north at the two ranges of mountains.

 I lied
 I lied. unbuttoned the shirt collar and dropped him in under the shirt. the bare ground was covered. Anybody can take their property. I thought perhaps he couldnt stand it and then of course he was killed and that was the end of it. walking under the trees.They may crack.Quite well.Cant I stay here.Youre a nice boy. After I was wounded I never found him. hauling them back from the mountains to the clearing station and then distributing them to the hospitals named on their papers. when they wouldnt attack and they shot every tenth manNo.

 I dont mind at all.We might sit there just for a little while. Gavuzzi said. painted gray and built like moving-vans. I said.The battery in the next garden woke me in the morning and I saw the sun coming through the window and got out of the bed. He stooped to go under the doorway and went out. falling and the soldiers marching and afterward the road bare and white except for the leaves. There was a shadow from his hand on the wall. But it was checked and in the end only seven thousand died of it in the army. It took the enamel off your teeth and left it on the roof of your mouth. Tell me. walking under the trees.

Look at the bump. I remembered where I was going.Ah.You want us to stay here or can we look aroundBetter stay here. Chew those.The adjutant. I practised with it. when I learned it. the leather shiny with oil. Where did you go and what did you do Tell me everything at once. What made it pretty was that it sounded like Island. The mountain that was beyond the valley and the hillside where the chestnut forest grew was captured and there were victories beyond the plain on the plateau to the south and we crossed the river in August and lived in a house in Gorizia that had a fountain and many thick shady trees in a walled garden and a wistaria vine purple on the side of the house. Take a drink.

 there was snow on the guns and there were paths in the snow going back to the latrines behind trenches. Fillipo Vincenza. Always with the girls. misunderstandings. when you knew that that was all there was. I suppose. I lowered it into the mouth.He ought to go to Capri.We shook hands and he put his arm around my neck and kissed me.Ah. It is protected by the little hill.I think we can get you the silver. It was a hot night and there was a good deal going on up in the mountains.

65 caliber with a short barrel and it jumped so sharply when you let it off that there was no question of hitting anything. When this road was finished the offensive would start. The hall too. Why dont you come inHe shook his head.Yes. Sometimes I think you and he are a little that way.Ive come back to Catherine in the night. But marble busts all looked like a cemetery.It was just beyond where we turned off. wont you She looked up at me. he said. Then I floated.The Italians didnt want women so near the front.

Beyond the mule train the road was empty and we climbed through the hills and then went down over the shoulder of a long hill into a river valley. First we passed the regiment. the fighting in the mountains beyond the town. The window was open. What was the matter with this war Everybody said the French were through. I had been up the river to the bridgehead at Plava. I knew. That was all left for next year. I waked the orderly and he poured mineral water on the dressings.It belonged to a boy who was killed last year.Whats wrong with your legIts not my leg. If you must have a priest have that priest. the broken houses of the little town that was to be taken.

Yes. and a few more houses had been hit by shell fire.You were sweet to tell me. Take a drink. He could have had anything he wanted if I would have known.As the ambulance climbed along the road. Rome.Be serious. I think not. I thought she was probably a little crazy. Helen. You must forgive me for talking so much. No one to lend me money.

Its not been away. Nobody knew anything about it although they all spoke with great positiveness and strategical knowledge. You must have done something heroic either before or after. and healthy. Ive known him before. baby. I will send the liaison officer. she said. Listen. The other officers were amused at the baiting. below in the town. coming down.You dont go at allI just go to see if there is anything new.

 You see the point.Priest not with girls. I said. smoking. because they found the three per cent bonds on his person. You are a frozenfaced . Priest never with girls. A regiment went by in the road and I watched them pass. You do not really like it. You better not go up there drunk.Slit the tunic.That night at the mess I sat next to the priest and he was disappointed and suddenly hurt that I had not gone to the Abruzzi.It wasnt that way with the granatieri.

 Outside the window it was a lovely spring morning. And you will come and see meOf course. She waved again and then I was out of the driveway and climbing up into the seat of the ambulance and we started. I got down and went over.We shook hands and he put his arm around my neck and kissed me. then stopped and kissed her. It was half of the brigata Basilicata. You are a dear. and I knew I was dead and that it had all been a mistake to think you just died.Rinaldi looked at me blankly. she said. the smashed tunnel by the river where the fighting had been. I lied.

 dry and white in the sun. I thought he had a fine name and he came from Minnesota which made a lovely name: Ireland of Minnesota. Rinaldi was lying on his bed.They cant hang every one. The doctors were working with their sleeves up to their shoulders and were red as butchers. Bless me. There. Ive studied it for months now. The others listened.I stopped in front of the Villa Rossa. felt him climb up into the front seat. I looked back and saw the three cars all climbing. He had been in the war in Libya and wore two woundstripes.

 In a moment the blanket in front of the dressing station opened and two stretcherbearers came out followed by the tall Englishman.That doesnt matter. You are purer and sweeter. I thought she was very beautiful and I took her hand.Tonight you will tell me everything. The pain that the major had spoken about had started and all that was happening was without interest or relation. He opened his trunk and took out a bottle. stirred by the breeze. he said. The pain hasnt started yet. He offered me a glass of cognac. We went on and passed the regiment about a mile ahead.I looked outside.

 the stump of his leg twitching. He has a rendezvous. he said to me. There was fighting for that mountain too.Hes dead I think.I believe in the Free Masons. We passed a long column of loaded mules.Come. I could look down through the woods and see. I do not believe in the Free Masons however. D. an ambulance was waiting by the side door and inside the door. I saluted and went out.

 I do. I had met two gunners from that lot. Im awfully tired. One of the medical captains said the attack had been put forward an hour. I wished I were in Milan with her. a hard bright burst and flash and then gray smoke that blew across the road. Bless me. said Passini and spat on the floor. Then the major told the story of the eleven Czechoslovaks and the Hungarian corporal.You will.Whats the matterHe looked at me. It would only be worse if we stopped fighting. said the priest.

 whether or not things were obtainable. baby.Dont go. isnt there I was brought up to think there was.65 caliber with a short barrel and it jumped so sharply when you let it off that there was no question of hitting anything. I watched them settle on the ceiling. I hope you feel better.Priest today with girls. I said. They say if you can prove you did any heroic act you can get the silver. cloudy with snowwater and running fast through the spiles of the bridge. Thats what its for. We went along the rough new military road that followed the crest of the ridge and I looked to the north at the two ranges of mountains.