第26部分(第3/7 頁)

ig；〃　I　said。　He　looked　at　it　regretfully。

〃I　guess　it　is；〃　he　said。　〃Give　me　the　canteens　to　fill。〃　He　filled　the　canteens　and　some　of　the　wine　ran　out　on　the　stone　paving　of　the　courtyard。　Then　he　picked　up　the　wine　jug　and　put　it　just　inside　the　door。

〃The　Austrians　can　find　it　without　breaking　the　door　down；〃　he　said。

〃We'll　roll。〃　I　said。　〃Piani　and　I　will　go　ahead。〃　The　two　engineers　were　already　on　the　seat　beside　Bonello。　The　girls　were　eating　cheese　and　apples。　Aymo　was　smoking。　We　started　off　down　the　narrow　road。　I　looked　back　at　the　two　cars　ing　and　the　farmhouse。　It　was　a　fine；　low；　solid　stone　house　and　the　ironwork　of　the　well　was　very　good。　Ahead　of　us　the　road　was　narrow　and　muddy　and　there　was　a　high　hedge　on　either　side。　Behind；　the　cars　were　following　closely。

29

At　noon　we　were　stuck　in　a　muddy　road　about；　as　nearly　as　we　could　figure；　ten　kilometres　from　Udine。　The　rain　had　stopped　during　the　forenoon　and　three　times　we　had　heard　planes　ing；　seen　them　pass　overhead；　watched　them　go　far　to　the　left　and　heard　them　bombing　on　the　main　highroad。　We　had　worked　through　a　network　of　secondary　roads　and　had　taken　many　roads　that　were　blind；　but　had　always；　by　backing　up　and　finding　another　road；　gotten　closer　to　Udine。　Now；　Aymo's　car；　in　backing　so　that　we　might　get　out　of　a　blind　road；　had　gotten　into　the　soft　earth　at　the　side　and　the　wheels；　spinning；　had　dug　deeper　and　deeper　until　the　car　rested　on　its　differential。　The　thing　to　do　now　was　to　dig　out　in　front　of　the　wheels；　put　in　brush　so　that　the　chains　could　grip；　and　then　push　until　the　car　was　on　the　road。　We　were　all　down　on　the　road　around　the　car。　The　two　sergeants　looked　at　the　car　and　examined　the　wheels。　Then　they　started　off　down　the　road　without　a　word。