cant imagine lying like that. He went back inside.

 You see Im not mad and Im not gone off
 You see Im not mad and Im not gone off. It was a big trench mortar shell. The other officers were amused at the baiting. they would not be loaded. I said.Im so sorry.How are you.I didnt know about anything then.Oh. Some bersaglieri.What is there to eatWe have a little pasta asciutta. The two captains took off their coats. Whats the matter with this machineIts no good.We went over toward Rinaldi and Miss Ferguson. Perhaps.

 I said. Why did you join up with the ItaliansI was in Italy.Do you suppose it will always go onNo. They blew him all to bits. lit it and went on reading. One is dead.It starts now. But dont be a fool. She went on down the hall. I saluted and went out. and if the car went especially fast it was probably the King. said Rinaldi. I only write about what a beautiful place we live in and how brave the Italians are. You do not really like it. You mustnt take everything so literally.

 I said.I knocked over his candle with the pillow and got into bed in the dark. Not in this ambulance business. baby How do you feel I bring you this It was a bottle of cognac. I come to see you again soon.They dont give them like that. They were sitting in the dugout talking and when I came in they stopped. Rocca said. Grappa. One of the medical captains said the attack had been put forward an hour. I saluted and went out. the pillars with the marble busts. Ive studied it for months now. I said. Oh.

Nonsense. Naples. Its not a wound. It was a nuisance to have them there but it was a comfort that they were no bigger. looking out of the window of the bawdy house. I said I hoped it would go well but that he was too kind. thats different. Now I must go back to sleep to be fresh and beautiful for Miss Barkley.They cant do anything. the captain said. They were sweaty.Had you been engaged longEight years.Im not. the house for officers.They talked too much at the mess and I drank wine because tonight we were not all brothers unless I drank a little and talked with the priest about Archbishop Ireland who was.

 I said.I was going to cut it all off when he died. SicilyHe should visit Amalfi. I saw that word pricked him and kept on. One is dead. brought by Gordini who looked very white and sick. He was sitting up beside one of the brick walls. Thank you very much. I will give you the addresses of places in Naples. Tell me about Gorizia.Were you in the StatesSure. It was quite evident he had stolen the bonds.Most of them dont. Good by. I would go crazy.

 stepping carefully among the wounded. That made the bed damp and cool. Stop it. The men were hot and sweating. and went through the trenches in the smasheddown town and along the edge of the slope. Rocca said. No one to come in at night from adventures.Which side is it onHere. he straightened up. We were in the foothills on the near side of the river and as the road mounted there were the high mountains off to the north with snow still on the tops. Dont you want us never to attackNo.Bring Caruso. Goodnight. I was always able to forget.Yes.

 At first it dropped slowly and regularly.Is there anything I can do.You have that pleasant air of a dog in heat. He sat down beside me. as when a blast furnace door is swung open.I cant imagine lying like that. which was very good. I had been driving and I sat in the car and the driver took the papers in. said the captain.Dont worry.Like the Tchecos. It was there that the offensive was to begin.They are big through the chest by measurement.Dont you wish you could bellow like himHe bellows.No.

Whats the matter nowNew rings. I looked at the board tables. I looked at the board tables. We stood outside the door on the patch and he said. They have their own country.Are you very tired she asked. Then I made out my report in my room. Through the other noise I heard a cough.I went back to the majors dugout and he said the field kitchen would be along and the drivers could come and get their stew. You go away sototenente! You come back sotocolonello! They all laughed. said the captain. I thought I was coming back. You get out and fall down by the road and get a bump on your head and Ill pick you up on our way back and take you to a hospital. They were silent until I went out.All right.

 The officers all came from such good families. I helped the soldier with the rupture up on the seat with us. no.So you make progress with Miss BarkleyWe are friends. The door was open. I said. sototenente (the thumb).Youre the American in the Italian army she asked. I wished I were in Milan with her. I said. It was in France of course. Thats all I know. said the lieutenant. I could see the river far down below.In the legs.

 There were racks of rockets standing to be touched off to call for help from the artillery or to signal with if the telephone wires were cut. I said. We sat on the ground with our backs against the wall and smoked. It would only be worse if we stopped fighting. Then he was quiet. That was how it ought to be. There isnt always an explanation for everything. How does that feelSweat ran all over me. I say its rotten. Thats the end of it. He paused and thought. I had been driving and I sat in the car and the driver took the papers in.That doesnt matter. There was another stretcher by the side with a man on it whose nose I could see. lay asleep on the other bed.

 They have their own country.Were you thereNo. He sat down beside me. father. I said. smoking.No. I said. Beautiful young girlsaccompanied by their mothers.Im English. Dont be a bloody hero.Hows everythingNot so bad. Now they have a guard outside his house with a bayonet and nobody can come to see his mother and father and sisters and his father loses his civil rights and cannot even vote. They do it for nothing. the orderly said.

 I said. falling and the soldiers marching and afterward the road bare and white except for the leaves. The ground was torn up and in front of my head there was a splintered beam of wood. He loved being a surgeon and we were great friends. But dont be a fool. that there had been three others. Passini said. She waved and I kissed my hand and held it out. sir. Rinaldi was sitting on the bed with a copy of Hugos English grammar. You are a frozenfaced .Goodnight. The priest smiled and blushed and shook his head. sucked and snapped in the ends. The doctors were working with their sleeves up to their shoulders and were red as butchers.

 father.After a while I walked with her to the door of the villa and she went in and I walked home. Gordini winced and smiled.Yes.A rivederci. Could I join nowIm afraid not now. he said. went to call on Miss Barkley. wore his black boots. There was fighting for that mountain too. she said. I thought perhaps he couldnt stand it and then of course he was killed and that was the end of it. We will take over the two cars. They were going to put over another bridge when the bombardment started and some troops were to cross at the shallows up above at the bend of the river. Ill clean this up a little.

 Passini said respectfully.Im not drunk. It was all as I had left it except that now it was spring. Well crack in France. Its good. the bare ground was covered. I said.Dont bring Caruso.I knocked over his candle with the pillow and got into bed in the dark. I will take you to call. I watched the flashes on San Gabriele. the King passing in his motor car. TenenteYoure damned right.Im awfully tired. We drove slowly in this matting covered tunnel and came out onto a bare cleared space where the railway station had been.

 The road was screened because it was in sight of the Austrians across the river. and stopped at the main dressing station. on the street. looking out at the snow falling slowly and heavily.No Yes. but with the difference between us.I said I knew.Cough. in the infantry.He walked across to the dressing station. lifting the spaghetti on the fork until the loose strands hung clear then lowering it into the mouth. Do you suffer much Have a drink. good luck and Vive la France. The attack would cross the river up above the narrow gorge and spread up the hillside. she said.

 It was the first time I had ever heard her laugh. Driving in convoy is not unpleasant if you are the first car and I settled back in the seat and watched the country. instead there is a war.Not like the English Not like Miss BarkleyOh. The road curved and we saw the three cars looking quite small.Im so sorry.Ill just step out the door a minute.But now we will shut up. as I went in. painted gray and built like moving-vans. I said to the priest. Sometimes I think you and he are a little that way.You are ignorant.He should have fine girls. with many tastes alike.

 But I thought it would be bad for him. Fragments of enemy trench mortar shell.After a while we said good-night and left. There was a cough. We in the auto ambulance cannot even realize at all how bad it is. It was all as I had left it except that now it was spring. because they did not bombard it to destroy it but only a little in a military way. They sent me the little stick. The ovens and some deep holes had been equipped as dressing stations.Tonight you will tell me everything. but the nights were cool and there was not the feeling of a storm coming. It was a long time since I had written to the States and I knew I should write but I had let it go so long that it was almost impossible to write now. Well stop by the road here.I cant imagine lying like that. He went back inside.