is to figure out where Nick Decker and the Doctor are at.This is their friend, and the villagers have an inescapable obligation.The bravest man in the village will not hesitate to walk through the jungle and climb the old castle. After several rounds of discussions and discussions, the matter was decided in this way. The three bravest people were the village head of Kurz, Flick the shepherd, and Jonas the innkeeper—there was no one else.As for Mr. Helmold, he suddenly felt pain in his leg joints and had to lie down on two chairs in the classroom. At about 9 o'clock, Judge Kurtz took two companions, nuclear guns and live ammunition, and set foot on the road to the Vulcan Pass.They walked to the place where they had parted from Nick Deckard last time, and then got into the thick jungle. They reasoned that if the forest rangers and doctors wanted to go back to the village, they should go back along the same road as Pleza Mountain.According to this, it shouldn't be difficult for the three of them to find their traces, which is indeed the case. After they walked into the woods, they soon understood everything. Let's put them aside first, and then look at the village.People watched them go, and immediately regretted it.They thought they should send a few well-meaning people to rescue Nick Dyke and Dr. Batak, but now that they were gone, they felt that it was too reckless to do so.The result will only be more chaos!The forester and the doctor had fallen prey to indiscretion—no one doubted it—what good would it do to ask Mr. Kurz, Flick, and Jonas to risk their loyalty?To think that poor Milyuda, who was weeping for her fiancé, would soon have to weep for the loss of her old father, and that the shepherd and the friend of the innkeeper would feel guilty for any mistake they had made, was too unreasonable. The village is full of gloom, and it seems that it will not pass away immediately.Even if no accident happened to the three of them, people did not expect Village Chief Kerz and his two companions to rush back to the village before dark. So what a joy it was when, at two o'clock in the afternoon, their figures appeared on the distant road!As soon as Milyuda heard the news, he ran to meet them. There were not three of them, but four, and the fourth seemed to be a doctor. "Nick . . . poor Nick! . . . " cried the girl. "Isn't Nick here? Ah..." No... Nick was here, lying on a stretcher made of branches, and Jonas and the shepherd were struggling to carry it. Milyuda threw herself upon her fiancé, bent down, and clutched his arm. "He's dead..." she cried, "he's dead!" "No...he's not dead," replied Dr. Batak, "but he deserved to die...so did I!" The young ranger was just unconscious.His limbs were stiff, his face was pale, his breathing was weak, and his chest barely rose and fell.The doctor's face was not as pale as his companion's, and it was only because of walking that he returned to his old red-brick complexion. Milyuda's voice was so gentle, so heartbreaking, that it failed to wake Nick Deckard from his stupor.In this way, he was carried into the village and put on a bed.After a while, he opened his eyes.A smile flitted across his lips when he saw the young girl leaning over the head of his bed; he tried to sit up, but failed.Part of his body was numb and unable to move, as if he was hemiplegic.But to comfort Milyuda, he said to her in a weak voice: "It's okay...it's okay!" "Nick...poor Nick!" the girl kept calling. "Just a little tired, my dear Milyuda, a little excited... It will be over soon... With your care..." The patient needs quiet and rest.So the village chief Kurz left, leaving Milyuda to take care of the forester, and it was hard to be a more diligent and gentle caretaker than her. At this moment, Jonas was telling the large audience what happened after they left, loudly so that everyone could hear. The village chief Kurtz, the shepherd and he found the trail that Nick Deckard and the doctor had taken before, so they walked along this road towards the Carpathian Castle.It took them two hours to climb the steep slope of Pleza Mountain. When they were only half a mile away from the edge of the forest, they found two figures.It was the doctor and the forester, one of whom could not move his legs, and the other, exhausted, fell under a tree. They ran up to the doctor to ask what was the matter, but they got nothing, because the doctor was so frightened that he couldn't speak.So they tied a stretcher with branches, put Nick Deckard on it, and dragged the doctor to his feet.The village head Kerz, the shepherd and Jonas took turns carrying the stretcher and walked slowly back to the village. But why on earth did Nick Deckard look like this, did he enter the ruins of the old castle?The innkeeper, Jonas, knew no more than the shepherd Flick and the village head of Kurtz, and the doctor was not yet fully awake and could not satisfy their curiosity. If Batak hadn't said anything then, he could speak with confidence now.To hell!He's surrounded by friends, his regular customers, and he's safe! ...he no longer has to be afraid of the elves and ghosts in the castle! ...even if they demanded that he should swear to keep silent, and not to reveal what he saw, but the public interest was above all, and he would renege on his oath. "Well, cheer up, Doctor," said the Village Chief Kurtz, "think about it!" "You want me to say..." "In the name of the villagers of Welster Village, in order to ensure the safety of the village, I order you to speak!" Jonas brought a glass of Arabian wine for the doctor to moisten his throat, and after drinking he began to speak intermittently: "The two of us hit the road...Nick and I...crazy...crazy!...it took almost the whole day to cross those unfortunate woods...it was night to reach the castle...I still have lingering fears when I think about it...I Will tremble for life! . . . Nick wants to go in . . . yes! He wants to spend the night in the tower . . . it's like sleeping in the devil Belzebout's room! . . . " Dr. Batak reminisced about the past with a low voice, which made one's hair stand on end. "I don't agree..." he added, "No...I didn't agree!...Who knows what would have happened...If I backed down?...I still shudder to think about it!" The hair on the doctor's forehead stood on end from the dull tugging with one hand. "Nick finally agreed to rest on the high ground... What a dreadful night... my friends, what a dreadful night! . . . Trying to sleep, but the ghosts won't let you be quiet for a moment. . . . No, not for a moment!  … Suddenly fire monsters appeared in the upper layer of the sky, they were real monsters!... They jumped down and wanted to devour us..." All eyes are on the sky, to see if there are ghosts flying around in the sky. "After a while, the bells in the chapel are ringing!" continued the doctor. All ears were pricked up, and more than one person said that he had vaguely heard the distant bell, because the doctor's story really impressed the audience. "Suddenly," he exclaimed, "the world was filled with a terrible roar... probably the howl of wild beasts... At this moment, a light shot out from the window of the tower... The fire of hell suddenly lit up the whole place. Hilltops and fir forests...Nick and I, we look at each other...God! It's horrible!...We are like two zombies...Two zombies, in the gray light, we look strange and painful!... " Seeing Dr. Batak's facial muscles twitch, his eyes frantic and blurred, he really wondered if he had returned from another world.As a doctor, how many people he had sent away with his own hands! He had to be given a break, for he couldn't go on.Jonas brought another glass of Arabian wine, which the doctor drank and seemed to have regained some sanity. "But after all, what happened to poor Nick?" asked the Village Chief Kurtz.It is not for nothing that the mayor attaches great importance to this question, since the warnings of the ghosts in the "King Matthias Hotel" are directed at the forest rangers. "That's all I remember," replied the doctor, "at daybreak... I begged Nick Deckard to drop his plan...but you know... a man so obstinate would never change his mind...he crawled into the At the bottom of the ditch... I was forced to follow him because he was holding me... I didn't realize what I was doing... He grabbed a chain on the drawbridge and climbed the wall... At this moment , I come to my senses... It's time to stop this daredevil... I also say, this sacrilege!... I ordered him to get down one last time, turn back, and go back to the village with me...'No!' He Yelling at me...I want to run...yes...friends...I admit I want to run...I want to run...None of you can understand how I felt!...but I can't move at all ...my feet are pinned to the ground...as screwed...rooted...I want to pull it out...do not move...I struggle...to no avail." Dr. Batak imitated the desperate and helpless movements of a man with his legs bound, like a fox caught in a trap. He went on: "Just then," he said, "there was a scream... what a scream!... It was from Nick Deckard... and he let go of the chain and fell to the bottom of the ditch as if An invisible hand punched him hard!" There can be no doubt that the doctor told the truth of what happened.Although he was dizzy, he didn't add fuel to the picture.What he was talking about was the strange incident that had happened on the Orgal Heights the night before. What happened to Nick Dyke after he fell was: the ranger passed out, and Dr. Batak couldn't go to rescue him, because his boots were nailed to the ground, and his feet were swollen, and he couldn't take off his boots...Suddenly, the smell The invisible force that held him was gone... His legs were free again... He hurried to his companions--an act of heroic pride... He soaked his handkerchief in the gutter and touched Nick Deckard's face... The ranger woke up, but his left arm and part of his body were numb due to the huge shock... But with the help of the doctor, he stood up, and the two climbed up the ditch parapet, Back to the top of the mountain... On the way back to the village... After walking for an hour, my arms and body hurt so much that I had to stop... The doctor was preparing to go back to the village alone to rescue soldiers. Nas and Frick arrived. As for the forest ranger, I only know that he was hit hard. As for whether the injury was serious, Dr. Batak avoided talking about it.But usually, when he diagnoses the disease, he is always very confident. "If it's just an ordinary disease, it's very serious!" He said in an indisputable tone. "He's still under the witchcraft of Xiaoerte. I'm afraid only the devil Xiaoerte can cure him!" Since it was impossible to diagnose what ailed Nick Deckard, it was impossible to predict the development of his illness.But thankfully, these words are not from the Bible.Besides, since Hippokarte and Garland, doctors have misdiagnosed countless times.Now every day, doctors who know how much better than Dr. Batak inevitably misdiagnose.The young forest ranger was a robust lad with a good physique - he didn't even need the blessing of any gods and ghosts - as long as he didn't follow the prescriptions prescribed by the old quarantine officer, he was expected to get better.