I'm Ba-ack...

[athersgeo]

Well, I've survived The Gather. I have rather horrid sunburn (I won the CBB Sunburn competition by default: Mine was the only one to blister!), I'm rather stiff (that would be the driving and cookie making and rounders playing catching up) and rather tired, but I think I can safely say that a good time was had by all.

As is traditional (now), I did get a little lost on the way to Staines (Mapquest said turn left at the roundabout - they just didn't say WHICH left. I tried four of them before I got it right!) but as Rosy says: We weren't lost; the directions lied. *nid*

And, as per the past Gatherings, we had the bedtime drabbles. We had good ones, we had great ones, we had funny ones and sad ones and ones written in the style of Dr Seuss. (I'm not kidding!) And, as noted in the last update, I did finally manage to get one done...

Anschluss

Jem looked at the letter that Robin had so innocently given to him only moments before. It bore the postmark for Wiesbaden and he recognised Hans Gruber's handwriting. It could easily be a query regarding Herr Schmitt, who was in the final stages of treatment for tuberculosis at the San, but Jem couldn't help but recall the conversation he and Hans had held two months earlier.

"I fear," Hans had begun, "that peace is not to last much longer."

"Oh?" The bald statement had surprised Jem. "What do you mean?"

"Just so," Hans had answered. "The moves being made by elements within government are not---positive." Hans had looked Jem in the eye and continued softly, "Hitler has his eye on a dramatic and victorious homecoming."

Hans hadn't needed to say any more. Jem had been able to work the rest out for himself. Anschluss. He already knew that the Gestapo had agents within Austria – within all German speaking areas, truth told – but were Austria to become annexed to Germany that would give them the power to act. And he was under no illusions as to how interesting the Gestapo would find the Sonnalpe community and the Chalet School.

Jem shuddered at the bare thought of the Gestapo becoming interested in the school. As capable as the school staff were – and as helpful as Herr Braun at the Kron Prinz Karl was – they would be little match for Himmler's secret police. There was a lot to be said for moving the school up to the Sonnalpe. It was safety in numbers. It would mean there was less chance of the girls seeing or hearing anything untoward. More to the point, it would mean that when the time came to leave, there would be little time wasted by repeated journeys down to the valley.

And there was space for them up here, Jem noted. There was The Annex, of course, but there was also the hotel that he'd bought from its owner's widow. (And if he were a betting man, Jem would put good money on Frau Eisen's political viewpoint being 'Eine Volk, Eine Reich.) That was comfortably big enough on its own. The only question was whether the move could be accomplished with minimal input from the pupils and with the minimum of fuss.

For the first time, Jem blessed a disease. With the school having been heavily quarantined for mumps, half term had been delayed. It was due to begin in a day or two's time and with all the pupils away, that would solve that problem.

If it was needed.

If this letter contained what he thought.

Jem slit the envelope open and abstracted the single sheet of paper. To his horror, he discovered the letter was dated a week ago. It had been held up somewhere (with the censors, perhaps?). That meant if it did contain bad news it was even more imperative they acted quickly.

He scanned the letter. Hans had promised to use two specific words, if he got wind of official moves towards Austria. To the censor, the words would mean nothing – or, if the censor got particularly curious, he would learn they referred to a particular, but rare, facet of lung congestion caused by tuberculosis. To Jem, they would mean the Anschluss was near.

And there they were. At the bottom of the page, ostensibly part of a query regarding Gerhard Schmitt's treatment.

Jem closed his eyes for a moment, half hoping he had mis-read. He opened them again and checked. No mistake.

Anschluss was coming, and with it would be trouble.

I will say that I wasn't the only person present to draw inspiration from CS in Exile - there was an excellent character piece about Hans Bocher.

And, for those interested, this goes rather well with my offering for LAST summer's gathering, which (if you need to depress yourselves, can be found here