I asked him what happened and he said.

 the major said
 the major said. one for troops and one for officers. and God be with you. and then a drink of the wine. Look at your valorous conduct in asking to go always to the first line. The road climbed steeply going up and back and forth through chestnut woods to level finally along a ridge. To the silver medal. One of the medical captains said the attack had been put forward an hour.Why notNo. Baby is puzzled. said the lieutenant.War is not won by victory.Come. You will be decorated.

 the bare ground was covered. A V. I wish that I was with the British. We do get along.You are sweet.No. I made sure he was dead. They all laughed. I felt something dripping. I hurried up the driveway and inside the reception hall I asked for Miss Barkley. He was the Kings uncle and commanded the third army. the captain said. thats different. I tried to breathe but my breath would not come and I felt myself rush bodily out of myself and out and out and out and all the time bodily in the wind.

 I said. We in the auto ambulance cannot even realize at all how bad it is. I made sure he was dead. wash it out.Has there been any trouble getting parts I asked the sergeant mechanic. isnt itWhat gameDont be dull. That is very clear. left the car at the dressing station under the hill. he said. It was one of those things that gave you a false feeling of soldiering. I sat up straight and as I did so something inside my head moved like the weights on a dolls eyes and it hit me inside in back of my eyeballs. TaorminaYou talk like a timetable. I didnt mean to hurt you. He was goodlooking.

 Manera lit his lighter and passed it around.All right. I went out swiftly. Thats over for the evening. This took place at B?ziers. It is with them the war is made.Bersaglieri. I thought I was coming back. she said.I left them working. It isnt me that makes fun of him. It was not wide enough either to carry all the transport for an offensive and the Austrians could make a shambles out of it.Goodnight.How you like this goddam warRotten.

You. He had written to his father that I was coming and they had made preparations. Or shot through the shoulder. Were not cloistered. Are you coming to nightNo. Maria. Signor Tenente.Quite well. He was sitting up beside one of the brick walls. said Passini and spat on the floor. It has been put back again.Do the men know that who attackI dont think so.If I go back theyll make me get operated on and then theyll put me in the line all the time. then crossed the river.

That was a big trench mortar. We will take over the two cars. Oh oh oh oh. I dont go there any more. said Rinaldi. It is a disgrace that they should stay so long that they become friends. wash it out. It was all right if she was. Manera said. It evidently made no difference whether I was there to look after things or not. You may come and see her after seven oclock if you wish. It is with them the war is made. We understand you let us talk.That way youll be decorated.

 He ought to be able to do something. There were many strong smells. Troops went by the house and down the road and the dust they raised powdered the leaves of the trees. Most of the helmets were too big and came down almost over the ears of the men who wore them. Your goddesses. you have come back. With your priest and your English girl. I said.Rinaldi poured himself another glass of the cognac. said Passini. Dont be a bloody hero. Do you think I would do right to marry Miss Barkleyafter the war of courseAbsolutely.Not even for the beautiful languageNo. Manera finished.

 I said.Do you think it would be any good to try and see her tomorrowYes.Im awfully sorry. left the car at the dressing station under the hill. I never hurt anybody. The carabinieri waved us to go on.There arent any four hundred twenties in the mountains.Priest every night five against one. I handed the canteen back to Passini. They are all without law to protect them. carts and loaded ambulances and all returning traffic up the old narrow road.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.Savoia. In the jolt of my head I heard somebody crying.

Yes. after all. All the drivers wore puttees but Passini had only one leg. Orderly.All right. Tenente Gavuzzi asked. The priest shook his head and went on. Dont be a bloody hero. she said.Some troops went out. lieutenant We wont get a chance to eat after this thing starts. It was all right with me.Two carabinieri held the car up. I looked at her.

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.Why dont you ride with the transport I asked. I knew. I had imagined that the condition of the cars.In the late summer of that year we lived in a house in a village that looked across the river and the plain to the mountains.It sounds very funny nowCatherine. and relaxed. she said. he said. It came down through the forest in sharp turns. I kept my arm where it was. His legs are very painful. It would only be worse if we stopped fighting. 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.

 I will probably marry Miss Barkley.No. I wouldnt be able to get the stretcher out alone.You better wait until the shelling is over. I had been driving and I sat in the car and the driver took the papers in. the dust rising from the wheels and going off through the trees. Then the stretcher bearers took the man off the table. He broke off. said the driver in Italian looking at the hernia man. This was better than going every evening to the house for officers where the girls climbed all over you and put your cap on backward as a sign of affection between their trips upstairs with brother officers. Stretcher bearers came in all the time. clear red. you know.That is not good.

Thats the only differenceYes. I breathed and I was back. I should drink cup for cup and glass for glass with Bassi. And I never even talk English. Or shot through the shoulder. It did not have anything to do with me. an officer directing the light and the crew scared. chemical smells and the sweet smell of blood. My hand went in and my knee was down on my shin.I felt it. All the officers were very happy. Goodnight. The coffee was a pale gray and sweet with condensed milk.Do we eat yet.

 Another nurse was with her.And what did he say asked the priest. Theres not really any war of that sort down here. It was all as I had left it except that now it was spring.Are you very tired she asked. I love you too much. he said.But now we will shut up. Ahead there was a rounded turn off in the road to the right and looking down I could see the road dropping through the trees. They had always cracked in other wars. He has a rendezvous. Perhaps it start again. They wouldnt attack.Im perfectly all right.

 Where did you go and what did you do Tell me everything at once. I looked at the tires carefully. He could have had anything he wanted if I would have known. I drove coming back and went fast with the empty car to find the man from Pittsburgh. Oh.As the ambulance climbed along the road. Catherine asked me to tell you she was sorry she couldnt see you this evening.Probably.Did you ever read the Black Pig asked the lieutenant. They were laughing. I said.Good evening. I wished we had a Napoleon. Tenente.

The plain was rich with crops there were many orchards of fruit trees and beyond the plain the mountains were brown and bare. It was a hot night and there was a good deal going on up in the mountains.It wasnt that way with the granatieri. I said. It was not a pleasant trip to the dressing room and I did not know until later that beds could be made with men in them. I identified them by their red and white striped collar mark. The doctors were working with their sleeves up to their shoulders and were red as butchers.I went out the door and suddenly I felt lonely and empty.Sit down to it. The officers all wore helmets; betterfitting helmets. The officers were not good but dull. because they did not bombard it to destroy it but only a little in a military way.Carabinieri. Put it on the floor.

 whether or not things were obtainable.They tell me youve lost two drivers. which was very good.A new wide road was being finished that would go over the mountain and zigzag down to the bridge. He doesnt want to see peasants. I got a rupture. My friend saw the priest from our mess going by in the street.Can Gordini driveI dont think so. baby How do you feel I bring you this It was a bottle of cognac. 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. The other cars pulled up.Whats to stop itIt will crack somewhere. I like the simpler pleasures. I asked him what happened and he said.