Bell for Adano, A - John Hersey [27]
“What’s this Major to you?” Schultz said. “If he can’t have any fun, what’s he to you?”
Sergeant Trapani said: “Oh, nothing, I just hate to see a guy get in trouble when he’s trying to do right.”
Schultz said: “Well, then, why don’t you let the order get lost in Captain Purvis’s papers? Don’t bother me, God, I feel awful.”
Sergeant Trapani looked hard at Corporal Schultz. Then he stood up and went over to Captain Purvis’s desk and put the purple slip in the middle of a disorderly pile of papers which Captain Purvis touched only in adding to it.
“Good idea,” Trapani said.
“You’re Eyetalian,” Schultz said, “what do these Eyetalians put in their booze, for godsake?”
Chapter 8
EARLY the next week, Giuseppe the interpreter came to Major Joppolo in some embarrassment.
“I’m a sorry, boss,” he said.
“About what?” the Major said.
“Boss, you say you want a go out with a blonde a Tina. I’m a sorry, boss.”
“I never said any such thing, Giuseppe. What’s got into you?”
“Boss, you tell a me other day you want a see Tina’s old a man.”
“Yes, I do want to see him.” “I’m a sorry, boss.”
“Well, what’s that go to do with going out with the blonde?”
Giuseppe winked. When Giuseppe winked, his scar wrinkled up and his whole face looked weaker than ever. “Don’t a kid Giuseppe, boss.”
“Don’t kid your boss, Giuseppe,” Major Joppolo said sharply. “Now tell me, what’s this all about?”
Giuseppe said: “You want a see Tina’s old a man. Okay. Don’t you want a go out with a blonde a Tina?”
“Giuseppe,” the Major said, “I want to see Tina’s father because you said he was the most respected of all the fishermen. I want to start the fishermen going out again, so that Adano will have something besides pasta and tomatoes and eggplant to eat. That’s all there is to it.”
“Boss, you’re a kid Giuseppe.”
“Giuseppe, do you want me to get another interpreter?”
“Okay, a boss, you’re not a kid Giuseppe.”
“I do want to see the old man. Will you fix that for me.
“That’s what I’m a sorry, boss.” “What do you mean?”
“Tina’s old a man Tomasino no want a see you, a boss.”
“Why not? Did you say something about my wanting to go out with his daughter?”
“Oh no, a boss. Old a man Tomasino say he never been in a Palazzo di Citta in a life. He hate a Fascist a crooks. He don’t know you’re a different. He won’t a come a here.”
“That’s easy, Giuseppe. We’ll go see him.” The Malooked at a pad of appointments he had begun to keep on his desk. “Be ready to go at three this afternoon, Giuseppe. “
And so it happened that another precedent was broken in Adano. Never in the memory of anyone in the town had an official gone calling on a citizen on business. Either the citizen had come willingly to the Palazzo, or else the citizen had been arrested, and had come against his will.
Between the time of this conversation and three o’clock, Giuseppe told several people about this amazing flexibility on the part of the Major. And therefore when it came time for them to go down to the port look ing for old Tomasino, quite a large crowd had gathered in front of the Palazzo, and the crowd followed the Major and Giuseppe as they walked.
“Where do these people think they’re going?” the Major asked Giuseppe.
“Just a bunch a busybody,” Giuseppe said.
The Major turned around. “Go home, you people,” he said in Italian. “Don’t you have anything better to do at three in the afternoon?”
But the people kept right on following Giuseppe and the Major.
At the corner of the Via Dogana and the Via Barrino, the Major turned again. “If you people have nothing better to do in the middle of the afternoon than this, I have something better for you to do. I am looking for laborers at very low wages. I will put you all to work.”
But the people kept right on following. In fact the crowd grew as the Major and Giuseppe moved forward. Whenever a head popped out of a window or a person stepped curiously out of a door, the crowd shouted invitations.
“Come along,” they shouted. “The Mister Major’s going to hold office hours down at the port.