The guide set a brisk place: - Engineer, am I going too fast?
Seeing as the conversation had been initiated, Oskar asked: - What do you reckon about him?
- Who? Franz, the guy in charge? He moans a lot, like so many in town. The man is always complaining. I was there when he practically grovelled in front of the Mayor for this job. Even saying the further they sent him the better as his wife stank and nagged him too much.
- Could have guessed – quipped Oskar. Yet he still felt that being compassionate was his best chance for spiritual equilibrium. A subtle form of selfishness? More than likely. The protective patina commonly used as sunscreen by saints and professional do-gooders.
When the pass was under them wind grew violent. They passed over a ridge of ice wedged between massive bou
