A Bell for Adano by John Hersey Page B

distance as if there still might be some dynamite in him, a large crowd walked, shouting and whistling its derision. The derision was ten times louder than it would otherwise have been because this was the first time the people of Adano had ever been able to express their feelings toward this man. Even behind their own closed doors they had held their tongues about Mayor Nasta in the past, because he seemed to have ears in every house, and his eyes peeked in every window, and his punishments were sadistic.
    But now they shouted what they thought.
    “Fascist Pig,” they shouted. This was what they shouted most.
    But they also shouted: “The murderer always goes back to the scene of his crime!”
    They also shouted: “Where is Mayor Nasta’s whip now?”
    Curiously the two prostitutes shouted, and there was a kind of pride in the way they shouted it: “Son of a whore!”
    There was a priest in the crowd, and he shouted: “Blasphemer!”
    There were some children in the crowd, and they ran along shouting: “Pig! Pig! Pig!”
    The anger of the mob bordered on violence. When the unhappy Mayor got opposite the Albergo dei Pescatori one of the prostitutes raised her arm and threw a plum at him. It missed him and splashed in the street.
    A boy of twelve threw a stone. Then several brickbats flew, and the shouts of long repressed hatred became shrieks of revenge.
    Captain Purvis looked at Major Joppolo and Major Joppolo said: “We’ve got to put a stop to this.” Captain Purvis was not a subtle American, but he was a brave one. He ran out in the street between Mayor Nasta and the crowd. He held up his hand and shouted: “Stop! Stop, you ignorant bastards.”
    The crowd kept coming. A stone flew past Captain Purvis toward Mayor Nasta.
    Captain Purvis pulled his pistol out of his pocket. That was enough. The ones in front held back the others, and the mob halted in the street. Captain Purvis went back to the sidewalk.
    Mayor Nasta, seeing that he was saved, ran over to his deliverers, and he stood in the gutter blubbering his thanks. “Americans! Oh God, my friends. Thank you for saving me from these ungrateful people. I have served them for years and see how they behave. I am all alone, Americans. I have been in the hills all alone for days. No one would stay with me. All the others gave themselves up. I have thought everything over. I wish to help you if I can...” And he rattled on, his voice going higher and higher.
    Someone in the mob shouted: “Mister Major, if you help that man you are not our friend.”
    Major Joppolo acted quickly to save the situation. He walked into the street and held up his hand for silence; he was careful to make it his left hand, so that it would not be mistaken for a Fascist salute.
    “Go home, people. I will take care of this man as he deserves. He is under arrest.”
    And the Major said quickly to Captain Purvis in English. “Arrest him, Purvis, show this gang that you’re arresting him.”
    This was the kind of thing Captain Purvis enjoyed, and as he clapped his hand heavily on Mayor Nasta’s shoulder he shouted: “Goddam, I wish I understood Eyetalian. This is wonderful.”
    The crowd broke up slowly, mumbling its protests at being deprived of revenge.
    Purvis said: “Who the hell is this little squirt, any- way? Jesus, they sure hate him, don’t they?”
    Major Joppolo said: “He’s the one who used to be Mayor.”
    “Oh he is, is he? Well according to what Borth says, they’ve got plenty of reason to hate him.” And the Captain kicked Mayor Nasta in the seat of the pants simply because he didn’t know the Italian for: “You’re a little bastard.”
    Mayor Nasta whimpered in Italian: “What are you going to do with me? If you are going to kill me, please tell me first. Don’t shoot me from behind.”
    What Major Joppolo did with Mayor Nasta was to take him up to his office. Everyone, even little Zito who had once worked for Mayor Nasta, even D’Arpa, the weasel-like