第22部分(第2/7 頁)

　bottle；〃　I　said。　〃For　any　sake　you　mention。〃

〃To　your　girl；〃　Rinaldi　said。　He　held　out　his　glass。

〃All　right。〃

〃I'll　never　say　a　dirty　thing　about　her。〃

〃Don't　strain　yourself。〃

He　drank　off　the　cognac。　〃I　am　pure；〃　he　said。　〃I　am　like　you；　baby。　I　will　get　an　English　girl　too。　As　a　matter　of　fact　I　knew　your　girl　first　but　she　was　a　little　tall　for　me。　A　tall　girl　for　a　sister；〃　he　quoted。

〃You　have　a　lovely　pure　mind；〃　I　said。

〃Haven't　I？　That's　why　they　call　me　Rinaldo　Purissimo。〃

〃Rinaldo　Sporchissimo。〃

〃e　on；　baby；　we'll　go　down　to　eat　while　my　mind　is　still　pure。〃

I　washed；　bed　my　hair　and　we　went　down　the　stairs。　Rinaldi　was　a　little　drunk。　In　the　room　where　we　ate；　the　meal　was　not　quite　ready。

〃I'll　go　get　the　bottle；〃　Rinaldi　said。　He　went　off　up　the　stairs。　I　sat　at　the　table　and　he　came　back　with　the　bottle　and　poured　us　each　a　half　tumbler　of　cognac。

〃Too　much；〃　I　said　and　held　up　the　glass　and　sighted　at　the　lamp　on　the　table。

〃Not　for　an　empty　stomach。　It　is　a　wonderful　thing。　It　burns　out　the　stomach　pletely。　Nothing　is　worse　for　you。〃

〃All　right。〃

〃Self…destruction　day　by　day；〃　Rinaldi　said。　〃It　ruins　the　stomach　and　makes　the　hand　shake。　Just　the　thing　for　a　surgeon。〃

〃You　remend　it？〃

〃Heartily。　I　use　no　other。　Drink　it　down；　baby；　and　look　forward　to　being　sick。〃

I　drank　half　the　glass。　In　the　hall　I　could　hear　the　orderly　calling。　〃Soup！　Soup　is　ready！〃

The　major　came　in；　nodded　to　us　and　sat　down。　He　seemed　very　small　at　table。

〃Is　this　all　we　are？〃　he　asked。　The　orderly　put　the　soup　bowl　down　and　he　ladled　out　a　plate　full。

〃We　are　all；〃　Rinaldi　said。　〃Unless　the　priest　es。　If　he　knew　Federico　was　here