Bell for Adano, A - John Hersey [49]
Polack said: “You said me a mouthful, Chuck. We surer’n hell ought to.”
Chuck said: “What could we do, Polack? Somethin’ good. He deserves it, by damn, somethin’ good.”
Polack said: “What the hell could we do, Chuck? You’re a goddam Corporal, and Bill and me, we’re just goddam P.F.C.’s. What the hell could we do?”
Chuck said: “Let’s think.”
Polack said: “Okay, pal.... You thinkin’?”
Chuck said: “Yeah, but I ain’t got a damn thing.”
Bill said: “Uno due tre. We ought to give the guy a goin’-away present if he’s all that good.”
Chuck said: “First sensible thing you said all night, Bill. We’ll give him a goddam present.”
Polack said: “What What’ll we give him, Chuck?”
Chuck said: “Jeez, that’s a hell of a tough one. For a goin’-away present, hell, it’s got to be good, if it’s for him.”
Polack said: “It was Bill’s idea. What’ll we give him, Bill?”
Bill said grandly: “Uno due tre quattro cinque.”
Chuck said: “He’s no goddam good, him and his numbers. We got to think of something, Polack, we got to.” Polack said: “Let’s go back and get those bottles. Maybe they’d help us think of something.”
Chuck said: “That’s right, let’s go back to old Four Eyes’ house. Maybe we’ll think of something there. Take a drink, think of something.”
The billet where Chuck and Bill and Polack lived was in the grand town house of a man named Quattrocchi. This man was a merchant whose family had lived in Adano for generations, and for generations had been wealthy. Their house, except possibly for old Cacopardo’s, was the nicest in town. It had been picked as a billet on the first day of the invasion. In the beginning a field hospital had moved in, and afterwards the engineers and M.P.’s had taken over. Signor Quattrocchi had left all of his furniture in the house, merely covered over with canvas slip covers; he had left some of his glassware, in glass-fronted cabinets the doors of which were locked; he had left many of his books on the shelves; he had left the larger of his paintings still hanging. He had not had much time to arrange his affairs, but Major Joppolo had tried to assure him that his house would be well taken care of.
The three drunken boys entered the house and noisily made their way upstairs to the room where they slept. Each took a bottle out from his bedroll and they sat for a time drinking and thinking.
Chuck said: “Take a drink, have a think.”
Polack said: “Get a stink, take a drink.”
Chuck said: “Jeez, that’s hard, to think of somethin’ good enough for that goddam Major.”
Polack said: “I can think of a lot of things, but not a goddam one of ‘em is good enough. The trouble with that goddam Major is he’s too damn good. Now you give me a lousy Major, and I’d have you a present in no time.”
Chuck said: “It’s a hell of a war when you can’t even think of a goin’-away present for a good guy. “
Polack said: “Say! I just thought of somethin’ terrible. Are you sure this Major’s goin’ away?”
Chuck said: “Didn’t I see that slip of paper?”
Polack said: “Tha’s right. Shall we give him a bottle of of lady Fatta’s wine?”
Chuck said: “Hell, Polack, you know that’s not good enough. You know damn well this wine gives you the G.I. trots every time you drink it. You wouldn’t want to send the Major out of this town having to go to the latrine every ten minutes, would you?”
Polack said: “Tha’s right. Shall we give him some paregoric an’ bismuth? If he’s got the trots, that’s the bes’ goddam thing there is.”
Chuck said: “Polack, I think you’re drunk. You know he ain’t got the trots till we give him this vino. What the hell’s the matter with you?”
Bill said: “One, two, three, four, five. Why don’t you borrow something from old Four Eyes here to give the Major? You’d find a real nice goin’-away present right here in this house if you just got up off your fat behinds and looked for it.”
Chuck said: “Bill, why don’t you have more ideas? You got the best goddam ideas when you have em. Polack said: “Yeah, good idea, let’s borrow something.”
Chuck said: “Bill, you don