The nights were now dark, even when it did not rain, for there was no moon, and we should have to wait awhile before we were due to receive any pigeons. Every morning I took a long walk in the wood to see if any basket had fallen during the night; I examined carefully the branches of the trees to see if a parachute had perhaps been caught in the foliage3, but found nothing. Through the refugee and the other peasants who had placed their services at my disposal, I told everyone whom I could trust, that in case they found little baskets with pigeons on their fields they were to 276 gather them for they were meant for me. I designated certain vicarages as places to which they should be delivered, for the priests offered to pass them on to me as soon as they received them.
My soldier’s sister, to give me an idea of how certain the Austrians were of the success of the first blows of the offensive, told me the following anecdote4. A Hungarian officer was bargaining with her for the purchase of a linen5 sheet which the officers were accustomed to use for making white uniforms for wear in the summertime. The amount asked for the sheet seemed too high and the officer walked away saying, “It really would be a pity to pay so high a price for my uniform when the offensive is scheduled to commence shortly. On the first day we will be in Treviso, on the second in Venice, and there I shall find enough white linen to clothe my entire company in white.” I hoped that soon this ugly creature, who was relishing6 in advance the 277 joys of pillage7 and plunder8, would find in the whirlpools of the Piave a uniform to suit him!
Another frequent visitor was Rosa, a young woman whose husband was on the other side and who now made a livelihood9 serving as cook for some Hungarian officers. She listened to all their conversations and every now and then tried to fathom10 some secret which she referred at once to us. The table at which she served belonged to a group of field artillery11 officers and she told me that they had a long discussion in which some of them held that a supply of 5000 shots for every gun would be enough in the first battle, whereas others held that, given the enormous waste of munition12 in modern methods of warfare13, this number would not guarantee a sufficient reserve. On the whole, from the reports received I inferred that the Austrians were short of ammunition14 and had placed their hope in a quick success of the 278 offensive, for otherwise they would find themselves in a very bad position because there were very few projectiles15 in the internal depots16 in Austria to replace those spent at the front. Rosa also told me of the abundant fare the enemy officers allot17 themselves, for they were not ashamed to give free rein18 to their gluttonous19 desires even though their soldiers were kept on truly pitiful rations20. Poor Rosa also brought us whatever she could take away from the table and one day she came with a large package of cigarettes which she held out to us saying, “I hope you will not smoke them all in one day; I hope you will appreciate them because I had to pay for these cigarettes with kisses.”
I tried to show I appreciated them so as not to displease21 her, but in truth I preferred never to smoke again in my life rather than force such bargaining on her, but alas22, she had often to resort to such methods if she wished to feed her youngsters 279 who otherwise would die of hunger. Sometimes Rosa, weeping, told us of the compromises she had had to make to appease23 the hunger of her youngsters.
“Necessity makes me do it,” she would say, “but you should see the disdain24 with which the gay Viennese women, who have followed the officers thus far, treat me. Many of them go about dressed in clothes stolen from our houses and the other day, in the house of one of these street-walkers I recognized a whole silver coffee set which belonged to a count who ran away during the first days of the retreat.”
From Vittorio I received regularly the messages of Brunora and from his notes I gathered much useful information, especially in regard to the movements of the troops of the sixth army. It seemed that special divisions of swimmers had been trained to cross the river in a surprise attack and that they were to clamber up on the side of the Montello which slopes vertically25 280 to the river, by means of hooks and ropes and so surprise our men from behind. On June 13th the regiment26 stationed at San Martino left unexpectedly for the front and the 31st division which was near Miane left unexpectedly for a destination unknown to us together with the 11th division of cavalry27 on foot. At the headquarters of Tappa di Vittorio a notice had been posted saying, “Any civilian28 found damaging the telephone lines will be at once taken before a firing squad29.” All these indications made me feel certain that on the fifteenth we should visualize30 the greatest battle in history and I believed I was one of the few privileged characters who would be able to participate in it from the enemy’s side.
By now I had exact knowledge of the habits of the gendarmes31 and I was convinced that even though I had much to fear from them if they should succeed in laying hands on me, still with a little wit and intelligence I could succeed in avoiding them. 281 The gendarmes who most frequented our region were those from Mezza Villa33 and therefore I entrusted34 the owner of the house in which they live, who knew all their habits, to warn me if he should notice anything unusual in their plans. In this way I eliminated the danger of being surprised. I knew they usually went out at eight in the morning; that they made brief rounds on the road between Mezza Villa and Fregona and that they returned for mess at eleven and rested until four, so that during those hours there was little fear of meeting them. Frankly35, if one wished to wander there was really no need of promenading36 on the main highways and it seemed that the gendarmes did not deviate37 much from the main roads since the day in which they lost all track of one of their comrades who penetrated38 a little more deeply into the wood. As for the soldiers who roamed about the country, they did not bother about stopping the peasants; they thought only of trying to 282 steal whatever they could lay their hands on without attracting the attention of the owner, so if the wanderer could make believe he was an owner, he was certain never to be molested39.
I began to walk in the wood and with a little trepidation40 I ventured as far as the summit of a hill which dominates all the plain. From my observation point one could see all Vittorio and when it was clear one could also see the Montello. An Austrian Drago balloon rose in the vicinity of Cuzzuolo. Suddenly I saw shrapnel bursts and immediately the sausage began to descend41 hurriedly. It must have been attacked by one of our aeroplanes but this time it escaped too easily.
Far away in the distance, behind the line of the Piave, which on clear days outlines itself as a thin silver streak42 on the plain, our observation balloons arose. I counted twelve and with an incredible feeling of homesickness I remembered that under them 283 lay our dear land. While descending43 the hill I saw a little hut, half demolished44, from which came a thin stream of smoke. I wished to see who could live within such battered45 walls. As I opened the door a nauseating46 stench came forth47. At first I thought the place uninhabited, but near the manger I espied48 two human bodies enveloped49 in a long wrap. I tried to get them to talk, but at first they would not answer me. Finally, from above that confusion of rags, I saw not a head, but something which looked more like a skull50 than a head. A feeble voice which seemed to come from afar murmured, “Leave us in peace, leave us alone, let us die here. We are two escaped Italian prisoners from the concentration camp at Vittorio, where they used to give us nothing to eat and would nourish us with beatings. As long as the Russian prisoners stayed here we fed ourselves on their herd51 of cattle, but now it is fifteen days since they have gone and we have had nothing but 284 snails52 and the mushrooms in the woods. We are here at the end of the manger so that if a gendarme32 should open the door he would not see us (the man coughed), but for some time we have not had even enough strength to get up and we lie here all day waiting for the hour of liberation, in the hope that death at least will free us forever from our torturers!”
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1
avid
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| adj.热心的；贪婪的；渴望的；劲头十足的 | |
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2
adversaries
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| n.对手，敌手( adversary的名词复数 ) | |
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3
foliage
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| n.叶子，树叶，簇叶 | |
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anecdote
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| n.轶事，趣闻，短故事 | |
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linen
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| n.亚麻布，亚麻线，亚麻制品；adj.亚麻布制的，亚麻的 | |
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6
relishing
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| v.欣赏( relish的现在分词 )；从…获得乐趣；渴望 | |
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7
pillage
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| v.抢劫；掠夺；n.抢劫，掠夺；掠夺物 | |
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plunder
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| vt.劫掠财物，掠夺；n.劫掠物，赃物；劫掠 | |
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9
livelihood
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| n.生计，谋生之道 | |
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fathom
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| v.领悟，彻底了解 | |
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11
artillery
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| n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队) | |
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12
munition
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| n.军火；军需品；v.给某部门提供军火 | |
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13
warfare
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| n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突 | |
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ammunition
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| n.军火，弹药 | |
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projectiles
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| n.抛射体( projectile的名词复数 )；（炮弹、子弹等）射弹，（火箭等）自动推进的武器 | |
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16
depots
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| 仓库( depot的名词复数 )； 火车站； 车库； 军需库 | |
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17
allot
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| v.分配；拨给；n.部分；小块菜地 | |
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rein
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| n.疆绳，统治，支配；vt.以僵绳控制，统治 | |
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19
gluttonous
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| adj.贪吃的，贪婪的 | |
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rations
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| 定量( ration的名词复数 )； 配给量； 正常量； 合理的量 | |
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21
displease
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| vt.使不高兴，惹怒；n.不悦，不满，生气 | |
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22
alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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appease
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| v.安抚，缓和，平息，满足 | |
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24
disdain
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| n.鄙视，轻视；v.轻视，鄙视，不屑 | |
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vertically
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| adv.垂直地 | |
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regiment
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| n.团，多数，管理；v.组织，编成团，统制 | |
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cavalry
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| n.骑兵；轻装甲部队 | |
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civilian
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| adj.平民的，民用的，民众的 | |
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squad
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| n.班，小队，小团体；vt.把…编成班或小组 | |
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visualize
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| vt.使看得见，使具体化，想象，设想 | |
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31
gendarmes
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| n.宪兵，警官( gendarme的名词复数 ) | |
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32
gendarme
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| n.宪兵 | |
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villa
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| n.别墅，城郊小屋 | |
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34
entrusted
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| v.委托，托付( entrust的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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frankly
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| adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说 | |
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promenading
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| v.兜风( promenade的现在分词 ) | |
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37
deviate
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| v.(from)背离，偏离 | |
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38
penetrated
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| adj. 击穿的，鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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39
molested
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| v.骚扰( molest的过去式和过去分词 )；干扰；调戏；猥亵 | |
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40
trepidation
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| n.惊恐，惶恐 | |
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41
descend
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| vt./vi.传下来，下来，下降 | |
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42
streak
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| n.条理，斑纹，倾向，少许，痕迹；v.加条纹，变成条纹，奔驰，快速移动 | |
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43
descending
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| n. 下行 adj. 下降的 | |
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44
demolished
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| v.摧毁( demolish的过去式和过去分词 )；推翻；拆毁（尤指大建筑物）；吃光 | |
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45
battered
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| adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损 | |
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46
nauseating
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| adj.令人恶心的，使人厌恶的v.使恶心，作呕( nauseate的现在分词 ) | |
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47
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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48
espied
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| v.看到( espy的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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49
enveloped
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| v.包围，笼罩，包住( envelop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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50
skull
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| n.头骨；颅骨 | |
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51
herd
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| n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起 | |
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52
snails
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| n.蜗牛；迟钝的人；蜗牛( snail的名词复数 ) | |
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