They brought the cars around to the front of the villa and we loaded them with the hospital equipment which was piled in the hallway.
When it was all in, the three cars stood in line down the driveway under the trees in the rain.
We went inside.
"Make a fire in the kitchen and dry your things," I said.
"I don't care about dry clothes," Piani said. "I want to sleep."
"I'm going to sleep on the major's bed," Bonello said. "I'm going to sleep where the old man corks off."
"I don't care where I sleep," Piani said.
"There are two beds in here." I opened the door.
"I never knew what was in that room," Bonello said.
"That was old fish-face's room," Piani said.
"You two sleep in there," I said. "I'll wake you."
"The Austrians will wake us if you sleep too long, Tenente," Bonello said.
"I won't oversleep," I said. "Where's Aymo?"
"He went out in the kitchen."
"Get to sleep," I said.
"I'll sleep," Piani said. "I've been asleep sitting up all day.
The whole top of my head kept coming down over my eyes."
"Take your boots off," Bonello said. "That's old fish-face's bed."
"Fish-face is nothing to me."
Piani lay on the bed, his muddy boots straight out, his head on his arm.
I went out to the kitchen.
Aymo had a fire in the stove and a kettle of water on.
"I thought I'd start some pasta asciutta," he said. "We'll be hungry when we wake up."
"Aren't you sleepy, Bartolomeo?"
"Not so sleepy.
When the water boils I'll leave it.
The fire will go down."
"You'd better get some sleep," I said. "We can eat cheese and monkey meat."
"This is better," he said. "Something hot will be good for those two anarchists.
You go to sleep, Tenente."
"There's a bed in the major's room."
"You sleep there."
"No, I'm going up to my old room.
Do you want a drink, Bartolomeo?"
"When we go, Tenente.
Now it wouldn't do me any good."
"If you wake in three hours and I haven't called you, wake me, will you?"
"I haven't any watch, Tenente."
"There's a clock on the wall in the major's room."
"All right."
I went out then through the dining-room and the hall and up the marble stairs to the room where I had lived with Rinaldi.
It was raining outside.
I went to the window and looked out.
It was getting dark and I saw the three cars standing in line under the trees.
The trees were dripping in the rain.
It was cold and the drops hung to the branches.
I went back to Rinaldi's bed and lay down and let sleep take me.
We ate in the kitchen before we started.
Aymo had a basin of spaghetti with onions and tinned meat chopped up in it.
We sat around the table and drank two bottles of the wine that had been left in the cellar of the villa.