hrough　the　two　bags　and　held　up　the　quarterbottle　of　brandy。　〃Would　you　join　me　in　a　drink？〃　I　asked。

〃No　thank　you。〃　He　straightened　up。　〃How　much　money　have　you？〃

〃Twenty…five　hundred　lire。〃

He　was　favorably　impressed。　〃How　much　has　your　cousin？〃

Catherine　had　a　little　over　twelve　hundred　lire。　The　lieutenant　was　pleased。　His　attitude　toward　us　became　less　haughty。

〃If　you　are　going　for　winter　sports；〃　he　said；　〃Wengen　is　the　place。　My　father　has　a　very　fine　hotel　at　Wengen。　It　is　open　all　the　time。〃

〃That's　splendid；〃　I　said。　〃Could　you　give　me　the　name？〃

〃I　will　write　it　on　a　card。〃　He　handed　me　the　card　very　politely。

〃The　soldier　will　take　you　into　Locarno。　He　will　keep　your　passports。　I　regret　this　but　it　is　necessary。　I　have　good　hopes　they　will　give　you　a　visa　or　a　police　permit　at　Locarno。〃

He　handed　the　two　passports　to　the　soldier　and　carrying　the　bags　we　started　into　the　village　to　order　a　carriage。　〃Hi；〃　the　lieutenant　called　to　the　soldier。　He　said　something　in　a　German　dialect　to　him。　The　soldier　slung　his　rifle　on　his　back　and　picked　up　the　bags。

〃It's　a　great　country；〃　I　said　to　Catherine。

〃It's　so　practical。〃

〃Thank　you　very　much；〃　I　said　to　the　lieutenant。　He　waved　his　hand。

〃Service！〃　he　said。　We　followed　our　guard　into　the　village。

We　drove　to　Locarno　in　a　carriage　with　the　soldier　sitting　on　the　front　seat　with　the　driver。　At　Locarno　we　did　not　have　a　bad　time。　They　questioned　us　but　they　were　polite　because　we　had　passports　and　money。　I　do　not　think　they　believed　a　word　of　the　story　and　I　thought　it　was　silly　but　it　was　like　a　law…court。　You　did　not　want　something　reasonable；　you　wanted　something　technical　and　then　stuck　to　it　without　explanations。　B