DARINA SILONE
83
Agostino was the political refugee in
The Fox and the Camellias
who
talked to his friends about anything except the fact that his brother
had died in prision ."
"I didn't know you read my books so attentively."
"Didn't you? Well, how did Romolo react to your proposal?
Did he worry abou t his fiancee?"
"Perhaps he thought she could join him later on. At any rate ,
he agreed enthusiastically. He was so naive, so unaware of the
precautions required by underground politics, that before setting out
he went back to our village to say goodbye to friends and relatives.
He acted mysteriously but everyone guessed. From then on,
naturally , the police never lost sight of him until he was arrested ."
"How could he possibly have crossed the frontier?"
"I had to get him forged documents with the help of my com–
munist friends .
It
was his first contact with the Party and he may
have felt attracted to it , partly on my account, partly because of the
comradeship, not knowing that I was already in the process of leav–
ing. He always had a strong sense of social injustice, but of course
knew nothing of Stalin's intrigues. I had no means then of knowing
anything definite, but ifhe did join the Party , as some people said, it
can only have been later on, in prison. He was certainly never a
leader nor even an activist. No trained communist would have car–
ried an incriminating piece of paper on his person , as Romolo did .
But three years later, at his trial, when accused of being a com–
munist , he confessed to it, writing to me afterwards, 'I tried to con–
duct myself as I thought you would have done in my place.' It was
heartbreaking because by then I had broken with the Party for good.
But I admired his courage and I hope that in prison his new faith
may have been of some comfort to him."
"You've told me that part of it before."
"I was in Paris, imagining Romolo safe in Switzerland, when I
learned from newspaper headlines that my brother had been ar–
rested on the charge of attempted regicide . Imagine that! With the
help of friends I instantly organized a press campaign to enlist public
opinion on Romolo's behalf. The Italian consul general in Paris
refused our plea to make an affidavit testifying what we knew to be
true. The press campaign did save Romolo from the firing squad, at
least in theory . In fact no one ever believed that absurd charge,
because the attempt on the King's life was almost certainly plotted
by a fanatically antimonarchist group of fascists -
squadristi
-
as a
