The Keota news., 1916-12-22

gives him q certain air OF being .
slave of duty" which he cultivateA.
So Lieutenant Puviani walks along
with nrm and measured step toward
the mess. Behold him In Via L.. be-
hold him In Via A. two steps from his
goal. The street II quiet al though
lulled to sleep in the heat OF summer
afternoon.
Suddenly, at the end Of the street. Q
hundred yards in front Of him. he hears
a sinister whistllng. IN explosion. ter
rifc noise. Pieces of wall. beams
broken glass rain upon the street. while
q great cloud. first reddish. then WHIT
ish, rises into the sky.
Lieutenant Puviani looks at the
stricken house and utters . cry. In
one Jump he reaches the mess, where
all the officers Of the battalion are
lunching and talking about the shell.
(which must have fallen very near.
and with q sentence causes them to
start to their feet.
Lieutenant Zanghieri's house has
fallen in!"
The officers leave the mess and run
UDWdIu Tue 0pVI WuCA 9 AASc RSs 1872
body of their brother omcer.
Chapter liI-What Really Occurred.
after his marriage he acquired the
habit Of daily work"
At the word marriage" . dull, lar
away boom. half obliterated BY dis
lance. One hears Thousands like 1t
every day; today none have been
heard and this IL the only reason why
the ear distinguishes this. At the word
habit" the whistle of q shell The
customary noise. The whistle OF shell
begins shriller and again sinks AZ the
shell passes over. When 1t explodes
near you It seems to stop at Its shrill-
est point. as II to collect it, forces In
a great howl Of rage. which Is the ex-
plosion. But the shell Of which l speak
differs from all the others. The low
tone, the shrill tone. ever nearer. ever
nearer, nearer. near-here 1t isl Ny
pen stops at the word daily" In ex-
pectation Of the horrible thing. The
house receives q shock that makes 1t
tremble to its foundation. there comes
an immense roar as Of a hundred can
non firing together. The plaster falls
from the ceiling everywhere in the
room, which fills with a white powder.
while 4 hail Of fragments strikes the
shutters. Something caves In with q
great rumble. Everything rattles,
trembles, jolts and seems to fall down.
ward into chaos, into an Inferno Of
broken things. Then silence.
The word "work" il traced hastily.
almost illegibly. by the nervous hand.
I write across the sheet: Ill As. shell
on my house." Then 60 to the win.
dow and throw 1t open. Two military
policemen and four or five soldiers are
looking up, showing round eyes, and
pale. almost idiotc. faces.
AT the left see my dear colleagues
coming toward me. One Of them ar.
rives on q bicycle, the others on foot.
They too, are pale, and look at me
silently, as though were a ghost.
An entire corner Of the house has
fallen In, but 1t IN an uninhabited cor
ner.
"What are you doing up there7"
shouts Lieutenant Fusco, the adjutant
major Of the battalion. 1.-THE upper
floor Is on nre."
Really it is a false alarm; It is only
the dust of fallen ceiling. This does
not keep me from hurrying down to
my colleagues, happy in the escape
from danger, and even more 80 from
having read on their faces affectionate
solidarity for their friend. This salts
faction Is worth at least a Pinch