When the stars grew bright, most lay down to sleep
in the waggons, while others watched, pacing up and down till Karl's
waggon should be over the mountain, and the vigil was relieved.
No disturbance took place, and at sunrise a hasty meal was partaken
of, and the work of crossing the river was set in hand.
"Pity," said Moritz, the architect, "that this ford were not spanned
by a bridge, to the avoiding of danger and spoil."
"Who could build such a bridge?" asked Ebbo.
"Yourself, Herr Freiherr, in union with us burghers of Ulm. It were
well worth your while to give land and stone, and ours to give labour
and skill, provided we fixed a toll on the passage, which would be
willingly paid to save peril and delay."
The brothers caught at the idea, and the merchants agreed that such a
bridge would be an inestimable boon to all traffickers between
Constance, Ulm, and Augsburg, and would attract many travellers who
were scared away by the evil fame of the Debateable Ford. Master
Moritz looked at the stone of the mountain, pronounced it excellent
material, and already sketched the span of the arches with a view to
winter torrents.
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