The Rapids and the Abbey: Can the Allies capture Monte Cassino...? (Jox McNabb Aviation Thrillers Book 6) by Patrick Larsimont

Author:Patrick Larsimont [Larsimont, Patrick]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sapere Books
Published: 2025-12-24T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

‘Good Lord, now that’s a view,’ said Ridgway, shielding his eyes from the sunlight reflecting off the bay of Naples. There was a brisk breeze tugging at his uniform and he had to keep a firm grip on his cap, otherwise there was every chance it might be snatched away into the gaping crater of Mount Vesuvius. ‘That’s the Isle of Capri over there,’ he said, pointing, ‘with ancient Pompeii down the slope to the east and Naples over there to the west.’

Jox was peering into the sheer, almost vertical, walls of the crater, marvelling at its size and quaking at the steepness. He had a touch of vertigo, which was unusual considering his profession, but the buffeting wind certainly wasn’t helping. Inside the crater, the sides rose in layers up to the rim, then over it, crests of solidified black lava reared like frozen breakers.

‘You picked a hell of a day for a walking tour, Doc,’ said Jox.

Ridgway grinned. ‘Don’t tell me you’re a fair-weather warrior. Anyway, it’s high time you got an infusion of culture into that checkered education of yours. Learning about the glories of Rome is good for the soul, and you should be inhaling the history all around.’

‘Smells rather eggy to me,’ grumbled Jox. ‘Bloody freezing too.’

‘That’ll be the sulphur. I’m afraid it comes with the territory,’ replied Ridgway good-naturedly. ‘It’s better to visit when it’s a little fresh. Visiting midsummer when I was a student was sheer hell. All very well saying, “Mad dogs and Englishmen” but visiting in that heat was a disaster. All I wanted was to find shade, despite the glorious things all around me. I’m determined not to miss out again. All right, let’s finish up here, get out of the wind and head down to the city.’

Jox pointed into the crater. ‘What’s that white line about a quarter of the way down the hole?’

Ridgway followed his finger. ‘That’ll be the top of the volcano before it last erupted. Everything above that is new lava deposited when it did.’

‘That’s a lot of fresh material above it. Living in Naples must feel like having a loaded pistol permanently at your head.’

‘It’s been said that the Neapolitans live their lives on a knife edge. Disaster is always around the corner, so “living life to the fullest” is hard-baked into the city’s genes. For divine intervention, they put their trust in San Gennaro, the patron saint of the city. Several times a year there are ceremonies asking for his help, protection and healing powers. It’s even said that during the eruption in the 1600s, the lava flow that was threatening to destroy several towns was slowed by a precious vial of his dried blood, which liquefied before it.’

‘Doesn’t sound like much protection to me. Let’s hope that when we’re in Pompeii, we have better luck than the last time you took me to a ruined ancient city. If I recall, we ended up entombed after an earthquake, and I even got bitten by a bloody monkey!’

Ridgway grinned.

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