Wait till the rain stops! They got a saying down here, like I'll pay you what I owe you when it stops raining in Puyo.' Haw haw.'
'We had two clear days when we first got here.'
'I know. A latter-day miracle. There's a movement on foot to canonize the local padre. Vamonos, cabron.'
Lee slapped Allerton's shoulder and they walked out in the rain, slipping on the wet cobblestones of the main street.
The trail was corduroy. The wood of the trail was covered with a film of mud. They cut long canes to keep from slipping, but it was slow walking. High jungle with hardwood forest on both sides of the trail, and very little undergrowth. Everywhere was water, springs and streams and rivers of clear, cold water.
'Good trout water,' Lee said.
They stopped at several houses to ask where Cotter's place was. Everyone said they were headed right. How far? Two, three hours. Maybe more. Word seemed to have gone ahead. One man they met on the trail shifted his machete to shake hands and said at once, 'You are looking for Cotter? He is in his house now.'
'How far?' Lee asked.
The man looked at Lee and Allerton. 'It will take you about three hours more.'
They walked on and on. It was late afternoon now. They flipped a coin to see who would ask at the next house. Allerton lost.
'He says three more hours,' Allerton said.
'We been hearing that for the past six hours.'
Allerton wanted to rest. Lee said, 'No. If you rest, your legs get stiff. It's the worst thing you can do.'
'Who told you that?'
'Old Man Morgan.'
'Well, Morgan or no, I am going to rest.'
'Don't make it too long. It will be a hell of a note if we get caught short, stumbling over snakes and jaguars in the dark and falling into quebrajas— that's what they call these deep crevices cut by streams of water. Some of them are sixty feet deep and four feet wide. Just room enough to fall in.'
They stopped to rest in a deserted house. The walls were gone, but there was a roof that looked pretty sound. 'We could stop here in a pinch,' said Allerton, looking around.
'A definite pinch. No blankets.'
It was dark when they reached Cotter's place, a small thatched hut in a clearing. Cotter was a wiry little man in his middle fifties. Lee observed that the reception was a bit cool. Lee brought out the liquor, and they all had a drink. Cotter's wife, a large, strong-looking, red-haired woman, made some tea with cinnamon to cut the kerosene taste of the Puro. Lee got drunk on three drinks.
Cotter was asking Lee a lot of questions. 'How did you happen to come here? Where are you from? How long have you been in Ecuador? Who told you about me? Are you a tourist or travelling on business?'
Lee was drunk. He began talking in junky lingo, explaining that he was looking for Yage, or Ayahuasca. He understood the Russians and the Americans were experimenting with this drug.
Lee said he figured there might be a buck in the deal for both of them. The more Lee talked, the cooler Cotter's manner became. The man was clearly suspicious, but why or of what, Lee could not decide.
Dinner was pretty good, considering the chief ingredient was a sort of fibrous root and bananas.
After dinner, Cotter's wife said, 'These boys must be tired, Jim.'
Cotter led the way with a flashlight that developed power by pressing a lever. A cot about thirty inches wide made of bamboo slats. 'I guess you can both make out here,' he said. Mrs. Cotter was spreading a blanket on the cot as a mattress, with another blanket as cover. Lee lay down on the cot next to the wall. Allerton lay on the outside, and Cotter adjusted a mosquito net.
'Mosquitos?' Lee asked.
'No, vampire bats,' Cotter said shortly. 'Good night.'
'Good night.'
Lee's muscles ached from the long walk. He was very tired. He put one arm across Allerton's chest, and snuggled close to the boy's body. A feeling of deep tenderness flowed out from Lee's body at the warm contact. He snuggled closer and stroked Allerton's shoulder gently. Allerton moved irritably, pushing Lee's arm away.
'Slack off, will you, and go to sleep,' said Allerton. He turned on his side, with his back to Lee.
Lee drew his arm back. His whole body contracted with the shock. Slowly he put his hand under his cheek. He felt a deep hurt, as though he were bleeding inside. Tears ran down his face.
He was standing in front of the Ship Ahoy. The place looked deserted. He could hear someone crying. He saw his little son, and knelt down and took the child in his arms. The sound of crying came closer, a wave of sadness, and now he was crying, his body shaking with sobs.
He held little Willy close against his chest. A group of people were standing there in convict suits.
Lee wondered what they were doing there and why he was crying.
When Lee woke up, he still felt the deep sadness of his dream. He stretched out a hand towards Allerton, then pulled it back. He turned around to face the wall.
