it was in a pleasant clearing in the forest , not so far off the main road that it made journeying to it particularly arduous or uncomfortable , even for the wide-beamed german woman who was waddling along so slowly immediately in front of him that it was all that martin could do to stop himself punching her in his impatience to hurry past , and there was even a helpful sign - written in three languages - and a guiding arrow , to reassure the bold adventurer that he was still travelling in the right direction .