The Sad Tale of the Brothers Grossbart Read Online Free PDF Page A

Completely different. Same for fish. I’ll wrap some fish skin
     on me if I’s cut up, no question.”
    Manfried nodded, not convinced but knowing the conversation could progress no further. The twins agreed on most matters, but
     even after all these years he could not fathom his brother’s distrust of four-legged creatures. Hegel certainly felt no aversion
     to eating or riding upon them, on the contrary, he took a pleasure from such things that Manfried correctly chalked up as
     sadistic. Dousing his ear in horse piss, Manfried splashed some on his sore neck for good measure.
    Hegel felt splendid aside from his plethora of wounds. Chewing his dinner, he withdrew the murdered Gertie’s necklace from
     under his tunic and held it to the light. The rough carving would only be recognizable for what it represented by a truly
     devout individual, so crude and indistinct were Her angles. He rubbed the lump of the Virgin’s breasts with his thumb, and
     contemplated what it meant to be merciful.
    Watching his brother, Manfried felt a twinge of jealousy. He considered himself far more pious than his brother, who had only
     taken to praising Her name after Manfried explained Her worth. Still, he reckoned, true mercy would be to allow his brother
     to keep his trophy rather than claiming it for himself. Even if he had been the one to slay the filthy heretic who originally
     wore it, his brother clearly took succor from Her. Inspiration arrived like a stinging gnat, and Manfried took one of the
     unused spears from the cart, broke the shaft, and began carving his own Virgin. His would be a more faithful representation,
     one with a larger chest and belly.
    Eventually Hegel stretched out beside the fire and went to sleep, his brother standing watch. Manfried ate slowly, consuming
     several pounds of horse as the night wore on. He reflected on the fine meal, thinking with a satisfied smile that the days
     of rotting oats and badger meat were behind them. He knew the mountains could not stretch forever, and beyond them lay the
     sea, and passage to where their granddad’s wealth waited. After a spell he roused his brother to stand guard, and lay down
     on the patch of warm earth Hegel vacated. Manfried imagined the stars to be jewels shining in the depths of a long-sealed
     crypt and, drifting off, he almost glimpsed himself prying open the lid of night and stuffing his pocket with the glittering
     gems.
    Heaping wood on the blaze and wrapping himself in another blanket, Hegel sat on a rock and wolfed down more meat. Splashing
     some water in the pot, he burned himself getting a bit of ash into it and scrubbed out the horse piss. He then filled it halfway
     with the last of their water, adding turnip pieces and hunks of meat. The stew simmered under Hegel’s watchful eye, the Grossbart
     also reflecting on their situation. He knew in his heart that for the first time in their lives they were truly on the road
     to riches.
    While his brother dreamed of gold and sand and the Virgin, Hegel put his mind to their immediate wealth. Down the trail several
     dead horses waited for an industrious soul to turn them into headcheese, steaks, and pudding, to say nothing of the ligaments
     he could use to tie his shoes and the hide to be tanned for cloaks. Bones could be carved into fishhooks, a dried tail used
     to whip their carthorse. His mind turned over the possibilities when he remembered that there were dead men there as well.
    Rather than feeling remorse at the blood they had spilled, Hegel groaned at their laziness in not searching the corpses immediately.
     In his mind each possessed pouches stuffed with coins, pouches that even now beasts dumbly bit off and swallowed or carried
     home to their nests. New shoes and hose dragged into dens, rings and bracelets rolling into rat holes. He took several steps
     down the trail, but without a sliver of moon he doubted even his keen eyes and sure feet could navigate the treacherous path.