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Henry goes to call on Catherine but can\'t see her because she\'s on duty. In talking to the head nurse he tells his reasons for joining the Italian army. He\'s casual and understated as usual--\"I was in Italy, and I spoke Italian.\"
He drives to the bridgehead where the Italians are about to launch their spring offensive. Hemingway describes the relative positions of the Italians and Austrians. The Italians are dug in, but certain parts of their lines can be shelled steadily by the Austrians--a fact that will be important later. He also introduces the Italian carabinieri, or battle police, the equivalent of American MPs. These men halt Henry\'s car when some shells land close by. You\'re going to hear from the carabinieri again.
Henry gets to see Catherine, first in company with Helen Ferguson, then alone. After a little chat about the war and her position as a V.A.D., a kind of aide, they both agree to \"drop the war.\"
Then begins a subtly masterful scene. Note how skillfully yet how sparely Hemingway depicts the sexual fencing between these two who are getting to know each other in the charged urgency of wartime.
Henry moves to kiss her. She slaps him. He knows he has an advantage over her now. He plays on her sympathy, then flatters her. She, in turn, flatters him. Sure of himself, Henry sees his seduction of the young nurse \"like the moves in a chess game.\" He succeeds in getting her to kiss him.
But she shakes him up a bit with her curious statement that he should be good to her \"because we\'re going to have a strange life.\" Is she thinking of marriage? Or of some other semipermanent arrangement? Or is she just talking about their life during the war? You don\'t know yet. Neither does Henry, but he\'s bothered by her words. Catherine is turning out to be something more complicated than a quick conquest.
Back in their room, Rinaldi jokingly compares Henry to a dog in heat. Henry gets mad, but friendship prevails and the two stop before a real argument gets going.
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