Part 7 (1/2)
”I came the moment I received the summons” The Captain made a move He knew the su and it was now al had takenand arden in full blooain It had taken Crespi ten years of unswerving service and dedication to reach his rank, while this man had opened his purse, invited Mussolini for a week of hunting and carousal to his estates at the foot of the Apennines, and had in return been given the colonelcy of a full battalion The er than a boar, and until sixardeners or a platoon of struht the Captain bitterly, bowing over the hand and grinning ingratiatingly ”Have your photograph taken swatting flies in the Danakil desert, or sniffing caht, and backed away through the wide doors into the relative cool of the ad ”This way, Colonel, if you would be so kind” A General De Bono lowered the binoculars through which with brooding disquiet he had been studying the Ethiopian reet the Colonel
”Caro,” s both hands as he crossed the uncarpeted hand-painted tiles ”My dear Count, it is so good of you to co the Fascist salute at the advancing General, stopping him in confusion
”In the services of , I would count no sacrifice too dear” Aldo Belli was stirred by his oords He ain
”Yes, of course,” De Bono agreed hurriedly ”I'm sure we all feel that way”
”General De Bono, you have only to colass of Madeira and a biscuit first?” suggested the General A little sweetmeat to take away the taste of theanyone down into the Danakil country it was hot here in Asmara, God alone knehat it would be like down there, and the General felt a pang of dismay that he had allowed Crespi to select anyone with such political influence as the Count He would not further insult the good Count by too hurriedly coht have had an opportunity to hear the new production of La Traviata before leaving Roh to be included in the Duce's party for the opening night” The Count relaxed a little, shed as he poured the wine ”Ha! The civilized life, so far a cry froes
It was late afternoon before the General had steeled himself to approach the painful subject of the interview and, save his orders
”The Wells of Chaldi,” repeated the Count, and ie calass, and strodeon the tiles, belly sucked in and noble chin on high
”Death before dishonour,” cried Aldo Belli, the Madeira war his ardour
”I hope not, caro,” uard position on an untenanted water-hole” But the Count see
”I auish my command You can count on ht occurred to him ”You will support my advance with armour and aircraft? ”he asked anxiously
”I don't really think that will be necessary, caro” The General spoke mildly All this talk of death and honour troubled hiive offence ”I don't think you will meet any resistance”
”But if I do?” the Count deitation, so that the General went to stroke his arly
”You have a radio, caro Call on ht about that for a moment and clearly found it acceptable Onceeyes
”Ours is the victory,” he cried, and the General echoed hiorously
”I hope so, caro Indeed I hope so” Suddenly the Count swirled and strode to the door He flung it open and called
”Gino!” The little black-shi+rted sergeant hurried into the roo about his neck
”The General does not ht is better here” The slanting rays of the dying sun poured in to light the two men theatrically as the Count seized De Bono's hand
”Closer together, please Back a trifle, General, you are covering the Count That's excellent Chin up a little, my Count
Ha! Bello!” cried Gino, and recorded faithfully the startled expression above the General's little white goatee
The senior major of the Blackshi+rt ”Africa” Battalion was a hard professional soldier of thirty years” experience, a veteran of Vittorio Veneto and Caporetto, where he had been cofroular army to this rabble of political th and with all the power at his coh, from divisional headquarters itself The divisional General was a friend of Count Aldo Belli, and He also knew the Count intimately and owed favours decided that he needed a real soldier to guide and counsel him Major Castelani was probably one of the most real soldiers in the entire ar was inevitable, he had resigned hi his new co rey bristle, and a hound-dog, heavily lined face burned and eroded by the weathering of a dozen caait of a sailor or a horseh he was neither, and his voice could carry a mile into a le-handed efforts, the battalion was drawn up inorder an hour before dawn Six hundred and ninetyout down the main street of As in their greatcoats against theastride their er-less Rolls-Royce coubriously at the wheel A charged sense of apprehension and uncertainty gripped the entire asse about the battalion for the last twelve hours they had been selected for so the eant had actually witnessed the Colonel Count Aldo Belli weeping with e slogan of the regiht sound fine on a bellyful of chianti, but left a hollow feeling at five in theon top of a breakfast of black bread and weak coffee
The Third Battalion was in a collectively sombrethereatcoats The sun cli blue and the men waited as patiently as oxen in the traces Someone once observed that war is ninety-nine per cent boredoated terror The Third Battalion was learning the ninety-nine per cent
Major Luigi Castelani sent yet another er to the Colonel's quarters a little before noon, and this time received a reply that the Count was now actually out of bed and had almost completed his toilet He would join the battalion shortly The Major sith the practice of an old caer down the colu colu in the lowing and glorious, flanked by two captains and preceded by a trooper carrying the battle standard which the Count had personally designed It was based on the eagles of a Ro silken tassels
The Count floated on a cloud of bonhoood shots of hi the backs of the senior NCOs At the common soldiers he smiled like a father and spurred their spleens with a few apt homilies on duty and sacrifice as he strode down the column
”What a fine body of warriors,” he told the Major ”I ai Castelani winced The Colonel was frequentlyHe had taken lessons with the er man he had seriously considered a career in opera
Now he halted and spread his aring baritone Dutifully, his officers joined in the stirring chorus of ”La Giovinezza', the Fascistthe patient colu to strike a pose as he went for a high note, lifting his right hand with the tip of the second finger lightly touching the thuer at his waist
The song ended and the Colonel cried, ”Enough! It is time to march where are the maps?” and one of his subalterns hurried forith the i Castelani intervened tactfully ”The road is well sign-posted, and I have two native guides-” The Count ignored hi bonnet of the Rolls
”Ah!” He studied the maps learnedly, then looked up at his two captains ”One of you on each side of me,” he instructed ”Major Vita you here! A stern expression, if you please, and do not look at the ca four thousand h for Gino to record it Next, he cli, he pointed i the road to the Danakil desert
Mistakenly, Luigi Castelani took this as a command to advance He let out a series of bull-like bellows and the battalion was galvanized into frantic action Like one man, they scrambled into the covered lorries and took their seats on the long benches, each in fullorder with a hundred rounds of ammunition in his bandolier and a rifle between his knees
However, by the time 690 men were embarked, the Colonel had once more descended from the Rolls It was an unfortunate chance that dictated that the Rolls should be parked directly in front of the casino
The casino was a govern ladies were brought out from Italy on six-month contracts to cater to the carnal needs of tens of thousands of lusty young men in a woman less environn a renewal of the contract and none of them found it necessary
Possessed of a substantial dowry, they returned hoalvanized corrugated iron Hill and its eaves and balconies were decorated with intricate cast-iron work The s of the girls” roo hostesses, who usually rose in theof orders and the clash of weapons They had traipsed out on to the long second-floor veranda, clad in brightly coloured but flihtwear, and now entered into the spirit of the occasion, giggling and blowing kisses to the officers One of them had a bottle of iced Lacrima Cristi, which she knew froe, and she beckoned with the cold de wed bottle
The Colonel realized suddenly that the singing and excitement had made him thirsty and peckish
”A cup for the stirrup, as the English say,” he suggested jocularly, and slapped one of the captains on the shoulder
Most of his staff followed him with alacrity into the casino
A little after five o'clock, one of the junior subalterns ee from the Colonel to the Major
”At dawn tomorroe advance without fail” The battalion ru at ten o'clock The Colonel was feeling liverish and disgruntled The previous night's excite until his throat was hoarse and had drunk great quantities of Lacri hostesses
Gino knelt on the seat of the Rolls beside hi an umbrella over his head, and the driver tried to avoid potholes and irregularities in the road But the Count was pale and his brow sparkled with the sweat of nausea