第25部分(第3/7 頁)

o　girls　on　the　seat　with　him　and　was　sitting　back　in　the　corner　and　smoking。

〃Barto；　Barto；〃　I　said。　He　laughed。

〃Talk　to　them；　Tenente；〃　he　said。　〃I　can't　understand　them。　Hey！〃　He　put　his　hand　on　the　girl's　thigh　and　squeezed　it　in　a　friendly　way。　The　girl　drew　her　shawl　tight　around　her　and　pushed　his　hand　away。　〃Hey！〃　he　said。　〃Tell　the　Tenente　your　name　and　what　you're　doing　here。〃

The　girl　looked　at　me　fiercely。　The　other　girl　kept　her　eyes　down。　The　girl　who　looked　at　me　said　something　in　a　dialect　I　could　not　understand　a　word　of。　She　was　plump　and　dark　and　looked　about　sixteen。

〃Sorella？〃　I　asked　and　pointed　at　the　other　girl。

She　nodded　her　head　and　smiled。

〃All　right；〃　I　said　and　patted　her　knee。　I　felt　her　stiffen　away　when　I　touched　her。　The　sister　never　looked　up。　She　looked　perhaps　a　year　younger。　Aymo　put　his　hand　on　the　elder　girl's　thigh　and　she　pushed　it　away。　He　laughed　at　her。

〃Good　man；〃　he　pointed　at　himself。　〃Good　man；〃　he　pointed　at　me。　〃Don't　you　worry。〃　The　girl　looked　at　him　fiercely。　The　pair　of　them　were　like　two　wild　birds。

〃What　does　she　ride　with　me　for　if　she　doesn't　like　me？〃　Aymo　asked。　〃They　got　right　up　in　the　car　the　minute　I　motioned　to　them。〃　He　turned　to　the　girl。　〃Don't　worry；〃　he　said。　〃No　danger　of　……；〃　using　the　vulgar　word。　〃No　place　for　……。〃　I　could　see　she　understood　the　word　and　that　was　all。　Her　eyes　looked　at　him　very　scared。　She　pulled　the　shawl　tight。　〃Car　all　full；〃　Aymo　said。　〃No　danger　of 。　No　place　for　……。〃　Every　time　he　said　the　word　the　girl　stiffened　a　little。　Then　sitting　stiffly　and　looking　at　him　she　began　to　cry。　I　saw　her　lips　working　and　then　tears　came　down　her　plump　cheeks。　Her　sister；　not　looking　up；　took　her　hand　and　they　sat　there　together。　Th