The next day the Mayor gave us the good news that the boat was ready and that it would be waiting for us in the marshes not far from the beach. As soon as night fell, with a fisherman as our guide, we walked east for several miles to find the spot where the boat awaited us. The fisherman told us that we had better keep about half a mile from shore without ever losing sight of it, and that after about two hours of rowing we should reach the mouth of the Piave on the other side of which are our lines. The fisherman assured us that no motor-boats cruise at night but they usually wait until dawn before they go out, and that the nights in general pass tranquilly.
The night was calm and serene and the sky studded with myriads of stars. The stars of the Great Bear, Aldebaran, Pollux and Cassiope twinkled like blazing torches seen through a thick veil. The milky way spread its abundant light over the deep blue and the horned moon descended tranquilly towards the sea. Our little skiff, covered with twigs to avoid being discovered by indiscreet eyes, rested on a little canal where tall rushes stood. The wind murmured softly through the reeds and the echo of the bamboo-canes brushing against the bank answered. All the air was mild; the scenery seemed saturated with azure and the greenish houses threw their deep shadows on the ground. About us rose the strident croaking of the frogs and a toad modulated its harmonious whistle. The fisherman from Salute pointed out the way we must follow. Five hundred yards divided us from the sea and we should have to carry the boat over a little raised level of ground which separated the marshes from the beach. Several bushes and thorny plants grew on the bank and a sturdy cardoon raised its curved flowers towards the pale sky. Bits of shells crackled and broke under our feet. The waves had washed a jellyfish on shore and its bluish gelatinous form mingled with the green of the sea-weed.
Now we had to begin carrying the boat. Angelin, who was still with us, looked about wonderingly and his eyes seem to stray towards the distant horizon and to lose themselves among the starry depths. We tried to lift the boat but it was very heavy and it fell back into the marsh. After numerous attempts we succeeded in getting it over the causeway and we now pushed it down towards the beach by making it roll along over the oars for otherwise it would have sunk so far into the mud that we should not have been able to raise it. Angelin placed the oars in front of us and Italo and I, combining all our strength, pulled the little flat-bottomed skiff. We stopped often to rest, for the distance to be covered was long. Finally we succeeded in carrying the boat to near the water where the ground was damp and hard. The voices of the sailors singing the songs of Istria afar off on the pontoons reached us. The boat glided over the first waves, balanced itself and then floated. We pushed it towards the deep because we feared to encounter some shallow spot and at last we jumped in. Our weight tilted the boat sideways. Italo took the oars, I sat at the stern and Angelin crouched at my feet.
Midnight had passed and the thirteenth of August was beginning to break. The sea was as calm as oil, the boat glided smoothly cleaving the water with its broad keel and from afar we heard the voices of the white foamy waves chasing one another. The sky was full of falling stars which furrowed the upper darkness and left behind them luminous tracks; iridescent crests fell like flashes of lightning, dimming suddenly the light of the other stars which trembled tranquilly. Overhead it seemed as if there was a wonderful display of fireworks. The curved shore was now lost in the depth of the night. Along the shore occasional searchlights gleamed, outlining huge semicircles over the water, and whenever their light struck us Italo stopped rowing and we all crouched in the bottom of the boat so as not to be seen. Along the bank the first fireworks began to ascend and their trembling sparks fell back slowly and were extinguished in the water. Afar off towards the west many searchlights scrutinized the sky and their yellow rays intersected on the starry vault.
We rowed for several hours. Angelin, rocked by the gentle motion of the boat, rested his head on my knees and was sleeping peacefully. We could not see the beach any longer and to get our bearings we followed the line of the fireworks and the milky way which goes from east to west. Suddenly we heard a strange noise near the boat. This was followed by splashes, gliding rustles; at times it seemed as if something were following us. We were frightened; for a moment we believed we were near a submarine; we anxiously expected to see a periscope rise up near us, but finally the glidings approached us and we noticed several foamy dolphins splashing gaily about us. Surely they were Italian dolphins which had come to welcome us, though at first we did not understand, we did not appreciate them.
Dawn rose slowly in the east, the stars faded above the silvery water and a grayish gleam tinged with pink spread over the sky. We did not know whether we had passed the line of the Piave. The fireworks continued to shoot up regularly in the early morning light. We now had to turn our prow towards the shore, even if it be an enemy shore, because anything would be preferable to being seized by the motor-boats which would soon begin cruising. If we landed in enemy territory we should have to try and hide our boat and attempt the feat another night. Italo rowed with powerful strokes and the boat glided swiftly over the calm waves. Again we saw land and it looked like a thin narrow line of violet; its outline became clearer, more definite as we approached. The light was still dim and we were almost on shore. A wagon to which two oxen were hitched passed slowly along the beach and the curved horns of the meek animals were outlined against the grayish sky.
“Halt! Who goes there, who are you?”
“We are Italians, we are Italians.”
On the shore there appeared the figure of a sailor dressed in white.
“If you are Italians, come on down, come quickly.”