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PARTISAN REVIEW
bluish-white like a dog's.... Intense misery, of which she herself
was
not aware, layover these features, losing itself in the depths of her
slate-gray eyes which only came to life when the pupils widened:
then she could hold anyone motionless in her gaze.
Although she breathed against it the stain did not disappear;
it must be a mark they had made on the new glass. Just like men. She
saw the youngsters clumsily polishing it with the edges of their kepis.
Johanna was filled with anger, the pressure on her breasts hurt her,
and the laughter of a stable hand who was teasing a servant girl
in
the yard below, was reason enough for her to fling the window open
and scream down at him. It was a shame boys like him were no
longer drafted for two years, she cried-but she would teach him
a lesson
if
he forgot himself again.
Turning back into the room she was again overcome by the
smell of men's powder and perfume and felt suddenly ill. Pressing her
hand to her heart she walked quickly to the bed and sank down
as
though drunk. Slowly the uproar of her senses ebbed; her whole
being dissolved and drifted to some remote, heroic shore. She heard
flutes and a drumroll, the rhythm of a march and the neighing of
horses, she saw herself as a girl riding a piebald who kicked and
reared. She managed to collect herself by knocking her brow against
the headboard of the bed only when the soldiers entered the front
rooms downstairs and settled like swallows on a wire.
Among them were a few privates who bought cigarettes, had a
quick drink, and leered covetously at the hostess, who moved behind
a counter which concealed her pregnancy, showing only her magnifi–
cent shoulders and proud impassive face. Her husband went back and
forth, using his scant schoolboy French, urging the officers to drink
his better liqueurs and persuading them to accept change figured at
a rate higher than the official one. He knew that once the language
barriers fall it is easier to make friends; and once a sense of com–
munity is established, upholstery and tables and chairs will be safer,
because they seem familiar to the victor and are like his own. Servants'
names in this border country were frequently Jean and Jacques, Claire
and Lisette-the host did not neglect to call these names often and
let their owners be seen. In the end he lured the officers with the
braying sounds of the pianola into the dark room, where a billiard
table and several game boards invited them to form little groups.
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