Through the other noise I heard a cough. she said.

There was fighting for that mountain too
There was fighting for that mountain too. dusty and tired.Outside the post a great many of us lay on the ground in the dark.Dont worry. Bring a glass.Did you ever read the Black Pig asked the lieutenant. This was a game. I identified them by their red and white striped collar mark. Your lovely cool goddess. instead there is a war.Oh I love to tease you.Its very hard. I could have given him that anyway. wash it out. said the major.

And you call me CatherineCatherine. he said. They were sweaty. When we were out on the gravel drive she said. His right hand left the wheel and opened a button on his tunic and pulled it out from under his shirt. Passing where the shells had landed I avoided the small broken places and smelled the high explosive and the smell of blasted clay and stone and freshly shattered flint. He hoped the road would not jam. Maybe the Austrians would crack. This was a strange and mysterious war zone but I supposed it was quite well run and grim compared to other wars with the Austrians. Dont you read it. She had slapped my face hard.Goodnight. Oh oh oh oh. the stump of his leg twitching. go to hell.

Can Gordini driveI dont think so. I practised with it. They picked me up and took me into the dressing room. there was the smell of marble floors and hospital. We stopped at the side of the road. Gavuzzi handed me the basin of macaroni.Oh I love to tease you.You are ignorant. the major said.Whats the matter nowNew rings. I said. I thought. There was a cough.What is the differenceA nurse is like a doctor. Rinaldi said.

Open the bottle. the major said. I thought perhaps he couldnt stand it and then of course he was killed and that was the end of it. Bersaglieri are fools. A little that way like the number of the first regiment of the Brigata Ancona. Didnt you see itNo. I said. It tells you about those priests.She looked at me. it couldnt all go on. I said. I felt it against the back of the chair. with the sun on it.Have you seen Miss BarkleyI will bring her here. Really.

aint this a goddam warListen. He stooped to go under the doorway and went out. One leg was gone and the other was held by tendons and part of the trouser and the stump twitched and jerked as though it were not connected. Were not cloistered.Priest today with girls. It was all right if she was.He likes it. You love EnglandNot too well.I went out the door and suddenly I felt lonely and empty.Very. as when a blast furnace door is swung open. as when a blast furnace door is swung open.What about eating. The priest shook his head. I said.

Tenente Can I help in any way He was the quietest one of the four. New girls never been to the front before. Tenente.Be good while Im gone. I said. he said. an officer directing the light and the crew scared.Well crack. said the captain. father. Im sending you now with the English ambulance. the meal was finished. I said.But now we will shut up.Yes.

We all got up and left the table. baby How do you feel I bring you this It was a bottle of cognac.Youre an orator.I dont think it will hurt you. Its been in there too long.Arent you a nurseOh. Sometimes all niceness gone and glad to get out on the street but always another day starting and then another night. the fighting in the mountains beyond the town. It does not go so well. on purpose. Will you have a cigaretteThanks.He was a very nice boy. she said. Sometimes still pleasant and fond and warm and breakfast and lunch. Manera said.

There were four drivers. said the major.That doesnt matter. British ambulance drivers were killed sometimes. At the foot of the bed was my flat trunk. Please put your hand there again. Also we were required to wear an automatic pistol; even doctors and sanitary officers. And we have gotten away from the war. Rocca ignored this and went on to explain the joke to me.Oh.J started down the driveway. I felt the engine start.Most of them dont.Three hundred fives. Hang onto my neck.

First we passed the regiment. said the priest. dusty and tired. It was a nasty place and the Austrians should not have let them hold it.Good evening. father.I did not say anything. its smooth surface covered with brick dust.Of course they do. Could I join nowIm afraid not now. The priest accepted it as a joke.You are crazy.No. he pointed to the thumb. Maybe she would pretend that I was her boy that was killed and we would go in the front door and the porter would take off his cap and I would stop at the concierges desk and ask for the key and she would stand by the elevator and then we would get in the elevator and it would go up very slowly clicking at all the floors and then our floor and the boy would open the door and stand there and she would step out and I would step out and we would walk down the hall and I would put the key in the door and open it and go in and then take down the telephone and ask them to send a bottle of capri bianca in a silver bucket full of ice and you would hear the ice against the pail coming down the condor and the boy would knock and I would say leave it outside the door please.

We went over toward Rinaldi and Miss Ferguson. Tell me all about it.Cant I stay here.I have one. then crossed the river.There arent any four hundred twenties in the mountains. and a bandage around his head.How is he the Englishman called back. The two captains took off their coats. He came in very fast and bent down over the bed and kissed me. Anybody can take their property. and come back like this.And youll be backTo morrow. The captain spoke pidgin Italian for my doubtful benefit. I felt it against the back of the chair.

I said. He started with the upright thumb and named in their order the thumb and four fingers. There were four drivers. You are really an Italian. You see I didnt care about the other thing and he could have had it all. Bacchus barred. as when a blast furnace door is swung open. I would have married him or anything. If they did. It was a hot day and there were many flies in the room. I said. I said. Oh Jesus lovely Mary stop it. That was how it ought to be. sototenente (the thumb).

Something landed outside that shook the earth. Are you coming to nightNo. They do it for nothing. I knew.The Italians didnt want women so near the front.The room I shared with the lieutenant Rinaldi looked out on the courtyard.I didnt say anything. isnt there I was brought up to think there was.I was going to cut it all off when he died. I was angry and yet certain. where it was clear cold and dry and the snow was dry and powdery and haretracks in the snow and the peasants took off their hats and called you Lord and there was good hunting. she said. You havent any fracture. The sun was going down and looking up along the bank as we drove I saw the Austrian observation balloons above the hills on the other side dark against the sunset.Arent you a nurseOh.

He looked like a king. In a moment the blanket in front of the dressing station opened and two stretcherbearers came out followed by the tall Englishman. We both went flat and with the flash and bump of the burst and the smell heard the singing off of the fragments and the rattle of falling brick. It takes a long time to be.Sit down. The dressing station was on the Austrian side of the river under the edge of the hill and stretcherbearers would bring the wounded back across the pontoon bridge. Bacchus or no Bacchus. drink that. I got out and told the driver to go on and that if we had not caught up to them at the junction of the road to Cormons to wait there.You wouldnt want to go in the line all the time. I suppose. It looked as though it might be a mess. Miss Ferguson was with her. went to the jail and asked to see the priest. a hard bright burst and flash and then gray smoke that blew across the road.

you patriots. I know all about it. I never hurt anybody. Let them keep their sisters in the house. Dont you want us never to attackNo. It was a big trench mortar shell. This machine is no good but the others march.Yes. I took her hands.I say its rotten. I looked at her. There were some British batteries up with the third army. Rinaldi said goodnight. Its a Saint Anthony. He looked at me.

sucking in the ends. the major said. The mechanics were working on one out in the yard.Ive heard about it.They cant do anything. I think the heat knocked me over yesterday.In the ward at the field hospital they told me a visitor was coming to see me in the afternoon.Hes dead I think. We went on and passed the regiment about a mile ahead.We walked on a way and were stopped under a tree. was my age.A shell fell close and they both dropped to the ground and dropped me. she said. I held her close against me and could feel her heart beating and her lips opened and her head went back against my hand and then she was crying on my shoulder. baby.

it seemed.They tell me youve lost two drivers. I was experiencing the masculine difficulty of making love very long standing up. Im sorry. Ireland of Michigan.You sons of bitches. go to hell. We all got up and left the table. It was all right if she was. He lived in Udine and came out in this way nearly every day to see how things were going. He had written to his father that I was coming and they had made preparations.Look at the bump.Are you very tired she asked.J started down the driveway. In a little while we would say insulting things.

was my age. I saw the blanket open.I went along the narrow road down toward the river. maggiore (next to the little finger). Maybe it would finish this summer. He denied all knowledge of the five per cent bonds. even in the ambulance business.Goodnight.Youre the American in the Italian army she asked.How is everythingSplendid. There was an English there. And you never know if the girl will really like it. So were all on very special behavior. Through the other noise I heard a cough. she said.