Edge of Eternity by Ken Follett Read Free Book Online Page B

‘I guess we do look alike – fair hair and green eyes. Who are the Bobbsey Twins?’
    Walli had not noticed the colour of her eyes, and he was flattered that she was aware of his. ‘I’ve never heard of them,’ he said.
    ‘All the same, it sounds like a good name for a duo. Like the Everly Brothers.’
    ‘Do we need a name?’
    ‘We do if we win.’
    ‘Okay. Let’s go back in. It must be almost our turn.’
    ‘One more thing,’ she said. ‘When we do “ Noch Einen Tanz ”, we should look at one another now and again, and smile.’
    ‘Okay.’
    ‘Almost as if we’re boyfriend and girlfriend, you know? It will look good on stage.’
    ‘Sure.’ It would not be difficult to smile at Karolin as if she were his girlfriend.
    Back inside, a blonde girl was strumming a guitar and singing ‘Freight Train’. She was not as beautiful as Karolin, but she was pretty in a more obvious way. Next, a virtuoso guitarist played a complicated finger-picking blues. Then Danni Hausmann called Walli’s name.
    He felt tense as he faced the audience. Most of the guitarists had fancy leather straps, but Walli had never bothered to get one, and his instrument was held around his neck by a piece of string. Now, suddenly, he wished he had a strap.
    Karolin said: ‘Good evening, we’re the Bobbsey Twins.’
    Walli played a chord and began to sing, and found he no longer cared about a strap. The song was a waltz, and he strummed it jauntily. Karolin pretended to be a wanton strumpet, and Walli responded by becoming a stiff Prussian lieutenant.
    The audience laughed.
    Something happened to Walli then. There were only a hundred or so people in the place, and the sound they made was no more than an appreciative collective chuckle, but it gave him a feeling that he had not experienced before, a feeling a bit like the kick from the first puff of a cigarette.
    They laughed several more times, and at the end of the song they applauded loudly.
    Walli liked that even better.
    ‘They love us!’ Karolin said in an excited whisper.
    Walli began to play ‘Nobody’s Fault But Mine’, plucking the steel strings with his fingernails to sharpen the drama of the plangent sevenths, and the crowd went quiet. Karolin changed and became a fallen woman in despair. Walli watched the audience. No one was talking. One woman had tears in her eyes, and he wondered if she had lived through what Karolin was singing about.
    Their hushed concentration was even better than the laughter.
    At the end they cheered and called for more.
    The rule was two numbers each, so Walli and Karolin came down off the stage, ignoring the cries for an encore, but Hausmann told them to go back. They had not rehearsed a third song, and they looked at one another in panic. Then Walli said: ‘Do you know “This Land is Your Land”?’ and Karolin nodded.
    The audience joined in, which made Karolin sing louder, and Walli was surprised by the power of her voice. He sang a high harmony, and their two voices soared above the sound of the crowd.
    When, finally, they left the stage, he felt exhilarated. Karolin’s eyes were shining. ‘We were really good!’ she said. ‘You’re better than my brother.’
    Walli said: ‘Have you got any cigarettes?’
    They sat through another hour of the contest, smoking. ‘I think we were the best,’ Walli said.
    Karolin was more cautious. ‘They liked the blonde girl who sang “Freight Train”,’ she said.
    At last the result was announced.
    The Bobbsey Twins came second.
    The winner was the Joan Baez lookalike.
    Walli was angry. ‘She could hardly play!’ he said.
    Karolin was more philosophical. ‘People love Joan Baez.’
    The club began to empty, and Walli and Karolin headed for the door. Walli felt dejected. As they were leaving, Danni Hausmann stopped them. He was in his early twenties, and dressed in modern casual clothes, a black roll-neck sweater and jeans. ‘Could you two do half an hour next Monday?’ he said.
    Walli was