Going After Cacciato

The train to Kabul moves quickly as the men sleep comfortably, climbing high into snowy mountains. When he wakes up, Lieutenant Corson keeps asking where he is. The landscape makes Paul think of Lake Country, their name for the battle in the mountains. Paul lay on the ground, twitching, as they bombed the mountain. When Lieutenant Sidney Martin ordered the advance, they found the dead scattered everywhere, and they had to count the bodies. The constant rain filled the craters made by bombs, so Doc called it Lake Country. They found tunnels that all had to be searched, and Oscar began to discuss a solution to the problem of Lieutenant Martin.

They spend the night at the mayor’s house in Ovissil while the train tracks are being mended. The mayor tells histories instead of fortunes. He tells the lieutenant’s history, how he was once a captain but lost the rank due to “indulgence and simple misfortune” (179). Paul asks to have his history told, but the mayor says he is too young to have a real history. The mayor sends them off the next morning with a sack of dried lamb, waving while their train pulls away.