Chapter 26 Summary

The planes came at three o'clock in the afternoon. There was little firing at long intervals coming from the direction of Sordo's. Robert Jordan examines the cavalryman's papers and learns he is from Tafalla. The regiment he is with was supposed to be in the North, and this surprises Robert Jordan. The man carried letters from his family and his fiancé. The letters expressed the fear his family felt for his safety.

Primivito asks him about the letters, and Robert Jordan tells him. Robert Jordan begins to think of the people he has killed. He still believes that killing is wrong, but justifies a certain amount of killing as necessary to the cause. He believes in the right of people to govern their selves. He tells himself to stop thinking about these things because it is bad for the job he is doing...