whitely and rockets going up and heard the bombs.

 I said
 I said. then stood up. Where did you go and what did you do Tell me everything at once. was my age. You are purer and sweeter. The priest shook his head and went on. I said.A shell fell close and they both dropped to the ground and dropped me. Rinaldi poured another glass.The captain. looking out at the snow falling slowly and heavily. with plaster and rubble in their gardens and sometimes in the street. There were many strong smells. Well crack in France.We wont quarrel. I said.

 It is protected by the little hill.I looked in her eyes and put my arm around her as I had before and kissed her. I went to the window and looked out. You are a frozenfaced . He sat down beside me. We talk too much even for the Tenente.I like him.The plain was rich with crops there were many orchards of fruit trees and beyond the plain the mountains were brown and bare. Three others were up in the mountains at dressing stations. in which you said things instead of playing cards. Every night priest five against one! They all laughed again.You must go on leave at once. Not in the auto ambulance. Outside it was getting dark. under a hill beyond the river. TenenteNo.

 The hall too.Oh. He drank a half tumbler of cognac. darling.How are you. said the driver in Italian looking at the hernia man. The river ran behind us and the town had been captured very handsomely but the mountains beyond it could not be taken and I was very glad the Austrians seemed to want to come back to the town some time. and his hair shone. Thats over for the evening. Perhaps we should have a drink. In the town there were more guns. You like herNo. His shoulder was smashed and his head was hurt. I leaned forward in the dark to kiss her and there was a sharp stinging flash.Dont you wish you could bellow like himHe bellows.Jesus Christ.

 Ive seen your Tenente. The orderly was listening behind the desk. Oh mama mia. sitting on the small of my back. Stop it. All the officers were very happy. I must do something about getting you out of here. The cars would be all right with their good metaltometal brakes and anyway.Hes an American. It is just bad administration. Listen.I wanted to do something for him. the others dusty. when you knew that that was all there was. He woke when he heard me in the room and sat up. sucked and snapped in the ends.

Do we eat yet. walking carefully in the slush.Hell say I did it on purpose.It was a ghastly show. We stopped at the side of the road. went to the jail and asked to see the priest. darling. At first it dropped slowly and regularly. You could stay with my family. I said. You see I didnt care about the other thing and he could have had it all. There are people who are afraid of their officers.No.Hello. said Miss Ferguson.That way youll be decorated.

 I looked at the board tables. Then I forgot about him.We were off the driveway. One thing after another. You better not go up there drunk. brown mountains with a little green on their slopes. But I found a place where the cars would be sheltered after they passed that last badlooking bit and could wait for the wounded to be brought across the pontoon bridge. I dont mind at all. They would. my bed was made up with blankets and my things hung on the wall. He came back with a handful of roasted coffee beans. There is no finish to a war. The other cars pulled up. Bring a glass. Five stars. I saw arched stone bridges over the river where tracks turned off from the road and we passed stone farmhouses with pear trees candelabraed against their south walls and low stone walls in the fields.

 It was Miss Ferguson.He took off his gloves. 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. Bring a glass.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. I hurried up the driveway and inside the reception hall I asked for Miss Barkley. but it was not Catherine. Your blood coagulates beautifully. I said. The only son of the American Ambassador. I put thumb and fingers into the macaroni and lifted.You did exactly right. blunt-nosed ambulances. The only son of the American Ambassador. It would not rip and I bit the edge of the cloth to start it. sometimes it backed on a turn.

 with the sun on it. then came the chuh chuhchuh chuh then there was a flash. fast and shallow. Miss Barkley said. I said. Priest not happy. I lay still and let the pain ride.All right. We all sang. There was more to it than that. stepping carefully among the wounded. said the lieutenant.Do you think it would be any good to try and see her tomorrowYes. My legs felt warm and wet and my shoes were wet and warm inside.Listen to him talk about the Abruzzi.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.

How are you.Yes. Come with me if you want. FrancoI am all right. Bacchus or no Bacchus.Arent you a nurseOh. I knew I would not be killed. baby. she said. said Rinaldi.One of those shot by the carabinieri is from my town. He held up the glass. But dont be a fool. I wish that I was with the British.Bring Caruso. major.

 of course. D.Not even for the beautiful languageNo.Not true asked the captain. The major was a little man with upturned mustaches. You love EnglandNot too well. and relaxed.Its better to wear him. Because we would not wear any clothes because it was so hot and the window open and the swallows flying over the roofs of the houses and when it was dark afterward and you went to the window very small bats hunting over the houses and close down over the trees and we would drink the capri and the door locked and it hot and only a sheet and the whole night and we would both love each other all night in the hot night in Milan. Id be glad to kiss you if you dont mind. as I went in. Drink that. or else using a continuous lift and sucking into the mouth. crossing out everything except. Take a drink. stepping carefully among the wounded.

 I undid the clasp of the gold chain and put it around my neck and clasped it.They dropped me once more before we reached the post. yes. What was the matter with this war Everybody said the French were through. I never hurt anybody. Why dont you go to the hospitalThey wont let me. At the post on the top they took the stretcher out and put another in and we went on.Whats to stop itIt will crack somewhere. said the lieutenant.Thats a relief. You should go on leave. We are war brothers. there was snow on the guns and there were paths in the snow going back to the latrines behind trenches. said the lieutenant.Start in to eat.Probably.

 Its good.Come.And why didnt you marryI dont know. The British had come with three ambulances and they had two men on each ambulance. isnt itQuite.The whole thing seemed to run better while I was away. far below. Name he asked softly. he said. The doctors were working with their sleeves up to their shoulders and were red as butchers.Sit down. father.Priest not happy. Because were going to have a strange life. Tell me just exactly how it happened. You better not go up there drunk.

There will be no more offensive now that the snow has come. Youre a very good boy. We caught them and passed them and turned off on a road that climbed up into the hills. sometimes it backed on a turn.And youre all right I asked outside.You will. I said in Italian.I know how you talk. No. I could not see the guns but they were evidently firing directly over us. Why did you join up with the ItaliansI was in Italy. He looked like a king. and I spoke Italian.Start in to eat. one for troops and one for officers.Ill take the American Tenente.

 We parked the cars beyond a brickyard. They had the complete marble quality of all looking alike. He saw us and smiled. I would like to eat at the Cova and then walk down the Via Manzoni in the hot evening and cross over and turn off along the canal and go to the hotel with Catherine Barkley.Thank you very much. Mama mama mia.I saw Catherine Barkley coming down the hall. The drivers were pleased with it and I left them there.I am sorry.Quite well. and the strange excitement of waking and not knowing who it was with you. They told me you were on duty. There was that beginning of a feeling of dryness in the nose that meant the day would be hot later on. left the car at the dressing station under the hill. She waved again and then I was out of the driveway and climbing up into the seat of the ambulance and we started. Two men were lifting the hernia man to put him in.

 doing things that hurt sharply and severing tissue Are you sureMe trying to lie still and feeling my stomach flutter when the flesh was cut. father. I said. Bring him a glass of brandy. drink that. They splashed more mud than the camions even and if one of the officers in the back was very small and sitting between two generals. Thats where the money comes from. lifting the spaghetti on the fork until the loose strands hung clear then lowering it into the mouth.You were sweet to tell me. Her hand had hit my nose and eyes. D. Will you have a cigaretteThanks. I said.Bassi wins. how do you feel Where is that damn corkscrew You are so brave and quiet I forget you are suffering. .

 all of myself. The ovens and some deep holes had been equipped as dressing stations. Thats what its for. I had been driving and I sat in the car and the driver took the papers in. You are a frozenfaced . It was a nuisance to have them there but it was a comfort that they were no bigger. He did not hear me. He makes big preparations.Better not drink too much brandy then.I dried my hands and took out my pocketbook from the inside of my tunic hanging on the wall. Manera said he hoped it would come before the bombardment started. I said. and in the fall when the rains came the leaves all fell from the chestnut trees and the branches were bare and the trunks black with rain. No one to make fun of. gray leather boxes heavy with the packs of clips of thin.What is the differenceA nurse is like a doctor.

 Oh. you dont. I wiped my hand on my shirt and another floating light came very slowly down and I looked at my leg and was very afraid. Where did you meet her In the Cova Where did you go How did you feel Tell me everything at once. The vineyards were thin and bare-branched too and all the country wet and brown and dead with the autumn. lifting the spaghetti on the fork until the loose strands hung clear then lowering it into the mouth.Theyll send you to a hospital.I walked behind her out into the garden. Good by. To save you trouble. then finally it climbed quite fast.The Italians didnt want women so near the front. he said when he saw me.It could not be worse.And why didnt you marryI dont know. I said.

 The door was open. One of the two men who had carried it looked in. She did not seem tall walking toward me but she looked very lovely. there was the smell of marble floors and hospital. He was dressed. of course. I was blown up while we were eating cheese.He cant do anything about it anyway.Im not. You know.Thats awfully nice.Its very hard. She was crying. I am just more affectionate. he said to me. There was a great splashing and I saw the star shells go up and burst and float whitely and rockets going up and heard the bombs.