'I'm sure you're not as stupid as that, Joe. Gatt is committing a crime -- he's stealing three million dollars of someone else's property. I don't know who this stuff legally belongs to, but I'm sure the Mexican Government has a big claim. Do you really think that Gatt will allow anyone to go back to Mexico City to put in an official complaint?'
'Oh, my God!' said Fallon as the reality of the situation hit him.
'You mean -- hell knock us off -- all of us?' said Rudetsky in a rising voice.
'What would you do in his position?' I asked cynically. 'Given, of course, that you don't have too much regard for the sanctity of human life.'
There was a sudden babble of voices, above which rose Rudetsky's bull-like tones cursing freely. Smith yelled, 'I'm getting out of here.'
I thumped the table and yelled, 'Belt up -- the lot of you!' To my surprise they all stopped suddenly and looked towards me. I hadn't been used to asserting myself and maybe I overdid it -- anyway, it worked. I stabbed my finger at Smith. 'And where the hell do you think you're going to go? Move ten yards into that forest and they've got you cold. You wouldn't stand a chance.'
Smith's face went very pale and he swallowed nervously Fowler said, 'Jeez; he's, right, Smitty! That's out.'
There was a sudden strength in Fallen's voice. 'This is impossible, Wheale; you're dragging up bogies. Do you realize what a stink there would he if Gatt went through with this . . . this mass murder? Do you think that a man can disappear with no questions asked? He'd never go through with it.'
'No? Who else but us knows that Gatt is here? He's experienced -- he has an organization. I'll bet he can whistle up a hundred witnesses to prove he's in Mexico City right now. He'll make damned sure that there is no one to tie him up with this thing.'
Katherine's face was pale. 'But when they find us ... find our bodies . . . they'll know that . . .'
'I'm sorry, Katherine,' I said. 'But they won't find us. You could bury an army in Quintana Roo and the bodies would never be found. Well just disappear.'
Halstead said, 'You've put your finger on it, Wheale. Who else but us knows that Gatt is here? And the only reason we know is because of your say-so. I haven't seen him, and neither has anyone else -- except you. I think you're trying to stampede us into something.'
I stared at him. 'And why the devil should I want to do that?'
He shrugged elaborately. 'You pushed your way into this expedition right from the start. Also, you've been very interested in the cash value of everything we've found. I don't think I have to say much more, do I?'
'No, you bloody well don't,' I snapped. 'And you'd better not or I'll ram your teeth down your throat.' All the others were looking at me in silence, letting me know that this was a charge that had to be answered. 'If I wanted to stampede you why would I prevent Smith going off? Why would I want to keep us together?'
Rudetsky blew out his breath explosively and looked at Halstead with dislike. 'Jesus! For a minute this guy had me going. I ought to have known better.' Halstead stirred uneasily under the implied contempt, and Rudetsky said to me, 'So what do we do, Mr. Wheale?'
I was about to say. 'Why ask me?' but one look at Fallon made me change my mind. He was oddly shrunken and stared.
blindly in front of him, contemplating some interior vision. What he was thinking I don't know and I'd hate to guess, but it was evident, that we couldn't rely on him for a lead. Halstead couldn't lead a blind man across a street, while Rudetsky was a good sergeant type, super-efficient when told what to do -- but he had to be told. And Smith and Fowler would follow Rudetsky.
I have never been a leader of men because I never particularly wanted to lead anyone anywhere. I was always of the opinion that a man should make his own way and that if he used the brains God gave him, then he didn't have to follow in anyone's footsteps and, by the same token, neither should he expect anyone to follow him. I was a lone wolf, a rampant individualist, and it was because of that, perhaps, I was labelled grey and colourless. I didn't take the trouble to convert anyone to my point of view, an activity which seems to be a passionate preoccupation with others, and it was put down to lack of anything worthwhile to say -- quite wrongly.
And now, in the quiet hut, everyone seemed to be waiting for me to take over -- to do something positive. Everyone except Fallon, who had withdrawn, and Halstead, of course, who would be actively against me for whatever peculiar reasons occurred to his warped mind. Rudetsky said in a pleading voice, 'We gotta do something.'
'Gatt will be moving in very soon,' I said. 'What weapons have we?'
There's a shotgun and a rifle,' said Rudetsky. 'Those are camp stores. And I have a handgun of my own packed in my kit.'
'I have a revolver,' said Fowler.
I looked around. 'Any more?'
Fallon shook his head slowly and Halstead just regarded me with an unwinking stare. Katherine said, 'Paul has a pistol.'
'A shotgun, a rifle and three pistols. That's a start, anyway. Joe, which hut do you think is most easily defendable?'
'Are you thinking of having a battle?' asked Halstead. 'If Gatt is out there -- which I doubt -- you won't stand a chance. I think you're nuts.'
'Would you prefer to let Gatt cut your throat? Offer your neck to the knife? Well, Joe?'
'Your hut might be best,' said Rudetsky. 'It's near to the cenote, which means they can't get close in back.'
I looked at the empty shelves. 'Where's all the loot?' I packed it all up,' said Fallon. 'Ready to go when the helicopter came in.'
