"Mehmet Shehu was a short, wiry, dark swallow-faced man of about thirty who seldom smiled except at other people's misfortunes. He spoke good English, was very capable and had far more military knowledge than most other Albanians... He had a reputation for bravery, courage, ruthlessness, and cruelty--he had boasted that he personally cut the throats of seventy Italian carabinieri who had been taken prisoner. I got along with him at first, for as soldiers we had something in common; but he did little to conceal his dislike for all things British, and my relations with him deteriorated."