Page:Cesare Battisti and the Trentino.djvu/23

 hint, a great flaming fire was started on the mountain peaks surrounding Ala, and countless fires on the ridges stretching along the railroad from Ala to Salorno answered the mysterious call, in succession, all along the way.

Who had thought of such a demonstration! Cesare Battisti. Who put it into execution? The students. Meanwhile, down the valley, hundreds of people whom the flaring fires had made aware of the happenings, ran to the railroad, swarming along its banks and loudly calling on the King of Italy to come back in these lands not as a guest, but as the rightful king.

Who would have imagined then that that ardent desire would be realized only six years later!

The in June, 1914, hit the world like a stroke of lightning. In Trentino the people soon realized that very likely it would precipitate a war. But what kind of a war! The war for freedom, or the war of an Italy allied with Austria!

For several days, even after Austria's official declaration of war on Serbia and all the other subsequent war declarations that followed at short notice, we remained in a state of incertitude. Moreover, Austria was artfully spreading news that Italy had decided to fight shoulder to shoulder with the Central Empires; of trainloads of Bersaglieri having been seen crossing Trentino on their way to Germany. This unheard of event took place: in Trento, in front of the Dante monument, military bands were actually playing the Italian royal march, and popular demonstrations of Italian patriotic feelings were encouraged in various towns by the authorities themselves.

Our consternation was keen, indeed; well we knew that Austria would not consent to make concessions to Italy, not even of Trentino, in repayment for Italy's participation in the war; that awful war that began with the assassination of Serbia, the violation of Belgium and the invasion of France.

When the truth became known that Italy had declared Page twenty-one