CHAPTER XVI
As may be imagined, I had no inclination to lie in bed the next morning; in fact, it seemed to me a waste of time going to bed at all in view of what was likely to happen in the early hours. Still there was no help for it since one could not stay at the fighting Front all night, so the only remedy was to be up and out as soon as possible.
I was, therefore, down at the Censorship betimes on the chance of finding an officer or a confrère who was going in the direction of the operations, and who would let me have a seat in his car.
My lucky star happened to be in the ascendant, for shortly after my good friend, Colonel Clericetti, turned up, beaming with good humour, and on seeing me exclaimed:
“You are the very man I am looking for; Barzini is leaving in a car I am letting him have, as his own has broken down, and if you like I will put you with him. I thought you would want to get some sketches as the troops will be entering Gorizia this morning.”
Of course I had been somewhat prepared for this news from what I had learned overnight, but I certainly had never expected it would come so soon, although I had long had the conviction that when Gorizia was captured it would be in dramatic fashion.
I was therefore delighted to have a chance of being on the spot when it happened, and was now on tenterhooks to get off at once; every minute of delay meant perhaps missing seeing something important, for on such an occasion every detail would doubtless be of absorbing interest.
It was indeed a slice of good fortune to be going with Barzini, as he is certainly the best known and most popular of Italian war correspondents, and where he can’t manage to go isn’t worth going to. His genial personality is an open sesame in itself, as I soon found. Curiously enough, as it turned out, we were the only correspondents to leave Udine that morning. Whether it was that the others did not realise the importance of what was likely to happen or did not learn it in time, I could not understand; but it was certainly somewhat strange.
Our car was driven by a very well-known journalist of the staff of the Corriere della Sera, named Bitetti, who is doing his military service as a chauffeur and is a very expert one at that, and with him was a friend, also a soldier chauffeur, so we were well guarded against minor accidents to the car en route.
Well, Barzini and I got off without undue delay, and I soon discovered that with him there would be no “holding up” the car on the way. We made straight for Mossa, which is close to the Gorizia bridgehead. There we got some great news.