But Pico's poultice had done its job, in spite of my failure to cooperate with its healing powers. I felt a bit stronger, but still was unable to rise on my own. Antonio and Purano, against Elicia's wishes, helped me to a sitting position. Botussin entered then and sat on his familiar stool.
With great effort, I told of what had happened to me since leaving the Ninca lands in the middle of last night. When I was finished, they were all convinced that we had lost. There was no way to penetrate Don Carlos Italla's fortress, no way to halt the revolution that would come at dusk tomorrow, about twenty hours away. Antonio had news that had excited them all during the day, but now he wasn't certain.
"I understand some of the symbols on the map," he said, "but most are so faint that none of us could read them. With Purano's help, and a few of his warriors, we made it to the general vicinity of the cave's entrance, but it could be in one of several hollows on the side of the mountain. And there are guerillas and Cuban Marines scouting that area. We were nearly discovered a half-dozen times, and escaped just in time. I'm afraid…"
He sounded so defeated, so desolate. I had no ideas to cheer him, so I said nothing, unwilling to let them hear the note of defeatism in my own voice. I lay back down, wanting sleep and rest, but afraid to waste anymore time.
"We have to try again," I said. "With what you've made out on the map, we at least know the general location of the cave. We can search all night, avoid the patrols of the guerillas and the Marines, and maybe get lucky."
"Lucky the way we've been all along?" Antonio asked with a trace of bitterness in his voice.
"Luck has a way of changing," I said wearily, unable to feel the optimism that my tone implied. "It's time it swung around in our direction."
"We will help with warriors for such a venture," Botussin said. He had listened to our repartee and had decided that I was right. It was worth another try. "Purano will lead our warriors. They will be at your disposal, Senor Carter."
For the first time since my return, I noticed that Elicia, though attentive to my needs, hadn't been regarding me with such open adoration. She didn't seem to need to be near me, to touch me often. I soon discovered why. She was sitting quite close to Purano and he was regarding her with a tenderness that I quickly recognized as budding romance. I remembered then what Botussin had told me during our initial discussion, when we had all been tied together in his council hut the first night we came here. "So many of our maidens were killed by Ancio and his fanatic followers… Today, Purano is past marrying age, yet has not found a maiden suitable as a bride."
Elicia, though she wasn't an Indian, must have been considered of a very high station by Purano and his father. Things had happened here in my absence and I had to admit that I felt a pang of jealousy, knowing that what had happened was a meeting of minds — and perhaps of soul — between Elicia and Purano. Ah, the fickleness of the adolescent mind. But the jealousy was short-lived and slightly diluted. I had been worried about how the matter with Elicia would be resolved. Even though I retained strong feelings for her, I knew that these new developments were for the best. Taking Elicia out of her jungle home, no matter how primitive, rough and dangerous the life, would have been a travesty. She might be as fickle as an American high school girl, but the similarity ended there.
I took another hour's rest, during which time Elicia still tended me with the cold, wet cloth, but avoided my eyes as much as possible. Even when our eyes met, I saw a kind of troubled expression in them. She was jilting me for another man, after having pursued me so diligently before Purano came into her life. Finally, I decided to put her troubled mind at ease.
"You're very beautiful and very precious, Elicia," I said, "and I have a great fondness for you. Bat this is better. Purano will…"
"You presume too much, Senor Carter," she said. "I have announced no decisions of my intentions."
"Yes, you have," I replied. "Not with your lips, but with your eyes. Perhaps you don't love Purano yet, but you will. Don't fight it, Elicia, and don't be concerned about offending me. Let what will be come to you, naturally, and welcome it."
"You still presume. I love you, Senor Carter."
"And you will love Purano."
She was silent, then her eyes found mine and they were still troubled. I hadn't helped a bit.
"That is my problem," she said. "I love you both."
I nodded. I started to tell her about the vast differences in our cultures, about the fact that I would soon be called away on another assignment, perhaps halfway around the world, about the fact that I might never return to Nicarxa. I decided to skip all that malarkey. If I really wanted her, I could resign from AXE and stay right here for the rest of my life. It would be a fine surrogate for that truck farm in Ohio. Better, in fact, I said nothing, only nodded again and slipped into a deep sleep.
Before I went under, I felt the cold cloth on my forehead again, felt warm tears fall against my bare chest.
Antonio and Purano wakened me shortly before dawn. We had just over twelve hours to stop Don Carlos and his bloody revolution. If we didn't find the entrance to the cave, and if the cave didn't have a chimney that we could scale to the summit of Alto Arete, it was all over. Even I would have difficulty escaping Nicarxa with my skin intact. And if we reached the summit, there was still the lack of a plan as to how we would function up there.
Beside me on the floor of the hut was my knapsack and I knew that the old chief had sent someone to retrieve it from the high ledge above the Reina Valley. I wished I had told him about my radio, hidden near the Cortez farm, but the radio was no help now — now that I could expect no further help from Washington. Hawk and the President drove hard bargains.
But the knapsack was a godsend. I had an extra pair of boots in there. We had all studied the map I had made of Alto Arete's layout and fortifications. Even considering that Sergeant Pequeno had lied a bit, we had a pretty fair idea of what to expect. We wouldn't have to worry about the minefields and rabid dogs and guards on the perimeter of the summit, but there were plenty of armed guards inside the compound around the main courtyard and in the palace where Don Carlos Italla lived. Unfortunately, the Marine sergeant I had killed so many days ago knew nothing of the chimney through the mountain, so there was no way of knowing where it came out on top — or if we would be able to get through it.
We were as ready, though, as we would ever be.
My fever had broken and I felt strong again. Elicia remained asleep and I was grateful for that. I didn't want to see her troubled look as her soul fought to decide between me and Purano. If the chiefs son knew of her agonizing decision, he said nothing.
Outside, a dozen warriors, all carrying primitive spears, waited for us to lead them to the cave. Botussin himself slept through our departure and, by first real light, we were well out on the trail, climbing steadily up the western slopes of Mount Toro. We walked slowly but purposefully, knowing that precious minutes were slipping past; also knowing that haste would spend our strength and make us useless once we found the cave — if we found it. It would take all the strength we could summon to scale that chimney, if indeed we could scale it at all.
Antonio carried the ancient map, studying it every few hundred yards. As we approached the first hollow that could possibly lead to the cave's hidden entrance, I thought I heard sounds ahead of us. They weren't normal jungle sounds, so I halted our small party and went on ahead to find out what the sounds were.