"What's to stop it?"
"It will crack somewhere."
"We'll crack.
We'll crack in France.
They can't go on doing things like the Somme and not crack."
"They won't crack here," I said.
"You think not?"
"No.
They did very well last summer."
"They may crack," she said. "Anybody may crack."
"The Germans too."
"No," she said. "I think not."
We went over toward Rinaldi and Miss Ferguson.
"You love Italy?" Rinaldi asked Miss Ferguson in English.
"Quite well."
"No understand," Rinaldi shook his head.
"Abbastanza bene," I translated.
He shook his head.
"That is not good.
You love England?"
"Not too well.
I'm Scotch, you see."
Rinaldi looked at me blankly.
"She's Scotch, so she loves Scotland better than England," I said in Italian.
"But Scotland is England."
I translated this for Miss Ferguson.
"Pas encore," said Miss Ferguson.
"Not really?"
"Never.
We do not like the English."
"Not like the English?
Not like Miss Barkley?"
"Oh, that's different.
You mustn't take everything so literally."
After a while we said good-night and left.
Walking home Rinaldi said,
"Miss Barkley prefers you to me.
That is very clear.
But the little Scotch one is very nice."
"Very," I said.
I had not noticed her. "You like her?"
"No," said Rinaldi.
5
The next afternoon I went to call on Miss Barkley again.
She was not in the garden and I went to the side door of the villa where the ambulances drove up.
Inside I saw the head nurse, who said Miss Barkley was on duty--"there's a war on, you know."
I said I knew.
"You're the American in the Italian army?" she asked.
"Yes, ma'am."
"How did you happen to do that?