CHAPTER 29

Summary

At noon, AymoÂ’s car became stuck in a muddy road, about ten kilometers from Udine. They saw war planes overhead and had traveled through a network of secondary roads. Henry decided that they should dig in front of the wheels, put in some branches and twigs, and get the car out. He ordered the sergeants to start cutting, but they refused, saying that he was not their officer. When Henry persisted, they turned back and started walking off. Henry took his pistol and shot at the sergeant who was talking the most. They started to run and he fired again twice, hitting one of them. The other started running into the trees and Bonello followed him. Later, Bonello shot at the wounded soldier to kill him.

They then decided to tie ropes to the car and see if they could pull it out, but they could not. They then stopped and searched for the girls. They were sitting on a stone wall. Henry gave them some money and asked them to walk back to the main road and join the peasants there. Bonello did not feel sorry for having killed the sergeant though he had not killed anyone in the war or otherwise. Henry asked them if they were anarchists but they replied that they were socialists. They all start walking fast.

Notes

One more facet to HenryÂ’s character is revealed to us. He can kill if he really sets himself to do it. He cannot tolerate disobedience in people when there is work to do. HenryÂ’s shooting at the soldiers is somewhat hypocritical: he continually complains about the war but does nothing; they do something, leave, and he gets very upset. The little realistic details of the retreat hold a mirror to the utter confusion and chaos at that time.

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