History (20 page)

9 4 H I S T O R Y
. .
. . . .
1 9 4 1

him, like a banner against the wind. At times, while he was on sentry duty

outside Nino's school, suddenly, as if at a message brought him by a cloud, he would begin to sniff the sky with a mournful whimper, recalling the incarcerated Giuseppe. For a few minutes, a dissension would rend him, drawing him in two opposite directions at the same time; but fi having overcome his hesitation, he would dash towards the San Lorenzo house, his long nose cleaving the wind like a prow. But at his desti unfortunately, he found the door barred; and all his cries, mortifi by the muzzle, passionately calling Giuseppe, were in vain; for Giuseppe, though hearing him and suffering in his solitary room, longing to let him in, was unable to do so. Then, resigning himself to his destiny of waiting outside doors, Blitz would stretch out there on the ground, where, at times, in his boundless patience, he would doze off And perhaps he had a dream of love, which brought him a reminiscence of Nino: it's a fact that, a moment later, he would stir from his sleep and hop down the steps with desperate whimpers, to retrace his way to the school.

Nino wasn't jealous of that double love, not considering it a betrayal, but rather a fl ttery, beca the value he himself attached almost equally to Giuseppe and to Blitz was asserted also by the two of them wi genu ine enthusiasm. Indeed, if he had to go to the movies, for example, or a Fascist rally or any place where the dog might be in his way, he himself would generously urge Blitz on such days to stay at home and keep Giu seppe company. Those were unforgettable strokes of luck for Giuseppe; and perhaps it was in those primitive duets with Blitz that he learned the language of dogs. A knowledge that, with his understanding of other ani mals' languages, was to remain a valid attainment of his for as long as he lived.

However, apart from these lucky occasions, Giuseppe never had any company. After the early days, when the novelty had worn off Nino's visits with his friends and accomplices grew infrequent, until they stopped alto gether. And no other people ever came to the house. Ida had no relatives or friends; she had never received visits. S till less did she receive any now, when she had to hide the scandal.

The people she encountered in the neighborhood were all aliens for her; and among them, as among her other acquaintances in Rome, nobody yet seemed to have discovered her secret. Unknown to her, really, through Nino's exuberance, within the very building at least a couple of boys knew of it; but they, faithful to their promise to him, had kept quiet about it even at home (all the more gladly because this guarding of such a mystery, not shared with adults, was a double pleasure ).

It is certain, however, that in the whole circle of Nino's friends, the news of the secret, as was inevitable, later began to spread all too wi

9 5

but, for the present, it didn't go beyond that circle or band. It must be

added that, in reality, as the war continued, people had other things to think about and had become less curious. And besides, in Rome, and in the San Lorenzo district, the birth of a poor little bastard ( though the child of a schoolteacher) would never have been, even in those ancient times, such a sensational piece of news that it should be put up on posters or proclaimed with the roll of drums!

In conclusion, Giuseppe continued to grow (after a manner of speak ing) just like a bandit whose refuge was known only to various kids of every sort and of diff neighborhoods, in a network of complicity whose strands extended through Rome's length and breadth. Perhaps also among the dogs of Rome the secret began to spread, since Blitz, during his waits for Nino, also conversed with passing dogs and strays; and once, in one of those nostalgic dashes of his to the San Lorenzo house, he arrived there in the company of another dog, bastard like himself, but much thinner and more ascetic looking, resembling Mahatma Gandhi. Still, as usual, nobody could open the door that time either, and the two went off together, but then took different directions, losing sight of each other, after that single meeting, forever.

9 6 H I S T O R Y
. . . . .
.
1 9 4 1

. . . . . .

1942