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PART I - IN THE SHADOW OF DEATH
CHAPTER 7 - DOBERDO

In the meantime, we arrived at an ancient section of the prison known as Doberdo. It was in a basement with enormously wide corridors. It was actually built into a hillside. In these dark corridors had walked students in the time of Queen Maria Theresa. The building was originally erected for the use of young nobles who were candidates for the Queen's bodyguard.
Our steps echoed in the basement. Deadly silence everywhere. At the end of the corridor an enormous guard was sitting in an easy chair, playing with his keys. Our guard handed us over to him. He got up slowly and sleepily. I decided to call him the Big Bullock.
" What is your profession?" he inquired quietly and sleepily. "An engineer . . . and a mayor as well . . . your mother," he added, beginning to shout, and slapped me in the face so hard that I fell.
My eating utensils were rolling all over the floor. Meanwhile, he was beating up the others. They were not surprised at the unusual procedure and did not fall. Therefore, he beat them until they dropped on the floor. A glow of satisfaction spread over his face. I hoped that he was done with his daily work. That same evening I discovered that unfortunately he was willing to exceed his norm.
They put us in solitary cells, each with a hard bunk and a thin blanket. It was a tiny hole, and there wasn't space to move around. The glass in the windows was broken, and a cold December wind blew in, freezing one to the bone. After two days I felt that this was unbearable. Luckily, a man can stand more than he thinks he can. It lasted for six long weeks.
On an average, we were beaten up twice a day. The first time was in the morning (they always found some sort of excuse), and then in the afternoon when they took us for our walk. During our walks they always picked on Almos. He imagined that there was something wrong with his eyes, and that he was going blind. Therefore, while walking, he used to