The Safety Net by Heinrich Böll Read Free Book Online

now, why? Hard to imagine that there would be nothing left, nothing: only dredges and a gigantic hole, conveyor belts and pumps, and the wind that forms in such cavities, and yet another cloud-forming power station; the manor sold at a high profit,this ancient pile received long ago by some Tolm as a reward for success in battle—for or against Spain, no one seemed to know exactly, and the countess of those days, who had been for or against the Spaniards, had been forced to marry him. They would bulldoze it all, church and manor, the Kelz house, the Pütz house, the Kommertz house, and the nice little arbor at the end of the vicarage garden where in summer one could sit and drink a glass of wine—pond and bridge, ducks and owls—where would the owl fly to?
    “It’s all decided, Tolm, decided before anything’s been discussed, before they allow the local enthusiasts to start shouting, it’s settled, before it could have been settled—billions of tons lie there, and nothing, nothing will stop them from extracting them—and farther off, beyond Hetzigrath, not a house, not a tree will remain standing, not a snail keep its house, not a mole its run, and they will advance right up to the Dutch border and one day they’ll talk the Dutch into it also, if any coal happens to be there too.… There’s not a thing you can do about it, Tolm, nothing, my dear Fritz, and if you want to continue investing in Tolmshoven you should know that of course you’ll be compensated at a profit, but as for all the work, the annoyance, the upheaval involved in any remodeling, you should spare yourself that. Believe me: the plans are ready, the calculations already under way—I assure you.”
    In the rain, over tea on the terrace in Trollscheid, and Kortschede could no longer live without his Horst, without tranquilizers. And added with a smile: “And you know of course, or at least you have a hunch, that the paper will fall into Zummerling’s lap—and into mine—just as Tolmshoven will fall prey to the dredges. You should really have paid more attention to economic trends, you should have read the financial pages more than the literary section—and here’s some advice for you: never start anything against a Fischer—you know that the Resistance photos Zummerling has of him are unbeatable. God-fearing textile industry versus liberal newspaper … you couldn’t win, not with your family background,with Rolf, Veronica, and Katharina … watch out! Take care.”
    Since the incident with Kortschede, the last vestiges of irony had vanished from their comments on security surveillance; only Bleibl occasionally permitted himself a passing shot. Their relations with the guards had changed too, since Kortschede’s fit their friendly but sometimes patronizing manner was no longer possible, and since the affair of Pliefger’s birthday cake joking wasn’t possible either—there was work for Kiernter the psychologist, there were long conferences with Holzpuke (in charge of security), who asked for forbearance, after all the guards were only doing their duty, and as for themselves, surely they wanted to safeguard their lives, so they must accept apparent pedantries—such as a guard inspecting the toilet before one of them used it, or “lady visitors” being closely scrutinized—and, please, escapades such as those occasionally indulged in by Käthe should be avoided. Yet they should have realized that there was no such thing as security, either internal or external; he knew that all these measures had to be yet would prevent nothing.
    Still, it was both pleasant and reassuring to look out over moat and terrace onto the park, to imagine that one day it might be possible again to have a party there with all the children and grandchildren: outdoors, on a summer evening with paper lanterns and little lights, with modest fireworks for the grandchildren, ice cream, a barbecue, and cocktails—whatever they wanted; and bitter to know that,