Show tom g adan V ea john hersey herse y w m u THE STORY THUS FAR the amerl ameri can troops arrived at adano with major ioppolo Jop Jp polo olo the oie aagot officer in charge sergeant borth was in charge of security the rho major was determined to replace the town bell stolen by the nazis he be arranged with the navy to permit the fishermen to to the waters despite orders issued oy by general marvin Marv ln barring carts from the city major top jop polo recalled the order to permit food and water to enter the town tomasino the chief fisherman invited the major to his home for or dinner when be arrived he found captain purves and the two daughters of tomasino captain purvis got drunk and the major took him home borne early CHAPTER XII 1 I thought at first perhaps you were from northern italy the major said politely tina laughed tell me some more about yourself she said theres not much to tell he said did you go to one of those american colleges ive seen them in the movies at Vicin amare no not exactly I 1 went to school until I 1 was sixteen then I 1 lied about my age I 1 said I 1 was eighteen so that I 1 could get a drivers license and take a job I 1 worked as a truck driver until I 1 was twenty then I 1 had an accident from lifting things which were too heavy what kind of an accident mister major it was a rupture after the accident I 1 had no job for two months it is not very exciting to be unemployed in the united states finally I 1 got a job as a clerk in a grocery store at twelve dollars a week how much is that I 1 twelve hundred lira twelve hundred liral lira you must have been rich no tina twelve hundred lira is all right for adano AU all righta I 1 should say it is all right six hundred is high pay my father used to think six hundred was a very good week and he been out for a long time she added sadly but not so much in the states you mean everyone is rich in the bronx no I 1 say so tina its just that our standard of living is higher than yours what does that mean well hard to explain too its just that everyone has a little more inore than they have here they mostly have automobiles in peacetime that is the food is a little better everyone gets orange juice and milk and things like that they get paid a little more they have to pay more for what they get though in other words its just what I 1 said everyone is rica rich in the bronx well have it your own way A anyhow chow I 1 think fate has had a loi lot to do with my life because one ni night 9 ht a friend of mine told me that they were about to have examinations lor jeor jobs in the city government the city of the bronx no tina new york city he told me I 1 ought to take them I 1 said I 1 had enough education but he said I 1 ought to go ahead and try so I 1 did and I 1 came out number out of 1100 that made me feel pretty good as if I 1 knew something after all they gave me a job as a clerk in the department of taxation and finance tina said the wife is she pretty major coppolo said yes she is very pretty I 1 at least she seems so to me I 1 miss her very much she has a mole on the left side of her chin but otherwise she is very pretty she is of italian parentage so she has dark skin like yours in some ways you remind me of her tina had been looking up at the stars but now she suddenly looked down into the dark valley of the street and said lets go in and dance and she opened up the shutter doors and went inside major coppolo went in after her captain purvis had gone to work on To masinos wine and he was making a decided nuisance of himself le if so major coppolo persuaded persuade d himoto him to go home he and giuseppe led the captain home when he got back to his own villa and was undressed and in bed major coppolo felt miserable it until nearly three that he e realized why giuseppe was right light it made a man feel very unhappy happy to be as far from home as the bronx new york is from adano italy the next morning captain purvis oat eat with his feet up on his desk he 1 was as in a bad humor i sergeant trapani was out of the office the captain spoke to cor chuck schultz who was 3 on guard that th major coppolo Jop polo he said I 1 T was ginning beginning to like him bh but hes he s a wet blanket I 1 was just getting S a wonderful buzz on last night and he descended on me sober as a whitefish and he made me e go home corporal schultz said was you getting buzzed on that dago red the Th captain said yeah theres heres an old fish hound down here giuseppe took me to his house because hes he s got a couple couil e of nice quail he gave me some red stuff corporal schultz said d that vinos vino s bad stuff sir you dont want to get mixed up with that vino n no c moren more ya you can help had some myself last night captain purvis said im still sore at that major he leaned back in his chair and put his feet up on his desk again As he did so he knocked some papers on the floor 1 I suppose I 1 might as well clean up my desk got to do it sooner or later he reached down on the floor and picked up the stray papers he began to sort and arrange papers in ig hey schultz he said wheres trapani piles and he threw some away and he got up and put some away in his files he read some of them aloud to corporal schultz who was not in the least interested in due course he picked up a purple slip and he said this and he read on july 19 orders were received from general marvin forty ninth division to keep all mule carts out of the town of adano guards were posted at bridge over rosso river and at cacopardo sulphur refinery order carried out on july 20 guards were removed on order of major victor coppolo Jop polo is captain purvis banged the flat of a hand down on the table hey schultz itz Is he said wheres where I 1 s trapani said he was just stepping out fa for r a couple of minutes sir said hed be right back anything I 1 can do sir no wait till I 1 get that trapani trapani came in in a few minutes hey you come over here captain purvis said as soon as he arrived yes sir trapani said this the captain said and he held out the purple slip Ira trapani pani took it and looked at it the report on the mule cart situation sir trapani said cool coolly ay you ayou told me to make out a report remember youre right I 1 remember and where did I 1 tell you to send it it was to go to gone G one of the division sir 11 well why dian didn it you send it 1 I put it on your desk for approval sir captain purvis huffed buffed and puffed he knew very well he pay as much attention to his desk as he ought to well lets send it out of here I 1 want t to personally see you put that thing in the pouch for Ii division vision sergeant trapani 1 sat right down and addressed an e envelope riv elope and put the slip in it and t put nit the envelope in the pouch which was to leave the next afternoon by bourl courier er for division headquarters he addressed the envelope to the w wrong rong person at division but then captain purvis notice that A perspiring courier brought a 2 note to major Jop office it said in english 1 I got to seen you in the immediate and it was signed M cacopardo not five minutes behind the courier Ca cacopardo copado himself showed up all dressed for traveling he had leather gauntlets gauntlett gaunt lets on and goggles up on his forehead and he carried a gr green een parasol in his right hand the eighty two year old man trotted the length of major Jop office leaned forward over his desk looked over his shoulder at giuseppe and ana zito ito then looked at the ito at the and said in a loud whisper 1 I got to talk alone major coppolo asked his interpreter and usher to step outside 1 I have received a secret messages from the mafia the old man said still whispering loudly 1 I have the military secrets of where are the german troops you must send your our soldiers mister major major coppolo said 1 I have no soldiers im just the administrator of adano cacopardo said 1 I got to go to the general I 1 am ready 1 I will send you to the general mister cacopardo he said but I 1 want to warn you the general is a very impatient man it if your dope straight hell be very angry I 1 dont know what hell do to you but it wont be nice also old man I 1 ive ve got got to ask you not to get me in trouble with him im already in dutch with general marvin promise me that you will be careful will you 1 I will be careful cacopardo said but the is is im important por tant major coppolo made out a pass for cacopardo and sent for a jeep from the motor pool cacopardo stepped back and raised his hand in a fascist salute then as his aged memory functioned the hand wavered over to his forehead and the salute became military and he said cacopardo is sulphur and sulphur is cacopardo he turned on his heel as militarily as he could and marched out between the palazzo in adano and the headquarters of the forty ninth division in a villa beyond dicina mare old cacopardo did not say a word to the jeep driver he sat leaning forward against the wind over his eyes and hi his parasol straining over his head the jeeps windshield was down on the hood with the canvas cover over it as all jeep windshields wind shields should be where there is possibility of enemy strafing attacks and so the wind was very strong after a while old cacopardo decided that sun was preferable to wind and he moved the parasol down and held it in front of him to fend off the wind the villa in which the forty ninth division was dug in for the time being had belonged to a friend of Caco pardos cacopardo and this friend had shared an interest in italian furniture and the old man knew the value of the things in this villa the friend was dead now but cacopardo had a hard time remembering which of his friends had died and which were still living he therefore thought of them all as living it was easier that way because he was entering the villa of his friend whom he considered to be living cacopardo approached the gate in the spirit of a cordial visit and he expected to be received cordially he was in for a surprise anyone who has never tried to see a general could not possibly know what Caco pardos reception was like A sentry stopped him at the gate good morning said cacopardo as if addressing a butler at his friends door is my friend sala here the sentry said aint nobody here of that name as I 1 know of what is he an MP military police indeed he is prefect of Vicin amare and a collector of wooden curiosities he is my friend this is his house Is he here no Is buck shouted back no one round here with a name like of that aliat liat no one here that name the sentry repeated cacopardo said then where is general marvin MP s are trained to be mysterious with strangers jeez I 1 cant tell you that bud the sentry said 1 I have a paper to see generah general marvin cacopardo said pulling out his pass TO BE CONTINUED |