I hastened back to my lodgings to put together a few things in my rucksack, as one could not tell how long we might be away or what might happen.
The news was spreading like wildfire through the town. On the place Vittorio Emanuele, a crowd was beginning to gather; on all sides one heard the name of Gorizia.
In the main street the inhabitants were already preparing to put up flags. It was like the sun coming out after a storm; an air of relief after the tension of so many long months was discernible on every face.
Owing to some trouble with the car and my companions being delayed by telegrams they had to send, it was getting towards evening by the time we got away, but we found the road was pretty free to start with; so we made up for lost time by dashing along at top speed.
My car mates were Rino Allessi, of the Secolo, of Milan, and Giovanni Miceli, of the Prensa, of Buenos Ayres also an Italian correspondent, but for the nonce representing this South American paper.
Both of them spoke French and were jolly good fellows, though for the matter of that, all the Italian correspondents up at Udine were charming, and one could not have come across a more genial and good-natured group of men anywhere.
Our plan was, of course, to get as near the fighting as possible, and with this idea we were making for Mossa, which is about a mile and a half from the Gorizia bridgehead, and where we had been informed we should find the Headquarters of General Marazzi, the Divisional Commander, from whom we hoped to get permission to go on further.
When we had passed Cormons the thunder of the guns, which we had heard all the way, appeared to increase in intensity till it resembled a continuous roll of thunder, and always getting nearer.
The road now began to be congested, clouds of dust told us we had caught up with the rearguard of the advancing army, and our speed had to be slackened considerably. In places, in fact, we were hung up altogether, but it was no use worrying about it; our pace was being regulated, we found, by a monster gun just ahead, drawn by a traction engine.
There seemed to be miles and miles of troops, infantry, cavalry, and artillery.