August 7, 2025 • 24 mins
12 - Book 3, Chapters 28 - 29. A Farewell to Arms.
Ernest Hemingway's novel A Farewell to Arms is often referred to as a war novel, which is true enough. There is certainly blood and gore, along with a measure of dark humor, but the novel is more a love story than an account of battles between soldiers. Hemingway introduces us to Frederic Henry, an American volunteer serving in the sanitary services of the Italian Army in the north of Italy during World War One. He is a Lieutenant supervising ambulance drivers and is often near the front lines. Badly wounded by a shell, Henry passes through a number of surgeries and, while convalescing, meets Catherine Barkley with whom he begins an affair. Their story follows them from Gorizia, to Milan, to Stresa, and, finally, and ironically, to Switzerland, a neutral nation.
Ernest Hemingway's novel A Farewell to Arms is often referred to as a war novel, which is true enough. There is certainly blood and gore, along with a measure of dark humor, but the novel is more a love story than an account of battles between soldiers. Hemingway introduces us to Frederic Henry, an American volunteer serving in the sanitary services of the Italian Army in the north of Italy during World War One. He is a Lieutenant supervising ambulance drivers and is often near the front lines. Badly wounded by a shell, Henry passes through a number of surgeries and, while convalescing, meets Catherine Barkley with whom he begins an affair. Their story follows them from Gorizia, to Milan, to Stresa, and, finally, and ironically, to Switzerland, a neutral nation.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Book three, chapters twenty eight and twenty nine of A
Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway. This sleeprivox recording is
in the public domain. As we moved out through the town,
it was empty in the rain and the dark, except
for were columns of troops and guns that were going
through the main street. There were many trucks too, and
(00:22):
some carts going through on other streets and converging on
the main road. When we were out past the tanneries
on to the main road, the troops, the motor trucks,
the horse drawn carts, and the guns were in one wide,
slow moving column. We moved slowly but steadily in the rain,
the radiator cap of our car almost against the tail
(00:45):
board of a truck that was loaded high, the load
covered with wet canvas. Then the truck stopped. The whole
column was stopped. It started again, and we went a
little farther than stopped. I got out and walked ahead,
going between the trucks and carts and under the wet
necks of the horses. The block was farther ahead. I
(01:06):
left the road, crossed the ditch on a footboard, and
walked along the field beyond the ditch. I could see
the stalled column between the trees and the rain as
I went forward across from it in the field. I
went about a mile. The column did not move, although
on the other side, beyond the stalled vehicles, I could
see the troops moving. I went back to the cars.
(01:29):
This block might extend as far as Oudin. Piani was
asleep over the wheel. I climbed up beside him and
went to sleep too. Several hours later I heard the
truck ahead of us grinding into gear. I woke Piani
and we started moving a few yards, then stopping, then
going on again. It was still raining. The column stalled
(01:51):
again in the night and did not start. I got
down and went to see Aymo and Bonello. Bonello had
two sergeants of engineers on the seat of his car
with him. They stiffened when I came up. They were
left to do something to a bridge. Bonello said, they
can't find their unit, so I gave them a ride
with the sir Lieutenant's permission. With permission, I said, the
(02:16):
lieutenant is an American. Bonella said he'll give anybody a ride.
One of the sergeants smiled. The other asked Bonello if
I was an Italian from North to South America. He's
not an Italian, he's North American English. The sergeants were
polite but did not believe it. I left him and
went back to Amo. He had two girls on the
(02:38):
seat with him and was sitting back in the corner
and smoking Barto Barto, I said. He laughed. Talk to them, Tenente,
he said, I can't understand them. Hey. He put his
hand on the girl's thigh, but squeezed it in a
friendly way. The girl drew her shawl tight around her
and pushed his hand away. Hey, he said, tell the
(02:58):
Tenente your name and what you doing here. The girl
looked at me fiercely. The other girl kept her eyes down.
The girl who looked at me said something in the
dialect I could not understand a word of. She was
plump and dark and looked about sixteen. So RelA, I
asked and pointed at the other girl. She nodded her
(03:18):
head and smiled. All right, I said, and patted her knee.
I felt her stiffen away when I touched her. The
sister never looked up. She looked perhaps a year younger.
Aamo put his hand on the elder girl's thigh, and
she pushed it away. He laughed at her. Good man,
he pointed at himself. Good man, he pointed at me.
(03:40):
Don't you worry. The girl looked at him fiercely. The
pair of them were like two wild birds. What does
she ride with me for? If she doesn't like me,
I'm molassed. They got right up in the car. The
minute I motioned to them. He turned to the girl.
Don't worry, he said, no danger of blank, using the
vulgar no place for blank. I could see she understood
(04:03):
the word, and that was all Her eyes looked at him,
very scared. She pulled the shawl tight. Carl full Imo
said no danger of blank, no place for blank. Every
time he said the word, the girl stiffened a little,
then sitting stiffly in looking at him, she began to cry.
I saw her lips working, and then tears came down
(04:25):
her plump cheeks. Her sister, not looking up, took her
hand and they sat there together. The older one, who
had been so fierce, began to sob. I guess I
scared her, Amos said, I didn't mean to scare her.
Bartolomeo brought out his knapsack and cut off two pieces
of cheese. Here, he said, stop crying. The older girl
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shook her head and still cried, but the younger girl
took the cheese and commenced to eat. After a while,
the younger girl gave her sister the second piece of
cheese and they both ate. The older sister still sobbed
a little. She all right. After a while, iMOS said,
an idea came to him. Virgin, He asked the girl
next to him. She nodded her head vigorously. Virgin too.
(05:09):
He pointed to the sister. Both the girls noded their heads,
and the elder said something in dialect. That's all right.
Bartolemeo said, that's all right. Both the girls seemed cheered.
I left them sitting together with Ama sitting back in
the corner, and went back to Piani's car. The column
of vehicles did not move, but the troops kept passing alongside.
(05:32):
It was still raining hard, and I thought some of
the stops and the movement of the column might be
from cars with wet wiring. More likely they were from
horses or men going to sleep. Still, traffic could tie
up in cities when everyone was awake. Was the combination
of horse and motor vehicles. They did not help each
other any The peasants carts did not help much either.
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Those were a couple of fine girls with bartol. A
retreat was no place for two virgins, real virgins, probably
very religious. If there were no war, we would probably
all be in bed in bed. I lay me down
my head bed and board stiff as a board in bed.
Catherine was in bed now, between two sheets over her
(06:17):
and under her. Which side did she sleep on? Maybe
she wasn't a sleep Maybe she was lying thinking about me.
Blow blow ye western wind. Well it blew, and it
wasn't the small rain but the big rain down that rained.
It rained all night. You knew it rained down that night.
Look at it, Christ that my love were in my
(06:37):
arms and I in my bed again, that my love Catherine,
that my sweet love Catherine down might rain blow her again?
To me? Well, we were in it. Every one was
caught in it, and the small rain would not quiet it.
Good night, Catherine, I said out loud, I hope you
sleep well. If it's too uncomfortable, darling, lie on the
(06:59):
other side, I said, I'll get you some cold water.
In a little while it will be morning. And then
it won't be so bad. I'm sorry he makes you
so uncomfortable. Try and go to sleep, sweet, I was
asleep all the time. She said, you've been talking in
your sleep. Are you all right? Are you really there?
Of course I'm here. I wouldn't go away. This doesn't
(07:21):
make any difference between us. You're so lovely and sweet.
You wouldn't go away in the night, would you. Of
course I wouldn't go away. I'm always here. I come
whenever you want me. Blank, Pianni said, they've started again.
I was dopey, I said. I looked at my watch.
It was three o'clock in the morning. I reached back
(07:41):
behind the seat for a bottle of the barbera. You
talked out loud, Pianni said, I was having a dream.
In English, I said. The rain was flacking, and we
were moving along. Before daylight we were stalled again, And
when it was light we were at a little rise
in the ground, and I saw the load of the
retreat stretched out far ahead, everything stationary except for the
(08:04):
infantry filtering through. We started to move again, but seeing
the rate of progress in the daylight, I knew we
were going to have to get off that main road.
Someway and go across country if we ever hoped to
reach Eudine in the night. Many peasants had joined the
column from the roads of the country, and in the
column there were carts loaded with household goods. There were
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mirrors projecting up between mattresses and chickens, and ducks tied
to carts. There was a sewing machine on the cart
ahead of us. In the rain, they had saved the
most valuable things on some carts. The women sat huddled
from the rain, and others walked beside the carts, keeping
as close to them as they could. There were dogs
now in the column, keeping under the wagons as they
(08:48):
moved along. The road was muddy, the ditches at the
side were high with water, and beyond the trees that
lined the road, the fields looked too wet and too
soggy to try to cross. I got down from the
car and worked up the road away, looking for a
place where I could see ahead, to find a side
road we could take across country. I knew there were
(09:09):
many side roads, but did not want one that would
lead to nothing. I could not remember them because we
had always passed them. Bowling along in the car on
the main road, and they all looked much alike. Now
I knew we must find one if we hoped to
get through. No one knew where the Austrians were, nor
how things were going, but I was certain that if
the rain should stop and planes come over and get
(09:31):
to work on that column, that it would be all over.
All that was needed was for a few men to
leave their trucks or a few horses to be killed,
to tie up completely the movement of the road. The
rain was not falling so heavily now, and I thought
it might clear. I went to head along the edge
of the road, and when there was a small road
that led off to the north between two fields with
(09:54):
a hedge of trees on both sides, I thought that
we had better take it, and hurried back to the cars.
I told Piani to turn off, and went back to
tell Bonello and Amo. If it leads nowhere, we can
turn around and cut back in. I said, what about these,
Bonello asked. His two sergeants were beside him on the seat.
(10:15):
They were unshaven, but still military looking in the early morning.
They'll be good to push, I said. I went back
to Amo and told them we were going to try
it across country. What about my virgin family? I'm a last.
The two girls were asleep. They won't be very useful.
I said, you ought to have some one that could push.
(10:35):
They could go back in the car. Imo said, there's
room in the car all right, if you want them.
I said, pick up somebody with a wide back to push.
He's saglieri. Imo smiled. They have the widest backs. They
measure them. How do you feel, Tenante? Fine? How are
you fine? But very hungry? There ought to be something
(10:56):
up that road and we will stop and eat. How's
your leg fine? I said, Standing on the step and
looking up ahead, I could see Pianni's car pulling out
onto the little side road and starting up it, his
car showing through the hedge of bare branches. Bonello turned
off and followed him, and then Piani worked his way out,
(11:17):
and we followed the two ambulances the head along the
narrow road between hedges. It led to a farmhouse. We
found Pianni and Bonello stopped in the farmyard. The house
was low and long, with a trellis with a grape
vine over the door. There was a well in the
yard and Piani was getting up water to fill this radiator.
(11:38):
So much going and low gear had boiled it out.
The farmhouse was deserted. I looked back down the road.
The farmhouse was on a slight elevation above the plain,
and we could see over the country and saw the road,
the hedges, the fields, and the line of trees along
the main road where the retreat was passing. The two
(11:59):
sergeants were looking through the house. The girls were awake
and looking at the courtyard, the well, and the two
big ambulances in front at the farmhouse with three drivers.
At the well. One of the sergeants came out with
a clock in his hand. Put it back, I said.
He looked at me, went in the house and came
back without the clock. Where's your partner, I asked, He's
(12:22):
gone to the latrine. He got up on the seat
of the ambulance. He was afraid we would leave him.
What about breakfast, Tenante Bonello asked, we could eat something.
It wouldn't take very long. Do you think this road
going down on the other side will lead to anything? Sure?
All right, let's eat. Pianni and Bonello went in the house.
(12:45):
Come on, Imo said to the girls. He held his
hand to help them down. The older sister shook her head.
They were not going into any deserted house. They looked
after us. They're difficult, Imo said. We went into the
farmhouse together. It was large and dark and abandoned feeling.
Bonello and Pianni were in the kitchen. There's not much
(13:07):
to eat. Piani said, they've cleaned it out. Bonello sliced
a big white cheese on the heavy kitchen table. Where
was the cheese in the cellar? Pianni found wine too,
and apples. That's a good breakfast. Pianni was taking the
wooden cork out of a big, wicker covered wine jug.
He tipped it and poured a copper panful. Smells all right,
(13:29):
he said, find some beakers, bartow. The two sergeants came in.
Have some cheese, sergeants. Bonello said, we should go. One
of the sergeants said, eating his cheese and drinking a
cup of wine, we'll go. Don't worry, Bonella said, an
army travels on its stomach. I said, what, asked the sergeant.
It's better to eat, yes, but time is precious. I
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believe the bastards have eaten already, Piani said. The sergeants
looked at him. They hated the lot of it. You
know the road, one of them asked me, no, I said.
They looked at each other. We would do best to start.
The first one said, we are starting. I said. I
drank another cup of the red wine. It tasted very
good after the cheese and apple. Bring the cheese, I said,
(14:17):
and went out. Bonello came out carrying the great jug
of wine. That's too big, I said. He looked at
it regretfully. I guess it is, he said, give me
the canteens to fill. He filled the canteens, and some
of the wine ran out on the stone paving in
the courtyard. Then he picked up the wine jug and
put it just inside the door. The Austrians can find
(14:38):
it without breaking the door down. He said, we'll roll,
I said, Piany and I will go ahead. The two
engineers were already on the seat beside Bonello. The girls
were eating cheese and apples. I'm always smoking. We started
off down the narrow road. I looked back at the
two cars coming and the farmhouse. It was a fine
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loa solid stone house, and the iron work of the
well was very good. Ahead of us, the road was
narrow and muddy, and there was a high hedge on
either side behind. The cars were following closely. Chapter twenty nine.
At noon, we were stuck in a muddy road about
as nearly as we could figure, ten kilometers from Eudine.
(15:23):
The rain had stopped during the forenoon, and three times
we heard planes coming, seeing them pass overhead, watched them
go far to the left, and heard them bombing on
the main high road. We had worked through a network
of secondary roads and had taken many roads that were blind,
but had always by backing up and finding another road,
(15:43):
gotten closer to Eudine. Now i'most car and backing so
that we might get out of a blind road. Had
gotten into the soft earth at the side, and the
wheels spinning had dug deeper and deeper until the car
rested on its differential. Thing to do now was to
dig out in front of the wheels, put in brush
(16:04):
so that the chains could grip, and then push until
the car was on the road. We were all down
on the road around the car. The two sergeants looked
at the car and examine the wheels. Then they started
off down the road without a word. I went after them.
Come on, I said, cut some brush. We have to go,
one said, get busy, I said, and cut brush. We
(16:26):
have to go, one said. The other said nothing. They
were in a hurry to start. They would not look
at me. I order you to come back to the
car and cut brush, I said. The one sergeant turned.
We have to go on. In a little while. You
will be cut off. You can't order us, You're not
our officer. I order you to cut brush, I said.
(16:46):
They turned and started down the road. Halt, I said.
They kept on down the muddy road, the hedge on
either side. I order you to halt, I called. They
went a little faster. I opened up my hulster, took
the pistol, aimed at the one who had talked the most,
and fired. I missed, and they both started to run.
I shot three times and dropped one. The other went
(17:09):
through the hedge and was out of sight. I fired
at him through the hedge as he ran across the field.
The pistol clicked empty, and I put in another clip.
I saw it was too far to shoot at the
second sergeant. He was far across the field, running, his
head held low. I commenced to reload the empty clip.
Bonello came up let me go finish him, he said.
(17:31):
I handed him the pistol, and he walked down to
where the sergeant of engineers lay face down across the road.
Bonello leaned over, put the pistol against the man's head
and pulled the trigger. The pistol did not fire. You
have to cock it, I said. He cocked it and
fired twice. He took hold of the sergeant's legs and
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pulled him to the side of the road so he
lay beside the hedge. He came back and handed me
the pistol. The son of a bitch said, he looked
toward the sergeant. You see me shoot him. Tenente, We've
got to get the brush quickly, I said, Did I
hit the other one at all? I don't think so.
I've most said he was too far away to hit
(18:13):
with a pistol. The dirty scum, Piani said. We're all
cutting twigs and branches. Everything had been taken out of
the car. Bonello was digging out in front of the wheels.
When we were ready, I most started the car and
put it into gear. The wheel spun round, throwing brush
and mud. Bonello and I pushed until we could feel
(18:34):
our joints cracked. The car would not move. Rock her
back and forth, bart though, I said. He drove the
engine in reverse, then forward. The wheels only dug in deeper.
Then the car was resting on the differential again, and
the wheel spun freely in the holes they had dug.
I straightened up. We'll try her with a rope, I said,
(18:55):
I don't think it's any use, Tenente, you can't get
a straight pull. We have to try it, I said,
she won't come out any other way. Pianni and Bonello's
cars could only move straight ahead down the narrow road.
We roped both cars together and pulled. The wheels only
pulled sideways against the ruts. It's no good, I shouted,
(19:16):
stop it. Pianni and Bonello got down from their cars
and came back. Imo got down. The girls were up
the road, about forty yards, sitting on a stone wall.
What do you say, denent't they? Bonello asked, We'll dig
out and try once more with a brush. I said,
I looked down the road. It was my fault. I'd
(19:37):
led them up here. The sun was almost out from
behind the clouds, and the body of the sergeant lay
beside the hedge. We'll put his coat and cape under,
I said, Bonello went to get them. I cut brush,
and I Mo and Pianne dug out in front and
between the wheels. I cut the cape, then ripped it
in two and laid it under the wheel and the mud.
(20:00):
Then piled brush for the wheels to catch. We're ready
to start, and Imo got on the seat and started
the car. The wheel spun and we pushed and pushed,
but it wasn't any use. It's blanked. I said, is
there anything you want in the car? Bartho? Imo climbed
up with Bonello, carrying the cheese and two bottles of
wine and his cape. Bonello, sitting behind the wheel, was
(20:24):
looking through the pockets of the sergeant's coat. Better throw
the coat away, I said, what about Barto's virgins. They
can get in the back. Piani said, I don't think
we're going far. I opened the back door of the ambulance.
Come on, I said, get in. The two girls climbed
in and sat in the corner. They seemed to have
taken no notice of the shooting. I looked back up
(20:46):
the road. The sergeant lay in his dirty, long sleeved underwear.
I got up with Piano and we started. We're going
to try to cross the field. When the road entered
the field, I got down and walked ahead. We could
get across. There was a road on the other side.
We could not get across. It was too soft and
muddy for the cars. When they were finally and completely stalled,
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the wheels dug into the hubs. We left them in
the field and started on foot for Wudine. When we
came to the road which led back toward the main highway,
I pointed down it to the two girls. Go down there,
I said, you'll meet people. They looked at me. I
took up my pocketbook and gave the mitchya a ten
lira note. Go down there, I said, pointing friends, family.
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They did not understand, but they held the money tightly
and started down the road. They looked back as though
they were afraid I might take the money back. I
watched them go down the road. There are shawls close
around them, looking back apprehensively at us. The three drivers
were laughing, how much will you give me to go
in that direction? Tenante bonella este. They're better often a
(21:57):
bunch of people than alone. If they catch them. I said,
give me two hundred lire and I'll walk straight back
toward Austria. Bonello said, they'd take it away from you.
Piani said, maybe the war will be over. Imo said.
We were going up the road as fast as we could.
The sun was trying to come through. Beside the road
(22:18):
were mulberry trees. Through the trees, I could see our
two big moving vans of cars stuck in the field.
Piani looked back too. I'll have to build a road
to get them out, he said. I wish to Christ
we had bicycles. Bonello said, did they ride bicycles in America?
Imo asked, they used to here. It is a great thing.
(22:40):
Imo said, a bicycle is a splendid thing. I wished
Christ we had bicycles. Bonella said, I'm no walker. Is
that firing? I asked. I thought I could hear firing
a long way away. I don't know, Imo said, he listened.
I think so, I said. The first thing we will
see be the cavalry. Piani said, I don't think they've
(23:04):
got any cavalry. I hope to Christ not. Bonello said,
I don't want to be stuck on a lance by
any blank cavalry. You certainly shot that sergeant Tenante. Pianni said,
we were walking fast. I killed him. Bonello said, I
never killed anybody in this war in all my life.
I wanted to kill a sergeant. You killed him on
(23:24):
the CID, all right, Piani said, it wasn't flying very
fast when you killed him. Never mind, that's one thing
I can always remember. I killed that blank of a sergeant.
What will you say in confession? I'm the last. I'll say,
bless me, father, I killed a sergeant. They all laughed.
He's an anarchist, Piani said, he doesn't go to church.
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Pianni is an anarchist too. Bonello said, are you really anarchists?
I asked, No, Tenante were socialists. We come from Imola.
Haven't you ever been there? No, By Christ, it's a
fine place, Tenente. You come there after the war and
will show you something. Are you all socialist? Everybody? Is
(24:08):
it a fine town? Wonderful? You never saw a town
like that. How did you get to be socialist? We're
all socialists. Everybody is a socialist. We've always been socialist.
You come Tenente, we'll make you a socialist too. I
had the road turned off to the left, and there
was a little hill and beyond a stone wall an
(24:29):
apple orchard. As the road went up hill, they ceased talking.
We walked along together, all going fast against time. End
of chapter twenty nine.
Book three, chapters twenty eight and twenty nine of A
Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway. This sleeprivox recording is
in the public domain. As we moved out through the town,
it was empty in the rain and the dark, except
for were columns of troops and guns that were going
through the main street. There were many trucks too, and
(00:22):
some carts going through on other streets and converging on
the main road. When we were out past the tanneries
on to the main road, the troops, the motor trucks,
the horse drawn carts, and the guns were in one wide,
slow moving column. We moved slowly but steadily in the rain,
the radiator cap of our car almost against the tail
(00:45):
board of a truck that was loaded high, the load
covered with wet canvas. Then the truck stopped. The whole
column was stopped. It started again, and we went a
little farther than stopped. I got out and walked ahead,
going between the trucks and carts and under the wet
necks of the horses. The block was farther ahead. I
(01:06):
left the road, crossed the ditch on a footboard, and
walked along the field beyond the ditch. I could see
the stalled column between the trees and the rain as
I went forward across from it in the field. I
went about a mile. The column did not move, although
on the other side, beyond the stalled vehicles, I could
see the troops moving. I went back to the cars.
(01:29):
This block might extend as far as Oudin. Piani was
asleep over the wheel. I climbed up beside him and
went to sleep too. Several hours later I heard the
truck ahead of us grinding into gear. I woke Piani
and we started moving a few yards, then stopping, then
going on again. It was still raining. The column stalled
(01:51):
again in the night and did not start. I got
down and went to see Aymo and Bonello. Bonello had
two sergeants of engineers on the seat of his car
with him. They stiffened when I came up. They were
left to do something to a bridge. Bonello said, they
can't find their unit, so I gave them a ride
with the sir Lieutenant's permission. With permission, I said, the
(02:16):
lieutenant is an American. Bonella said he'll give anybody a ride.
One of the sergeants smiled. The other asked Bonello if
I was an Italian from North to South America. He's
not an Italian, he's North American English. The sergeants were
polite but did not believe it. I left him and
went back to Amo. He had two girls on the
(02:38):
seat with him and was sitting back in the corner
and smoking Barto Barto, I said. He laughed. Talk to them, Tenente,
he said, I can't understand them. Hey. He put his
hand on the girl's thigh, but squeezed it in a
friendly way. The girl drew her shawl tight around her
and pushed his hand away. Hey, he said, tell the
(02:58):
Tenente your name and what you doing here. The girl
looked at me fiercely. The other girl kept her eyes down.
The girl who looked at me said something in the
dialect I could not understand a word of. She was
plump and dark and looked about sixteen. So RelA, I
asked and pointed at the other girl. She nodded her
(03:18):
head and smiled. All right, I said, and patted her knee.
I felt her stiffen away when I touched her. The
sister never looked up. She looked perhaps a year younger.
Aamo put his hand on the elder girl's thigh, and
she pushed it away. He laughed at her. Good man,
he pointed at himself. Good man, he pointed at me.
(03:40):
Don't you worry. The girl looked at him fiercely. The
pair of them were like two wild birds. What does
she ride with me for? If she doesn't like me,
I'm molassed. They got right up in the car. The
minute I motioned to them. He turned to the girl.
Don't worry, he said, no danger of blank, using the
vulgar no place for blank. I could see she understood
(04:03):
the word, and that was all Her eyes looked at him,
very scared. She pulled the shawl tight. Carl full Imo
said no danger of blank, no place for blank. Every
time he said the word, the girl stiffened a little,
then sitting stiffly in looking at him, she began to cry.
I saw her lips working, and then tears came down
(04:25):
her plump cheeks. Her sister, not looking up, took her
hand and they sat there together. The older one, who
had been so fierce, began to sob. I guess I
scared her, Amos said, I didn't mean to scare her.
Bartolomeo brought out his knapsack and cut off two pieces
of cheese. Here, he said, stop crying. The older girl
(04:46):
shook her head and still cried, but the younger girl
took the cheese and commenced to eat. After a while,
the younger girl gave her sister the second piece of
cheese and they both ate. The older sister still sobbed
a little. She all right. After a while, iMOS said,
an idea came to him. Virgin, He asked the girl
next to him. She nodded her head vigorously. Virgin too.
(05:09):
He pointed to the sister. Both the girls noded their heads,
and the elder said something in dialect. That's all right.
Bartolemeo said, that's all right. Both the girls seemed cheered.
I left them sitting together with Ama sitting back in
the corner, and went back to Piani's car. The column
of vehicles did not move, but the troops kept passing alongside.
(05:32):
It was still raining hard, and I thought some of
the stops and the movement of the column might be
from cars with wet wiring. More likely they were from
horses or men going to sleep. Still, traffic could tie
up in cities when everyone was awake. Was the combination
of horse and motor vehicles. They did not help each
other any The peasants carts did not help much either.
(05:56):
Those were a couple of fine girls with bartol. A
retreat was no place for two virgins, real virgins, probably
very religious. If there were no war, we would probably
all be in bed in bed. I lay me down
my head bed and board stiff as a board in bed.
Catherine was in bed now, between two sheets over her
(06:17):
and under her. Which side did she sleep on? Maybe
she wasn't a sleep Maybe she was lying thinking about me.
Blow blow ye western wind. Well it blew, and it
wasn't the small rain but the big rain down that rained.
It rained all night. You knew it rained down that night.
Look at it, Christ that my love were in my
(06:37):
arms and I in my bed again, that my love Catherine,
that my sweet love Catherine down might rain blow her again?
To me? Well, we were in it. Every one was
caught in it, and the small rain would not quiet it.
Good night, Catherine, I said out loud, I hope you
sleep well. If it's too uncomfortable, darling, lie on the
(06:59):
other side, I said, I'll get you some cold water.
In a little while it will be morning. And then
it won't be so bad. I'm sorry he makes you
so uncomfortable. Try and go to sleep, sweet, I was
asleep all the time. She said, you've been talking in
your sleep. Are you all right? Are you really there?
Of course I'm here. I wouldn't go away. This doesn't
(07:21):
make any difference between us. You're so lovely and sweet.
You wouldn't go away in the night, would you. Of
course I wouldn't go away. I'm always here. I come
whenever you want me. Blank, Pianni said, they've started again.
I was dopey, I said. I looked at my watch.
It was three o'clock in the morning. I reached back
(07:41):
behind the seat for a bottle of the barbera. You
talked out loud, Pianni said, I was having a dream.
In English, I said. The rain was flacking, and we
were moving along. Before daylight we were stalled again, And
when it was light we were at a little rise
in the ground, and I saw the load of the
retreat stretched out far ahead, everything stationary except for the
(08:04):
infantry filtering through. We started to move again, but seeing
the rate of progress in the daylight, I knew we
were going to have to get off that main road.
Someway and go across country if we ever hoped to
reach Eudine in the night. Many peasants had joined the
column from the roads of the country, and in the
column there were carts loaded with household goods. There were
(08:26):
mirrors projecting up between mattresses and chickens, and ducks tied
to carts. There was a sewing machine on the cart
ahead of us. In the rain, they had saved the
most valuable things on some carts. The women sat huddled
from the rain, and others walked beside the carts, keeping
as close to them as they could. There were dogs
now in the column, keeping under the wagons as they
(08:48):
moved along. The road was muddy, the ditches at the
side were high with water, and beyond the trees that
lined the road, the fields looked too wet and too
soggy to try to cross. I got down from the
car and worked up the road away, looking for a
place where I could see ahead, to find a side
road we could take across country. I knew there were
(09:09):
many side roads, but did not want one that would
lead to nothing. I could not remember them because we
had always passed them. Bowling along in the car on
the main road, and they all looked much alike. Now
I knew we must find one if we hoped to
get through. No one knew where the Austrians were, nor
how things were going, but I was certain that if
the rain should stop and planes come over and get
(09:31):
to work on that column, that it would be all over.
All that was needed was for a few men to
leave their trucks or a few horses to be killed,
to tie up completely the movement of the road. The
rain was not falling so heavily now, and I thought
it might clear. I went to head along the edge
of the road, and when there was a small road
that led off to the north between two fields with
(09:54):
a hedge of trees on both sides, I thought that
we had better take it, and hurried back to the cars.
I told Piani to turn off, and went back to
tell Bonello and Amo. If it leads nowhere, we can
turn around and cut back in. I said, what about these,
Bonello asked. His two sergeants were beside him on the seat.
(10:15):
They were unshaven, but still military looking in the early morning.
They'll be good to push, I said. I went back
to Amo and told them we were going to try
it across country. What about my virgin family? I'm a last.
The two girls were asleep. They won't be very useful.
I said, you ought to have some one that could push.
(10:35):
They could go back in the car. Imo said, there's
room in the car all right, if you want them.
I said, pick up somebody with a wide back to push.
He's saglieri. Imo smiled. They have the widest backs. They
measure them. How do you feel, Tenante? Fine? How are
you fine? But very hungry? There ought to be something
(10:56):
up that road and we will stop and eat. How's
your leg fine? I said, Standing on the step and
looking up ahead, I could see Pianni's car pulling out
onto the little side road and starting up it, his
car showing through the hedge of bare branches. Bonello turned
off and followed him, and then Piani worked his way out,
(11:17):
and we followed the two ambulances the head along the
narrow road between hedges. It led to a farmhouse. We
found Pianni and Bonello stopped in the farmyard. The house
was low and long, with a trellis with a grape
vine over the door. There was a well in the
yard and Piani was getting up water to fill this radiator.
(11:38):
So much going and low gear had boiled it out.
The farmhouse was deserted. I looked back down the road.
The farmhouse was on a slight elevation above the plain,
and we could see over the country and saw the road,
the hedges, the fields, and the line of trees along
the main road where the retreat was passing. The two
(11:59):
sergeants were looking through the house. The girls were awake
and looking at the courtyard, the well, and the two
big ambulances in front at the farmhouse with three drivers.
At the well. One of the sergeants came out with
a clock in his hand. Put it back, I said.
He looked at me, went in the house and came
back without the clock. Where's your partner, I asked, He's
(12:22):
gone to the latrine. He got up on the seat
of the ambulance. He was afraid we would leave him.
What about breakfast, Tenante Bonello asked, we could eat something.
It wouldn't take very long. Do you think this road
going down on the other side will lead to anything? Sure?
All right, let's eat. Pianni and Bonello went in the house.
(12:45):
Come on, Imo said to the girls. He held his
hand to help them down. The older sister shook her head.
They were not going into any deserted house. They looked
after us. They're difficult, Imo said. We went into the
farmhouse together. It was large and dark and abandoned feeling.
Bonello and Pianni were in the kitchen. There's not much
(13:07):
to eat. Piani said, they've cleaned it out. Bonello sliced
a big white cheese on the heavy kitchen table. Where
was the cheese in the cellar? Pianni found wine too,
and apples. That's a good breakfast. Pianni was taking the
wooden cork out of a big, wicker covered wine jug.
He tipped it and poured a copper panful. Smells all right,
(13:29):
he said, find some beakers, bartow. The two sergeants came in.
Have some cheese, sergeants. Bonello said, we should go. One
of the sergeants said, eating his cheese and drinking a
cup of wine, we'll go. Don't worry, Bonella said, an
army travels on its stomach. I said, what, asked the sergeant.
It's better to eat, yes, but time is precious. I
(13:53):
believe the bastards have eaten already, Piani said. The sergeants
looked at him. They hated the lot of it. You
know the road, one of them asked me, no, I said.
They looked at each other. We would do best to start.
The first one said, we are starting. I said. I
drank another cup of the red wine. It tasted very
good after the cheese and apple. Bring the cheese, I said,
(14:17):
and went out. Bonello came out carrying the great jug
of wine. That's too big, I said. He looked at
it regretfully. I guess it is, he said, give me
the canteens to fill. He filled the canteens, and some
of the wine ran out on the stone paving in
the courtyard. Then he picked up the wine jug and
put it just inside the door. The Austrians can find
(14:38):
it without breaking the door down. He said, we'll roll,
I said, Piany and I will go ahead. The two
engineers were already on the seat beside Bonello. The girls
were eating cheese and apples. I'm always smoking. We started
off down the narrow road. I looked back at the
two cars coming and the farmhouse. It was a fine
(14:59):
loa solid stone house, and the iron work of the
well was very good. Ahead of us, the road was
narrow and muddy, and there was a high hedge on
either side behind. The cars were following closely. Chapter twenty nine.
At noon, we were stuck in a muddy road about
as nearly as we could figure, ten kilometers from Eudine.
(15:23):
The rain had stopped during the forenoon, and three times
we heard planes coming, seeing them pass overhead, watched them
go far to the left, and heard them bombing on
the main high road. We had worked through a network
of secondary roads and had taken many roads that were blind,
but had always by backing up and finding another road,
(15:43):
gotten closer to Eudine. Now i'most car and backing so
that we might get out of a blind road. Had
gotten into the soft earth at the side, and the
wheels spinning had dug deeper and deeper until the car
rested on its differential. Thing to do now was to
dig out in front of the wheels, put in brush
(16:04):
so that the chains could grip, and then push until
the car was on the road. We were all down
on the road around the car. The two sergeants looked
at the car and examine the wheels. Then they started
off down the road without a word. I went after them.
Come on, I said, cut some brush. We have to go,
one said, get busy, I said, and cut brush. We
(16:26):
have to go, one said. The other said nothing. They
were in a hurry to start. They would not look
at me. I order you to come back to the
car and cut brush, I said. The one sergeant turned.
We have to go on. In a little while. You
will be cut off. You can't order us, You're not
our officer. I order you to cut brush, I said.
(16:46):
They turned and started down the road. Halt, I said.
They kept on down the muddy road, the hedge on
either side. I order you to halt, I called. They
went a little faster. I opened up my hulster, took
the pistol, aimed at the one who had talked the most,
and fired. I missed, and they both started to run.
I shot three times and dropped one. The other went
(17:09):
through the hedge and was out of sight. I fired
at him through the hedge as he ran across the field.
The pistol clicked empty, and I put in another clip.
I saw it was too far to shoot at the
second sergeant. He was far across the field, running, his
head held low. I commenced to reload the empty clip.
Bonello came up let me go finish him, he said.
(17:31):
I handed him the pistol, and he walked down to
where the sergeant of engineers lay face down across the road.
Bonello leaned over, put the pistol against the man's head
and pulled the trigger. The pistol did not fire. You
have to cock it, I said. He cocked it and
fired twice. He took hold of the sergeant's legs and
(17:51):
pulled him to the side of the road so he
lay beside the hedge. He came back and handed me
the pistol. The son of a bitch said, he looked
toward the sergeant. You see me shoot him. Tenente, We've
got to get the brush quickly, I said, Did I
hit the other one at all? I don't think so.
I've most said he was too far away to hit
(18:13):
with a pistol. The dirty scum, Piani said. We're all
cutting twigs and branches. Everything had been taken out of
the car. Bonello was digging out in front of the wheels.
When we were ready, I most started the car and
put it into gear. The wheel spun round, throwing brush
and mud. Bonello and I pushed until we could feel
(18:34):
our joints cracked. The car would not move. Rock her
back and forth, bart though, I said. He drove the
engine in reverse, then forward. The wheels only dug in deeper.
Then the car was resting on the differential again, and
the wheel spun freely in the holes they had dug.
I straightened up. We'll try her with a rope, I said,
(18:55):
I don't think it's any use, Tenente, you can't get
a straight pull. We have to try it, I said,
she won't come out any other way. Pianni and Bonello's
cars could only move straight ahead down the narrow road.
We roped both cars together and pulled. The wheels only
pulled sideways against the ruts. It's no good, I shouted,
(19:16):
stop it. Pianni and Bonello got down from their cars
and came back. Imo got down. The girls were up
the road, about forty yards, sitting on a stone wall.
What do you say, denent't they? Bonello asked, We'll dig
out and try once more with a brush. I said,
I looked down the road. It was my fault. I'd
(19:37):
led them up here. The sun was almost out from
behind the clouds, and the body of the sergeant lay
beside the hedge. We'll put his coat and cape under,
I said, Bonello went to get them. I cut brush,
and I Mo and Pianne dug out in front and
between the wheels. I cut the cape, then ripped it
in two and laid it under the wheel and the mud.
(20:00):
Then piled brush for the wheels to catch. We're ready
to start, and Imo got on the seat and started
the car. The wheel spun and we pushed and pushed,
but it wasn't any use. It's blanked. I said, is
there anything you want in the car? Bartho? Imo climbed
up with Bonello, carrying the cheese and two bottles of
wine and his cape. Bonello, sitting behind the wheel, was
(20:24):
looking through the pockets of the sergeant's coat. Better throw
the coat away, I said, what about Barto's virgins. They
can get in the back. Piani said, I don't think
we're going far. I opened the back door of the ambulance.
Come on, I said, get in. The two girls climbed
in and sat in the corner. They seemed to have
taken no notice of the shooting. I looked back up
(20:46):
the road. The sergeant lay in his dirty, long sleeved underwear.
I got up with Piano and we started. We're going
to try to cross the field. When the road entered
the field, I got down and walked ahead. We could
get across. There was a road on the other side.
We could not get across. It was too soft and
muddy for the cars. When they were finally and completely stalled,
(21:10):
the wheels dug into the hubs. We left them in
the field and started on foot for Wudine. When we
came to the road which led back toward the main highway,
I pointed down it to the two girls. Go down there,
I said, you'll meet people. They looked at me. I
took up my pocketbook and gave the mitchya a ten
lira note. Go down there, I said, pointing friends, family.
(21:35):
They did not understand, but they held the money tightly
and started down the road. They looked back as though
they were afraid I might take the money back. I
watched them go down the road. There are shawls close
around them, looking back apprehensively at us. The three drivers
were laughing, how much will you give me to go
in that direction? Tenante bonella este. They're better often a
(21:57):
bunch of people than alone. If they catch them. I said,
give me two hundred lire and I'll walk straight back
toward Austria. Bonello said, they'd take it away from you.
Piani said, maybe the war will be over. Imo said.
We were going up the road as fast as we could.
The sun was trying to come through. Beside the road
(22:18):
were mulberry trees. Through the trees, I could see our
two big moving vans of cars stuck in the field.
Piani looked back too. I'll have to build a road
to get them out, he said. I wish to Christ
we had bicycles. Bonello said, did they ride bicycles in America?
Imo asked, they used to here. It is a great thing.
(22:40):
Imo said, a bicycle is a splendid thing. I wished
Christ we had bicycles. Bonella said, I'm no walker. Is
that firing? I asked. I thought I could hear firing
a long way away. I don't know, Imo said, he listened.
I think so, I said. The first thing we will
see be the cavalry. Piani said, I don't think they've
(23:04):
got any cavalry. I hope to Christ not. Bonello said,
I don't want to be stuck on a lance by
any blank cavalry. You certainly shot that sergeant Tenante. Pianni said,
we were walking fast. I killed him. Bonello said, I
never killed anybody in this war in all my life.
I wanted to kill a sergeant. You killed him on
(23:24):
the CID, all right, Piani said, it wasn't flying very
fast when you killed him. Never mind, that's one thing
I can always remember. I killed that blank of a sergeant.
What will you say in confession? I'm the last. I'll say,
bless me, father, I killed a sergeant. They all laughed.
He's an anarchist, Piani said, he doesn't go to church.
(23:46):
Pianni is an anarchist too. Bonello said, are you really anarchists?
I asked, No, Tenante were socialists. We come from Imola.
Haven't you ever been there? No, By Christ, it's a
fine place, Tenente. You come there after the war and
will show you something. Are you all socialist? Everybody? Is
(24:08):
it a fine town? Wonderful? You never saw a town
like that. How did you get to be socialist? We're
all socialists. Everybody is a socialist. We've always been socialist.
You come Tenente, we'll make you a socialist too. I
had the road turned off to the left, and there
was a little hill and beyond a stone wall an
(24:29):
apple orchard. As the road went up hill, they ceased talking.
We walked along together, all going fast against time. End
of chapter twenty nine.
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