Military life in Italy : sketches - Societa italiana di storia militare

1 62 MILITARY LIFE.
out. It was very late, and not a living soul was to be seen on
the square.
His house was on the opposite side from the cafe*.
Thither he slowly sauntered in an almost melancholy frame of
"
mind. She will be there," he thought, sighing, and he
strained his eyes, turned his head from right to left to see if
there was any one before the door ;
but all in vain, the darkness
was inpenetrable.
On, on he went, more and more slowly,
stopping, meandering, spying about him. . . . " If I knew
that a cutthroat, knife in hand, was awaiting me, I could go on
more quickly and boldly," he said to himself, then took ten or
twelve resolute steps. "Ah ! there she is." He had discovered
her. She was seated on the steps outside the door ;
but it was too
dark to see her face.
" What are you doing here " ? he asked,
approaching her. She did not reply immediately, arose, came
close to him, and, placing her two hands on his shoulders, said,
with a sweet voice, in a tone as if talking most sensibly : " I
was waiting for you
. . . and I went to sleep."
" But why
did you wait " ? asked the officer, removing from his shoulders
"
her hands, which instantly seized his arms. Because I wish
to remain with you," she " "
replied. What a tone ! he thought ;
"one would really suppose she was talking like a sane person."
Then, taking a match from his pocket, he lighted it, and approached
Carmela in order to look into her eyes. The weariness
for she had been wandering around all
day and, more
than all, the short sleep from which she had just waked having
taken from her face a little of that immoderate and convulsive
vivacity which was habitual to it,
and in its stead diffused
a shade of melancholy and languor over it, so that at that
moment her face was enchanting, and she seemed any thing
but a mad-woman.