A Bell for Adano (31 page)

Then one of the children shouted: “Think of our friends who are not here tonight, they would hate to miss this.”

Another said: “We are selfish not to call them.”

One said: “Antonino the son of Ugo is not here. I’ll get him,” and the child ran off.

Another said: “Wait for me. I’m going to get Romano.” Another said: “Where is the red-head Occhipinti? Wait while I get him.”

Little Erba, who was just as stupid as his father, said: “Someone is not here who ought to be. Who is it? Who is it?”

As the children ran off for their friends, Gargano said: “Hurry! Hurry! We haven’t much time. There is a party for grownups as well as for children tonight. Gargano hasn’t much time for the caramels. Hurry!”

Little Erba said: “Who is the one I am thinking of? Who is the one who wears a blue suit?”

The ones who had run off began to trickle back with their friends. All the children in the truck still squealed: “Caramelle! Cararnelle!”

But little Erba kept muttering about the one who was left behind. just as the last of the ones who had run off came back, he shouted: “Cac, Cac, it is something, it is Cacopardol” He hurried down the ladder and said: “Wait for me! The Cacopardo who wears blue! He holds my hand! I must get him. Wait!” And little Erba ran off.

Gargano got impatient. It was already seven twenty, and the party was scheduled to begin at seven thirty, and already couples were walking down the street toward Quattrocchi’s house.

Little Erba ran two blocks and then realized that he had no idea where Cacopardo lived. He shouted the name, but no one answered. He looked for someone to ask, but there was no one in sight. So he started home to ask his father.

Gargano could wait no longer. He ordered the truck to go.

Now the children were shouting in unison. “Caramelle! Caramell!”

The truck diove off toward the police station, where there was not a single piece of candy.

The committee of hosts stood waiting in the entrance hall of Quattrocchi’s house. Old Bellanca was there, ex officio, and Cacopardo, the only resident of Adano who owned a swallow-tail coat and the only one who would wear one if he had it, and the fat Craxi, who appeared to have exceeded his limit of three bottles of wine for dinner, and Signora Carmelina Spinnato, representing as well as she could the fair sex, and the white-haired Lojacono, who was included because he had done such a good picture. The ones of the committee who were absent were Tomasino, out of respect for the dead fishermen, and Gargano, who was otherwise engaged.

It was ten minutes after starting time, and the guest of honor had not arrived. Giuseppe, who had arranged the whole thing, hovered in the background, saying over and over: “The Mister Major will be here any minute now.”

The Mister Major was at that minute calling for Tina, and Tina, in the way of all women, either was not ready or was not willing to admit that she was ready.

Finally, at a quarter to eight, Tina came out of her room. She was dressed in a flimsy white blouse and a huge red taffeta skirt.

Major Joppolo’s slight annoyance at being kept waiting dissolved at once. “This was worth waiting all night for,” he said.

Tina curtsied gravely. She gathered some of her skirt on her left arm and reached with her right hand for Major Joppolo’s arm. He offered it to her and the couple left, shouting good-byes to Tomasino and Rosa, who was beady with perspiration from helping her daughters get ready.

On their way down the Via Umberto the First the couple heard two small children crying. In the darkening evening they could just make out two little figures huddled on the curb on the other side of the street. They crossed.

They found the ragged little son of Erba and the welldressed grandson of Cacopardo sitting with their arms around each other crying hard.

Major Joppolo crouched down and patted the boys’ backs and asked what the matter was.

Between sobs, little Erba managed to say: “We were too late - for the feast - of the caramels.”

Little Cacopardo said: “Too late.” “For the what?”

Little Erba said: “For the picnic of caramels. We - we - are the only ones - who were left behind.”

Little Cacopardo said: “All the other children.” Major Joppolo remembered what he had told Gargano to do, and he said: “Well, never mind, we’ll take you instead to a grownup party. Come with us.”

So the Major and Tina walked on toward Quattrocchi’s house, each holding a little child by the hand. When they entered the house, the fat Craxi, who had a little too much wine in his belly, rushed forward in amazement. “Son of Mary!” he exclaimed. “He has a family! Two fine little boys” - he patted the youngsters on the head - “and a beautiful -”

He gulped when he saw that the “wife” was Tina. “Mister Major,” he said, “why did you not tell us?” But by this time the rest of the committee had come forward, and the confusion of their greetings overwhelmed Craxi’s confusion. Old Cacopardo took both his well-dressed little grandson and the ragged little Erba by their hands, and kept them with him all evening.

The party started out to be a success from everyone s point of view. The people of the town were immensely happy: they had not had such a time for years. Giuseppe, the organizer, basked in constant congratulations. There was enough champagne to suit Captain Purvis and too much to ermit him to molest any pretty girls. Craxi perpetuate his happy glow. The lazy Fatta had three drinks and then went into an empty room and fell asleep. Afronti Pietro, the loud-voiced cartman, was encouraged to shout a song for the entertainment of the guests. The maidenly Laura Sofia got Captain Purvis aside after he was fairly far along and smothered him with kisses. Nicolo and his sweetheart danced together. Sergeant Borth, who seemed to be in a terrible mood at the beginning of the party, did not move from the wine bowl, and gradually he mellowed and attached himself to the glowing Craxi.

And Major Joppolo and Tina managed quite early in the evening to slip out onto a balcony.

Tina said: “Are you happy?”

Major Joppolo said: “You asked me that the last time we were on a balcony together.”

Tina said: “I was just making conversation then.” “What are you doing now?”

“I’m asking you: are you happy?” The light place in the night that was Tina’s face turned up toward the Major’s.

“Of all the happy days I’ve had in Adano,” the Major said, “this has been - and still is - the nicest.”

“Then tell me what you promised the other day you would tell me.”

“Tell me first: have you decided what you felt about Giorgio?”

Tina said: “No.” Major Joppolo thought he detected a coquettish note in the way she said it, but then she added: “I’ll never know now.”

He said: “Why not?”

She drew away a little and said in. a very small voice: “Because I know how I feel about you.”

He went to her and without touching her said: “That was all I wanted to tell you, Tina. I know how I feel, too. I am very fond of you. I am only really happy when I am near you.”

He wanted to kiss her, but she said: “What’s that?”

He said: “What’s what?”

She said: “That noise, can’t you hear it?”

There was a murmur on the air. It had been there for some time, but the murmur of the party inside had swallowed it. Now the murmur outside seemed to be growing.

“What do you suppose it is?” he said.

“I’ve never heard anything like it,” she said.

He pointed off to the left and said: “It’s over there. What’s over in that direction?”

“Well,” she said, “there’s the Church of the Orphanage, and the house of Cacopardo, and Zapulla’s bakery, and the police station -”

“The police station!” Major Joppolo took Tina’s hand, and said: “Come with me.”

They walked to the police station, and all the way the murmur seemed to grow on the night air. By the time they got close, it had clarified into the wailing and shrieking of many children.

When the Major and Tina went in, they saw all the children weeping and shouting angrily at Gargano. He stood on the stairs to the second floor. His face was covered with sweat. He was trying, with gestures and at the top of his voice, to explain to them why there were no caramels in the police station. But the terrible guilt of his lies would not be forgiven by the children.

Major Joppolo pushed his way through the crowd of children and went up three or four stairs. When the children saw the Mister Major, they started stamping and shouting in unison: “Caramelle! Caramelle!”

The Major held his hand up. Gradually the noise subsided. He waited until there was silence, all except for the catching of breath that children do when they have been crying.

And now the Major made the last public speech he would ever make in Adano. He didn’t know that it would be his last, but he made it simple and right, and if he had planned a farewell speech, he couldn’t have done better.

“Children of Adano,” he said, “I am sorry to have to tell you that there are no caramels here.” There was a brief wail of protest.

“I’m afraid that you have been misled. But I’m sure that Gargano didn’t mean any harm when he told you that there would be caramels here. He told you that so as to be sure that you would come, because he had something very important to tell you.

“Gargano, may I tell them?” Gargano nodded. “Children, you know the little Calvi boy who was hit by the truck last night? Do you know why he was hit? Pasquale son of Gigante do you know why he was hit?” Pasquale son of Gigante was one of the larger boys who had teamed up to outwit the others. He shook his head.

“Massimo son of Zupi, do you know why?”

This boy, another of the team, also shook his head. “I know,” a small voice said, and a small hand went u.

“Why, Marco?”

Marco son of Manifattura, one of the smaller ones who had been cheated, said: “Because he was selfish.” “Marco is right. Marco says that the Calvi boy was killed because he was selfish. Marco, you are exactly right. That is what Gargano wanted to tell you, isn’t it, Gargano?”

That was not just what Gargano had in mind, but he nodded absently.

“The Calvi boy would never have been killed if he and Pasquale and Massimo and the other big ones had not been selfish. If they had not tried to get everything for themselves, no one would have been hurt, and all would have had some candies.

“Now we don’t want any more children killed in this town. You don’t want any more of your friends to be killed, I’m sure. So from now on this is how we will handle the candies. I am going to appoint a committee, and the committee will take down the names of all the children who want caramels, and they will appoint two children to collect the candies carefully each evening as the trucks go through town. The American soldiers will go on throwing candies, of that I’m certain. The two collectors will put the candy in a box, and the committee will give out the candies in order, according to the names on the list. That means that everyone will have some, and no one will be hurt.

“For the committee I want Marco and Pasquale -” A voice shouted: “Pasquale will be selfish, he will put some of the candies in his pocket instead of in the box.” The Major said: “I don’t think he will. Pasquale and Massimo and Eliodoro and Elisabetta.”

And then the Major added: “I want you to be happy together. I want all of you to have as much as you can of what you want, without hurting anyone else. That is what I want in Adano.”

The Major left and Gargano took the children home. On the way back to the party, Tina said: “Now I know why I love you.

Major Joppolo said: “Why?”

“Because of what you want for Adano. That’s why everyone here loves you. There is no one here who will say a bad word about you, and that’s a rare thing in Adano. “

The Major said: “And I know why I like you.” “Why?”

“For a very selfish reason: because you make me feel as if I were almost important.”

“Oh, you are,” Tina said, with just enough mockery in her voice.

When the Major and Tina got back to the party. Giuseppe met them, wringing his hands and making desperate faces. “Mister Major, where have you been? I have been looking for you on all the balconies and in all the bedrooms.

“That was hardly necessary, Giuseppe,” the Major said. “What did you want?”

“Fat Craxi and your Sergeant, they are misbehaving. I can’t do anything with them.”

The Major said to Tina: “Wait here,” and he went off with Giuseppe to find Craxi and Borth.

They were in the library. If there had been other guests in the room, they had left. Craxi and Borth were alone, and quite drunk.

When the fat Craxi saw the Major, he said to Borth: “Shall we relieve nature on the leg of the Mister Major?” Borth said: “Have you any left?”

Craxi said boastfully, beating himself on the chest: “If I wanted, I could relieve myself for two hours, and then I would still be able to pass wind for fifteen minutes. Shall we do it on the leg of the Mister Major?”

Borth said: “No, only on the enemies of Adano. He is a friend.” Suddenly Borth began to cry.

Major Joppolo said sharply: “Borth, behave yourself.” When the Major spoke so angrily, fat Craxi tiptoed out of the room, and Giuseppe followed him to keep an eye on him.

The Major and Borth were alone. The Major spoke -again: “Behave yourself or go home.”

Borth was drunk because of the Major. He had never been drunk in uniform before. But when the Major spoke so angrily, that streak of contrariness in Borth which made him tease people so much, which made him always laugh at serious people and deflate pompous ones, came out in him. He said thickly: “You can’t boss me around.”

“Sergeant Borth,” the Major said, with obvious emphasis on the word Sergeant.

“Don’t Sergeant me,” Borth said; “you have no ‘thority to boss me.”

I have just as much authority as I ever had, and if you don’t behave -”

“Oh no you haven’t,” Borth said. “You can’t boss anybody, not in Adano ..”

“Borth, you’re drunk. Now behave.”

“Joppolo, you’re fired. You been relieved. You’re nobody round here.” And Borth began to cry again. “Borth, I don’t know what you’re talking about, but