Every day I learn to do things smoother and better.

Yes
Yes.Certainly not.We drove fast when we were over the bridge and soon we saw the dust of the other cars ahead down the road. There is nothing as bad as war. you know. Back at the villa I went upstairs to the room. I watched her face. Tenente.Listen. Miss Barkley was in the garden. Halfway through the wine I did not want any more.All right. I asked what time the attack was to he and they said as soon as it was dark. The forest had been green in the summer when we had come into the town but now there were the stumps and the broken trunks and the ground torn up. Maybe he was too goodlooking to be a.Yes.

Have you ever loved any oneNo. The orderly was listening behind the desk. Beautiful young girlsaccompanied by their mothers. You have a good time The others all grinned too.This is a rotten game we play. the tiny man with the long thin neck and the goat beard. I said. But if you have had it you know. No.He should have fine girls. Oh you should see what I did in the removal of three metres of small intestine and better now than ever. the captain said. the water blue like the sky. Inside they were operating on all the tables. There were not enough stretchers. so I asked to see you.

 Hes a better man than I am.I knocked over his candle with the pillow and got into bed in the dark. Tenente.Oh.It sounds very funny nowCatherine. Could I join nowIm afraid not now. Tell me about Gorizia. It was a big trench mortar shell. It would only be worse if we stopped fighting. jaundice. wiped off the blade and pared off the dirty outside surface of the cheese. Dont you want us never to attackNo. the lieutenant said. he touched the little finger. What was the matter with this war Everybody said the French were through. One side must stop fighting.

 father. There were four drivers. and my winter boots. Bacchus. I saw the blanket open. Then I thought of his puttees. yes. Ireland of Wisconsin. I said. We drank the second grappa. brushed my hair and we started. the stumps of trees projected. under a hill beyond the river. soldiers would. I would take you and never hurt you. Tenente.

Im dreadfully sorry. And in the town we have beautiful English girls.Tenente. higher snow mountains.Yes.How you like this goddam warRotten.One of those shot by the carabinieri is from my town.Do we eat yet. Laugh. they would.No. Stop it. It tells you about those priests. It seemed no more dangerous to me myself than war in the movies.I stopped in front of the Villa Rossa. But it was checked and in the end only seven thousand died of it in the army.

 Tell me all about it. I went on home.They cant hang every one. I said to the priest. After supper I would go and see Catherine Barkley. I said. I wish she were here now. the lieutenant said.J started down the driveway. Maybe she would. and the frescoes on the wall and waited for Miss Barkley. It has been put back again.Shes on duty. Your goddesses. There were mists over the river and clouds on the mountain and the trucks splashed mud on the road and the troops were muddy and wet in their capes their rifles were wet and under their capes the two leather cartridge-boxes on the front of the belts. Manera said.

You dont wear himNo. The battery fired twice and the air came each time like a blow and shook the window and made the front of my pajamas flap. baby. and.It was dark outside and the long light from the search lights was moving over the mountains. There were three others to locate. Poor dear baby. I said. It was quiet for a moment still. I said. hauling them back from the mountains to the clearing station and then distributing them to the hospitals named on their papers. At this point the priest left and I told the story about the travelling salesman who arrived at five oclock in the morning at Marseilles when the mistral was blowing. Dont you read it.I think you do not know anything about being conquered and so you think it is not bad. That was how it ought to be. youre very good.

 then choking. Im something called a V.They tell me youve lost two drivers. I will probably marry Miss Barkley. wont youWhat the hell. A. and the major started us with red wine in mugs.Goodnight. She was not in the garden and I had to wait in the office of the hospital until she came down. Youve been away a long time. Ive studied it for months now. Thats over for the evening.Dont go. he said.Theyll shell the   out of us. And I never even talk English.

 I know all about it now. The wine was bad but not dull. Catherine. Always with the carabinieri. No. I sat in the high seat of the Fiat and thought about nothing. Rocca said. Well. lifting the spaghetti on the fork until the loose strands hung clear then lowering it into the mouth. where I sat with a friend and two glasses drinking a bottle of Asti. The orderly was listening behind the desk. Everybody was in the dugouts. He stopped and sat down beside the road. Fillipo Vincenza Bassi or Bassi Fillippo Vicenza had never touched a drop all evening and what was his name anyway He said was my name Frederico Enrico or Enrico Federico I said let the best man win. I do not believe in the Free Masons however. and chewed.

 Miss Barkley said.No. And you will come and see meOf course. Isnt itWhat is the stick I asked. Im all right. Whats the matter with this machineIts no good. I love you.Outside something was set down beside the entrance. It was all right with me. English goddess. Whats the matter with this machineIts no good. and come back like this. It seemed no more dangerous to me myself than war in the movies. I am now in love with Miss Barkley.Yes. were on the trunk.

Of a whatHe explained. Rinaldi carried a holster stuffed with toilet paper. I wanted to go to Austria without war. It took the enamel off your teeth and left it on the roof of your mouth. and I stood outside his cell and I said as though I were going to confession.Im dreadfully sorry.Say. The afternoon was a quiet time. Not in this ambulance business.We went over toward Rinaldi and Miss Ferguson. Rinaldi saluted.Its a charming place. Whats the matter with this machineIts no good. I saw the town with the hill and the old castle above it in a cup in the hills with the mountains beyond. Everybody was in the dugouts. I handed the canteen back to Passini.

 He is a priest; he will appreciate it. Nobody was in sight. I sat now in the chair and an orderly of some sort looked at me disapprovingly from behind a desk while I looked at the marble floor.It was dark outside and the long light from the search lights was moving over the mountains.Goodnight. I could go to Spain if there was no war. one of the other captains said. My hand went in and my knee was down on my shin. went on the captain.At the start of the winter came the permanent rain and with the rain came the cholera.Whats the matterHe looked at me. When he stopped swishing and fell asleep they came down and I blew them away and finally covered my face with my hands and slept too. They arent girls; they are old war comrades. A soldier came along after the last of the stragglers. gray leather boxes heavy with the packs of clips of thin. the trees around the square and the long avenue of trees that led to the square; these with there being girls in the town.

 For two weeks now they havent changed them.He was gone. This captain baited him often. All fire and smoke and nothing inside.He walked across to the dressing station.The adjutant. You were liable to arrest if you did not have one worn in plain sight. thats different. depended to a considerable extent on myself. The river was low and there were stretches of sand and pebbles with a narrow channel of water and sometimes the water spread like a sheen over the pebbly bed. Dear Catherine. That was how it ought to be. And come to morrow night. They were laughing. I said. There were three others to locate.

 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. he said. After some more wine I told the story of the jockey who found the penny. It is a noble organization. Stretcher bearers came in all the time. I would go crazy.Well crack. crossing out everything except.I have to go.I sat in the reception hail of the villa.I have one. They say if you can prove you did any heroic act you can get the silver. We walked to the door and I saw her go in and down the hall. baby. havent youBut I lost the truss. Ill see the medical wallahs.

 she said. when you knew that that was all there was.No. We were in the second army. He went back inside.An outside nation cant make you be a soldier. Next week the war starts again.The plain was rich with crops there were many orchards of fruit trees and beyond the plain the mountains were brown and bare. Nobody was in sight. The Austrian trenches were above on the hillside only a few yards from the Italian lines. the major said. Some of the wounded were noisy but most were quiet. Naples. The officers all wore helmets; betterfitting helmets.They come after you.Not reallyNever.

 I will take you to call.I think you do not know anything about being conquered and so you think it is not bad. And then you are so very beautiful. I leaned forward in the dark to kiss her and there was a sharp stinging flash. I said. There was fighting in the mountains and at night we could see the flashes from the artillery. Miss Barkley was quite tall. I saw the blanket open.Passinis dead. SicilyHe should visit Amalfi. Sometimes I think you and he are a little that way.The drops fell very slowly. Tell me. I remembered where I was going.Dont go. soldiers would.

 I just tell you. Then I made out my report in my room. 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. Bless me. Its only the ambulance. and one day at the end of the fall when I was out where the oak forest had been I saw a cloud coming over the mountain. I followed his hands with my eyes. What an odd thing--to be in the Italian army. said the captain. I said. The cognac is under the bed. I heard the machine guns and rifles firing across the river and all along the river. I said. I remembered. He didnt have a sabre cut. You know more about it than I do.

 But millions of fools like you dont know it. No. Miss Barkley prefers you to me.I say its rotten. Every night priest five against one! They all laughed again. Everything seemed in good condition.The granatieri are tall. Its twice as big as it was this morning. The afternoon was a quiet time. You only pretend to be American. Im sending you now with the English ambulance. Im all right. The saint hung down on the Outside of my uniform and I undid the throat of my tunic. Thank you very much. Close to the bank I saw deep pools. Every day I learn to do things smoother and better.