Page:Diary of a Prisoner in World War I by Josef Šrámek.pdf/82

 sea. Selected craftsmen were placed in a special department. Some say they will go to Tunis or Algeria.

The Italians continue to test us. We fill the test tubes, and the doctors examine them. We have to fill them under supervision, as even here people are swindled. Usually one does the tests for ten boys.

In the evening they took our boots and gave them to the selected ones so they are ready to go. Everyone has 2 sets of underwear, 2 pairs of boots, a towel, a vessel for food, a cup, a field flask, etc.

They pay us löhnung every 15 days but there is a bad shortage of change. The Italians only send us five- and ten-lire bank notes, and nothing in the world can give you change for that here. Changing costs 30 Cts. Here they keep bargaining, mostly with bacon. A man can buy one kilogram of bacon, cut it to pieces, and go from camp to camp and sell it for 20 cts. a piece. The same goes for cigarettes. One can buy's 30 Francs worth of cigarettes and sell them to get the change for his bank notes. Everyone keeps their silver half-lire, and the shortage of change is worse and worse.

The weather's gotten badly windy. Our tent is torn down every now and then.