I know I was very glad to wrap my plaid round me and
stretch myself on the floor.
The next morning we were up with the first streak of dawn. It was with
some curiosity that I looked round at our impromptu dwelling and its
surroundings, upon which we had descended in total obscurity the night
before. The position of our camping-place was not badly chosen; we were
just within the girdle of forest above which rises the grassy Alpen.
About forty yards to the left or north-east of us was a small stream,
the boundary, it seems, between the Banat and Transylvania. We were
provided with two necessaries of life, wood and water, close at hand.
The hut, however, was more picturesque than practical, as subsequent
events proved. The Wallacks had constructed it by driving two strong
posts into the ground about ten yards apart. A tree was placed across,
with a couple of smaller supports, and on this was made on a rough
framework a sloping roof to the windward side. The roofing consisted
entirely of leaves: it is called in German _laubhuette_, but is in fact
more of a parasol than an umbrella. I should have preferred a hut made
of bark, such as I have seen used by shepherds and sportsmen in Styria.
The interior of the hut had a droll appearance. Bacon, sausages,
meal-bags, and various other things were hanging from pegs fastened into
the supports of the roof; and the gear belonging to ten sportsmen were
stowed away somehow.
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