nything。

〃He　was　afraid　we　would　get　killed。〃

I　held　the　bottle　of　wine　and　did　not　say　anything。

〃You　see　we　don't　believe　in　the　war　anyway；　Tenente。〃

〃Why　didn't　you　go？〃　I　asked。

〃I　did　not　want　to　leave　you。〃

〃Where　did　he　go？〃

〃I　don't　know；　Tenente。　He　went　away。〃

〃All　right；〃　I　said。　〃Will　you　cut　the　sausage？〃

Piani　looked　at　me　in　the　half…light。

〃I　cut　it　while　we　were　talking；〃　he　said。　We　sat　in　the　hay　and　ate　the　sausage　and　drank　the　wine。　It　must　have　been　wine　they　had　saved　for　a　wedding。　It　was　so　old　that　it　was　losing　its　color。

〃You　look　out　of　this　window；　Luigi；〃　I　said。　〃I'll　go　look　out　the　other　window。〃

We　had　each　been　drinking　out　of　one　of　the　bottles　and　I　took　my　bottle　with　me　and　went　over　and　lay　flat　on　the　hay　and　looked　out　the　narrow　window　at　the　wet　country。　I　do　not　know　what　I　expected　to　see　but　I　did　not　see　anything　except　the　fields　and　the　bare　mulberry　trees　and　the　rain　falling。　I　drank　the　wine　and　it　did　not　make　me　feel　good。　They　had　kept　it　too　long　and　it　had　gone　to　pieces　and　lost　its　quality　and　color。　I　watched　it　get　dark　outside；　the　darkness　came　very　quickly。　It　would　be　a　black　night　with　the　rain。　When　it　was　dark　there　was　no　use　watching　any　more；　so　I　went　over　to　Piani。　He　was　lying　asleep　and　I　did　not　wake　him　but　sat　down　beside　him　for　a　while。　He　was　a　big　man　and　he　slept　heavily。　After　a　while　I　woke　him　and　we　started。

That　was　a　very　strange　night。　I　do　not　know　what　I　had　expected；　death　perhaps　and　shooting　in　the　dark　and　running；　but　nothing　happened。　We　waited；　lying　flat　beyond　the　ditch　along　the　main　road　while　a　German　battalion　passed；　then　when　they　were　gone　we　crossed　the　road　and　went　on