The way the chauffeur had to literally coax the panting engine at each turn makes me shudder even now to think of—every time I fully expected it would fail to negotiate it, and we should go backwards and be over the edge before he could put the break on, so little space was there to spare. The only thing to do was to sit tight and trust to luck. However, we reached the top safely, and at length arrived at Bormio. We had been advised that the first thing to do was to ascertain the whereabouts of the commanding officer of the division and get his permission to visit the positions, as it lay entirely within his discretion. Our _Salvo Condotti_ being subject to such restrictions as might be deemed necessary at any place. There was no difficulty in discovering the Headquarter Staff building; it was a short distance from the town, in a big, new hotel and hydropathic establishment, with fine park-like grounds. In peace time it must have been a delightful place to stay in. The General was away, but we were received by a Staff Colonel, who spoke French. On seeing our papers he made no objection to giving us permits to visit any position in this sector, and even went so far as to suggest that we should go the following day up to the fort on the Forcola close to the Stelvio Pass, and that an _Alpino_ could accompany us as guide. It was probable that we should be under fire a good part of the way, he added, but what we should see would be sufficiently interesting to compensate for the risk. We gladly accepted his suggestion, so it was arranged we should start early the next day as we had a stiff climb before us. We then went back to the village. It was getting towards nightfall, and the narrow main street recalled vaguely Chamonix. It was crowded with Alpine soldiers, and in the dusk they conveyed some impression of mountaineering tourists, the illusion being heightened by the clank of their hobnailed boots on the cobbles and the alpenstoks they all carried. The village had not been evacuated as most of them are near the Front, so there were women and children about. The principal hotel was open, and we got two good rooms for the night, and what was more to the point, for we were both famished after our long drive, one of the best dinners I have had anywhere in Italy, the big cities included. It was a _table d’hôte_ for the officers, but we were informed there was “probably no objection” to our dining at it. Our appearance in the dining room created no little surprise, as we were the only civilians present, our Press badges especially exciting much comment, as this was the first time that correspondents had been here.