Evening star., 1937-05-23

BY ERNEST HEMINGWAY.
NEW YORK. May % (N.A.NA).-
We had a lot of different chauffeurs
in Madrid The first one was named
Tomas, was feet II inches high
and looked like particularly unat-
tractive, very mature dwarf out Of
Velasquez put into a suit OF blue
dungarees. He had several front
teeth missing and seethed with pa
triotic sentiments. He also loved
Scotch whisky.
We drove up from Valencia with
Tomas. and as we sighted Madrid
rising like a great white fortress
across the plain from Alcala de Hen
ares, Tomas said, through missing
teeth, Long live, Madrid the capital
of my SOUL"
And of my heart" said, having
had a couple myself. 1t had been a
long. cold ride.
"Hurray!" shouted Tomas and
abandoned the wheel temporarily in
order to clap me on the back. We
Just missed lorry full of troops and
staff car.
Il am man of sentiment said
Tomas.
Me. too I said, but hang on to
that wheel"
of the noblest sentiment" said
Tomas.
mo doubt of it. comrade" I said,
but Just try to watch where you are
driving
You can place all confidence in
me-" said Tomas.
Mud Geyser Barrage.
But the next day we were stalled
on muddy road up near Brihuega
by tank, which had lurched around
a little too far on hairpin bend,
and held up six other tanks behind it.
Three rebel planes sighted the tanks
and decided to bomb them. The
bombs hit the wet hillside above us,
lifting mud geysers in sudden, clus-
tered, humping shocks. Nothing hit
us, and the planes went on over their
own lines. In the field glasses,
standing by the car, could see the
little fats that protected the bomb
ers, very shining looking, hanging up
in the sun. We thought some more
bombers we're coming and everybody
got away from there as as fast as
possible. But no more came.
Next morning Tomas couldn't get
the car to start And every day,
when anything of that sort happened,
from then on, no matter how well
the car had run coming home at
night. Thomas never could start her in
the morning. The way he felt about
the front became sort of pitiful final
ly, along with his size, his partiot-
ism and his general inefficiency. and
we sent him back to Valencia with
a note to the press department thank
ing them for Tomas, a man of the
noblest sentiments and the finest in
tentions but could they send US
something just a little braver.
So they sent one with a note certi-
flying him as the bravest chauffeur in
the whole department. I don't know
what his name was, because I never
saw him. Sid Franklin the Brook
lyn bull fighter, who bought us all
our food, cooked breakfasts, typed
articles, wangled petrol, Wangled cars,
wrangled chauffeurs, and covered
Madrid and all its gossip like hu-
man dictaphone, evidently instructed
this chauffeur very strongly. Sid
put 40 liters of petrol in the car
and petrol was the correspondents
main problem, being harder to OBJ
tain than Chanel's and MolvneauX's
perfumes or Bols gin; took the chauf-
feur's name and address and told him
to hold himself ready to roll when
ever he was called We were expect
ing an attack
Until We called him he was free to
do whatever he wanted. But he must
leave word at all times where we
could reach him. We did not want
to use up the precious petrol riding
around Madrid in the car. We all
felt good now because we had trans
port.
Brave, But Not Free.
The chauffeur was to check in at
the hotel the next night at 7:30 to
see if there were any new orders.
He didn't come, and We called up
his rooming house. He had left
that same morning for Valencia with
the car and the 40 liters of petrol.
He is in Jail in Valencia now. I
hope he likes it.
Then we got David. David was