Frederic is at the “smistimento where the wounded and sick were sorted by their papers” (29). Frederic is waiting with his ambulance for the driver, and he sees a wounded soldier. When he offers to help, the soldier tells him that the doctors will tell him that he injured himself on purpose by losing his truss for his hernia in order to avoid the front line of battle. They will operate and then send him back to the front. When he asks Frederic what he thinks of the war, Frederic replies that it’s “rotten” (29). The soldier will do anything to avoid the front line of battle. In trying to help the soldier, who also turns out to be a fellow American, Frederic suggests that he fall in the road and hurt himself in the head to avoid the fight. When Frederic returns from the hospital, he rushes back to help the man, only to find that another group was taking him to the hospital, and most likely, back to his regiment.

When he gets back to his room, Frederic decides to write a letter home since the offensive will start in two days, and it has been a long time since he has written to the States.