第16部分(第6/7 頁)

ut　outside　it　kept　on　raining。

20

One　day　in　the　afternoon　we　went　to　the　races。　Ferguson　went　too　and　Crowell　Rodgers；　the　boy　who　had　been　wounded　in　the　eyes　by　the　explosion　of　the　shell　nose…cap。　The　girls　dressed　to　go　after　lunch　while　Crowell　and　I　sat　on　the　bed　in　his　room　and　read　the　past　performances　of　the　horses　and　the　predictions　in　the　racing　paper。　Crowell's　head　was　bandaged　and　he　did　not　care　much　about　these　races　but　read　the　racing　paper　constantly　and　kept　track　of　all　the　horses　for　something　to　do。　He　said　the　horses　were　a　terrible　lot　but　they　were　all　the　horses　we　had。　Old　Meyers　liked　him　and　gave　him　tips。　Meyers　won　on　nearly　every　race　but　disliked　to　give　tips　because　it　brought　down　the　prices。　The　racing　was　very　crooked。　Men　who　had　been　ruled　off　the　turf　everywhere　else　were　racing　in　Italy。　Meyers'　information　was　good　but　I　hated　to　ask　him　because　sometimes　he　did　not　answer；　and　always　you　could　see　it　hurt　him　to　tell　you；　but　he　felt　obligated　to　tell　us　for　some　reason　and　he　hated　less　to　tell　Crowell。　Crowell's　eyes　had　been　hurt；　one　was　hurt　badly；　and　Meyers　had　trouble　with　his　eyes　and　so　he　liked　Crowell。　Meyers　never　told　his　wife　what　horses　he　was　playing　and　she　won　or　lost；　mostly　lost；　and　talked　all　the　time。

We　four　drove　out　to　San　Siro　in　an　open　carriage。　It　was　a　lovely　day　and　we　drove　out　through　the　park　and　out　along　the　tramway　and　out　of　town　where　the　road　was　dusty。　There　were　villas　with　iron　fences　and　big　overgrown　gardens　and　ditches　with　water　flowing　and　green　vegetable　gardens　with　dust　on　the　leaves。　We　could　look　across　the　plain　and　see　farmhouses　and　the　rich　green　farms　with　their　irrigation　ditches　and　the　mountains　to　the　north。　There　were　many　carriages　going