Read Online Nightmare in Berlin by Hans Fallada - Free Book Online Page B

hard as he liked, but it made no difference. In his present state of mind, the letters written by his lawyer seemed to him far too mild and diplomatic, so he sat down and wrote a letter of his own to Dr. Wilhelm, in which he announced his intention of publicly slapping him in the face as a slanderer the next time their paths crossed …
    Having sent the letter, he was overcome with regret. This was unworthy of him; he had sunk to the level of his enemies, instead of just quietly despising them, which had been his stance up until now. But the time would come when he would regret this letter even more. One morning, he walked into the waiting room at the station — and there was Piglet Willem, sitting on the sofa, with a bottle of wine in front of him!
    Doll wished he could have turned around in the doorway and left, and it would certainly have been better for his peace of mind if he had. But as well as many strangers, there were also quite a few locals in the room, who were now looking back and forth expectantly from him to the vet. Doll knew that Wilhelm, like all old gossips, had shown the letter to the bar-room regulars and half the town, and his enemy’s threat — to slap him in the face when he saw him — was common knowledge. If Doll retreated now, the vet would have won, and the whole rumour mill would start up again.
    So Doll entered the room and sat down opposite the other man. The landlord, normally so talkative, said nothing as he brought him the bottle he had ordered. All the locals were waiting for the strangers to leave the waiting room — their train was due to depart in a quarter of an hour. Meanwhile Doll sat clutching the stem of his wine glass, battling inwardly with himself. He’s not worth it , a little voice said inside him. He’s just an old man, a gossip, and a scandalmonger. What’s he got to do with your honour? And with a quick glance at the other man, who was sitting there in silence, like him, clutching his wine glass: But they’ll think me a coward, all of them, and him especially, if I do nothing. I’ve got to show these people that I won’t just take this lying down! I can’t back out now!
    The strangers filed out of the waiting room, and only five or six locals were left. The room was completely silent. Then the landlord Kurz, who was polishing his glasses behind the counter and watching like a hawk, began to pass the time of day with a painter and decorator. ‘They’re in for another bad day in Berlin’, Doll heard him say, as the drone of enemy bomber formations passing overhead came to their ears …
    Now he got to his feet directly in front of his own enemy. Leaning on the edge of the table with both hands, he thrust his face into the odious, yellow, liverish visage of the other man, and asked in a whisper: ‘So are you going to take back your vicious lies right now, in front of these people?’
    The landlord was at his side now, and said in a tone that was half-plea, half-reprimand: ‘Don’t do that, Dr. Doll! I won’t have any fighting in my establishment! Go outside, if you want to …’
    Doll carried on regardless, speaking softly as before: ‘Or do you want me to slap you in the face, right here in public? Punish you like a child who has been telling lies?’
    The elderly, heavily built man had stayed sitting still in his seat on the sofa. Under Doll’s menacing gaze, the yellowish colour of his face changed slowly to an ashen grey, while his fishy eye stared at his oppressor without blinking and without visible expression. When Doll finished speaking, it was as if he wanted to say something in reply: his lips moved, and the tip of his tongue came out as if to moisten them, but no sound emerged.
    â€˜Look, I think you should leave, Dr. Doll!’ said the landlord with urgent insistence. ‘You can see that Dr. Wilhelm is sorry …’
    At this point, the old vet suddenly