ted Italy. They would do their
best, although so many men in Italy were now convinced that Rieka would
sooner die than give up d'Annunzio. Presently, under his
administration, it began to die. But this was not altogether distasteful
to certain intriguers who were interested in the future of Triest. There
might also arise, to the satisfaction, of other intriguers, an armed
conflict with the Yugoslavs. But nothing could be calmer than the
Yugoslavs' attitude. Perhaps these barbarians--as they are often styled
in Italy--were confident that justice would prevail. Perhaps they
thought that they could bide their time, and certainly what happened at
Trogir was not calculated to reassure the Italians.

THE GREAT INVASION OF TROGIR

The little, ancient town of Trogir lay some twelve miles to the south of
the demarcation line. Its inhabitants, with the exception of five
Italophil families, are Yugoslav; and in the month of September 1919 the
Yugoslav army was represented by eight men. Truth compels us to mention
that on a certain night these men, instead of doing patrol duty, were
sleeping off the effects of a carouse; and when the townsfolk looked out
of their windows in the morning they saw machine guns and Italian
soldiers. At 4 a.m. they had crept into the town with the help of a
certain Conte Nino di Fanfogna, who had assembled a National Guard of
thirty peasants, the employees of those five families. Conte Nino was
striding to and fro; he muttered threats of death. Some of the chief
men, such as Dr. Marin Katalini['c], Dr. Peter Sentinella and others,
came together and were at a loss for some effective means to chase out
the Italians, since they had not even a revolver. An American boat
appeared, but the captain, when appealed to, said that he was only
cruising and could not come ashore. In the town hall Count Nino,
labouring under some excitement, dismissed the mayor; and when Ferri,
the mayor, told him to go about his business, he protested that he was
the dictator and would, if necessary, use force. Outside in the square
the Italians and the people stood face to face, and suddenly a few
Yugoslav flags were fluttering, and then an old man, Dr. Sentinella's
father, climbed up to the place in the town hall where the Italian flag
had been hoisted. He tore it down. The soldiers were for shooting him,
but the people began pulling the rifles out of their hands. Other
soldiers, full of apprehension, dropped their rifles; the