After the third stop OHara found that things were going better. His step felt lighter and his breathing eased, although the headache stayed with him. The stretcher-bearers found that they could carry for longer periods, and Aguillar had come round and was taking notice.
OHara mentioned this to Rohde, who pointed at the steep slopes about them. We are losing a lot of height, he said. It will get better now.
After the fourth halt OHara and Forester were carrying the stretcher. Aguillar apologized in a weak voice for the inconvenience he was causing, but OHara forbore to answer he needed all his breath for the job. Things werent that much better.
Forester suddenly stopped and OHara thankfully laid down the stretcher. His legs felt rubbery and the breath rasped in his throat. He grinned at Forester, who was beating his hands against his chest. Never mind, he said. It should be warmer down in the valley.
Forester blew on his fingers. I hope so. He looked up at OHara. Youre a pretty good pilot, he said. Ive done some flying in my time, but I dont think I could do what you did yesterday.
You might if you had a pistol at your head, said OHara with a grimace. Anyway, I couldnt leave it to Grivas hed have killed the lot of us, starting with me first.
He looked past Forester and saw Rohde coming back up the road at a stumbling run, his gun in his hand. Somethings happening.
He went forward to meet Rohde, who gasped, his chest heaving. There are huts here I had forgotten them.
OHara looked at the gun. Do you need that?
Rohde gave a stark smile. It is possible, señor. He waved casually down the road with the pistol. I think we should be careful. I think we should look first before doing anything. You, me, and Señor Forester.
I think so too, said Forester. Grivas said his pals would be around and this seems a likely place to meet them.
All right, said OHara, and looked about. There was no cover on the road but there was a jumble of rocks a little way back. I think everyone else had better stick behind that lot, he said. If anything does break, theres no point in being caught in the open.
They went back to shelter behind the rocks and OHara told everyone what was happening. He ended by saying, If theres shooting you dont do a damned thing you freeze and stay put. Now I know were not an army but were likely to come under fire all the same so Im naming Doctor Willis as second-in-command. If anything happens to us you take your orders from him. Willis nodded.
Aguillars niece was talking to Rohde, and as OHara went to join Forester she touched him on the arm. Señor.
He looked down at her. Yes, señorita.
Please be careful, you and Señor Forester. I would not want anything to happen to you because of us.
Ill be careful, said OHara. Tell me, is your name the same as your uncles?
I am Benedetta Aguillar, she said.
He nodded. Im Tim OHara. Ill be careful.
He joined the other two and they walked down the road to the bend. Rohde said, These huts were where the miners lived. This is just about as high as a man can live permanently a man who is acclimatized such as our mountain indios. I think we should leave the road here and approach from the side. If Grivas did have friends, here is where we will find them.
They took to the mountainside and came upon the camp from the top. A level place had been roughly bulldozed out of the side of the mountain and there were about a dozen timber-built huts, very much like the huts by the airstrip.
This is no good, said Forester. Well have to go over this miniature cliff before we can get at them.
Theres no smoke, OHara pointed out.
Maybe that means something maybe it doesnt, said Forester. I think that Rohde and I will go round and come up from the bottom. If anything happens, maybe you can cause a diversion from up here.
What do I do? asked OHara. Throw stones?
Forester shook with silent laughter. He pointed down the slope to beyond the camp. Well come out about there. You can see us from here but well be out of sight of anyone in the camp. If alls clear you can give us the signal to come up. He looked at Rohde, who nodded.
Forester and Rohde left quietly and OHara lay on his belly, looking down at the camp. He did not think there was anyone there. It was less than five miles up to the airstrip by the road and there was nothing to stop anybody going up there. If Grivass confederates were anywhere, it was not likely that they would be at this camp but it was as well to make sure. He scanned the huts but saw no sign of movement.
Presently he saw Forester wave from the side of the rock he had indicated and he waved back. Rohde went up first, in a wide arc to come upon the camp at an angle. Then Forester moved forward in the peculiar scuttling, zigzagging run of the experienced soldier who expects to be shot at. OHara wondered about Forester; the man had said he could fly an aeroplane and now he was behaving like a trained infantryman. He had an eye for ground, too, and was obviously accustomed to command.
Forester disappeared behind one of the huts and then Rohde came into sight at the far end of the camp, moving warily with his gun in his hand. He too disappeared, and OHara felt tension. He waited for what seemed a very long time, then Forester walked out from behind the nearest hut, moving quite unconcernedly. You can come down, he called. Theres no one here.
OHara let out his breath with a rush and stood up. Ill go back and get the rest of the people down here, he shouted, and Forester waved in assent.
OHara went back up the road, collected the party and took them down to the camp. Forester and Rohde were waiting in the main street and Forester called out, Weve struck it lucky; theres a lot of food here.
Suddenly OHara realized that he hadnt eaten for a day and a half. He did not feel particularly hungry, but he knew that if he did not eat he could not last out much longer and neither could any of the others. To have food would make a lot of difference on the next leg of the journey.
Forester said, Most of the huts are empty, but three of them are fitted out as living quarters complete with kerosene heaters.
OHara looked down at the ground which was crisscrossed with tyre tracks. Theres something funny going on, he said. Rohde told me that the mine has been abandoned for a long time, yet theres all these signs of life and no one around. What the hells going on?
Forester shrugged. Maybe the commie organization is slipping, he said. The Latins have never been noted for good planning. Maybe someones put a spoke in their wheel.
Maybe, said OHara. We might as well take advantage of it. What do you think we should do now how long should we stay here?
Forester looked at the group entering one of the huts, then up at the sky. Were pretty beat, he said. Maybe we ought to stay here until tomorrow. Itll take us a while to get fed and itll be late before we can move out. We ought to stay here tonight and keep warm.
Well consult Rohde, said OHara. Hes the expert on mountains and altitude.
Well consult Rohde, said OHara. Hes the expert on mountains and altitude.
The huts were well fitted. There were paraffin stoves, bunks, plenty of blankets and a large assortment of canned foods. On the table in one of the huts there were the remnants of a meal, the plates dirty and unwashed and frozen dregs of coffee in the bottom of tin mugs. OHara felt the thickness of the ice and it cracked beneath the pressure of his finger.
They havent been gone long, he said. If the hut was unheated this stuff would have frozen to the bottom. He passed the mug to Rohde. What do you think?
Rohde looked at the ice closely. If they turned off the heaters when they left, the hut would stay warm for a while, he said. He tested the ice and thought deeply. I would say two days, he said finally.
Say yesterday morning, suggested OHara. That would be about the time we took off from San Croce.
Forester groaned in exasperation. It doesnt make sense. Why did they go to all this trouble, make all these preparations, and then clear out? One things sure: Grivas expected a reception committee and where the hell is it?
OHara said to Rohde, We are thinking of staying here tonight. What do you think?
It is better here than at the mine, said Rohde. We have lost a lot of height. I would say that we are at an altitude of about four thousand metres here or maybe a little more. That will not harm us for one night; it will be better to stay here in shelter than to stay in the open tonight, even if it is lower down the mountain. He contracted his brows. But I suggest we keep a watch.
Forester nodded. Well take it in turns.
Miss Ponsky and Benedetta were busy on the pressure stoves making hot soup. Armstrong had already got the heater going and Willis was sorting out cans of food. He called OHara over. I thought wed better take something with us when we leave, he said. It might come in useful.
A good idea, said OHara.
Willis grinned. Thats all very well, but I cant read Spanish. I have to go by the pictures on the labels. Someone had better check on these when Ive got them sorted out.
Forester and Rohde went on down the road to pick a good spot for a sentry, and when Forester came back he said, Rohdes taking the first watch. Weve got a good place where we can see bits of road a good two miles away. And if they come up at night theyre sure to have their lights on.
He looked at his watch. Weve got six able-bodied men, so if we leave here early tomorrow, that means two-hour watches. Thats not too bad it gives us all enough sleep.
After they had eaten Benedetta took some food down to Rohde and OHara found himself next to Armstrong. You said you were a historian. I suppose youre over here to check up on the Incas, he said.
Oh, no, said Armstrong. Theyre not my line of country at all. My line is medieval history.
Oh, said OHara blankly.
I dont know anything about the Incas and I dont particularly want to, said Armstrong frankly. He smiled gently. For the past ten years Ive never had a real holiday. Id go on holiday like a normal man perhaps to France or Italy and then Id see something interesting. Id do a bit of investigating and before Id know it Id be hard at work.
He produced a pipe and peered dubiously into his tobacco pouch. This year I decided to come to South America for a holiday. All there is here is pre-European and modern history no medieval history at all. Clever of me, wasnt it?
OHara smiled, suspecting that Armstrong was indulging in a bit of gentle leg-pulling. And whats your line, Doctor Willis? he asked.
Im a physicist, said Willis. Im interested in cosmic rays at high altitudes. Im not getting very far with it, though.
They were certainly a mixed lot, thought OHara, looking across at Miss Ponsky as she talked animatedly to Aguillar. Now there was a sight a New England spinster schoolmarm lecturing a statesman. She would certainly have plenty to tell her pupils when she arrived back at the little schoolhouse.
What was this place, anyway? asked Willis.
Living quarters for the mine up on top, said OHara. Thats what Rohde tells me.
Willis nodded. They had their workshops down here, too, he said. All the machinery has gone, of course, but there are still a few bits and pieces left. He shivered. I cant say Id like to work in a place like this.
OHara looked about the hut. Neither would I. He caught sight of an electric conduit tube running down a wall. Where did their electricity supply come from, I wonder?
They had their own plant; theres the remains of it out back. The generator has gone they must have salvaged it when the mine closed down. They scavenged most everything, I guess; theres precious little left.
Armstrong drew the last of the smoke from his failing pipe with a disconsolate gurgle. Well, thats the last of the tobacco until we get back to civilization, he said as he knocked out the dottle. Tell me, Captain; what are you doing in this part of the world?
Oh, I fly aeroplanes from anywhere to anywhere, said OHara. Not any more I dont, he thought. As far as Filson was concerned, he was finished. Filson would never forgive a pilot who wrote off one of his aircraft, no matter what the reason. Ive lost my job, he thought. It was a lousy job but it had kept him going, and now hed lost it.
The girl came back and he crossed over to her. Anything doing down the road? he asked.
She shook her head. Nothing. Miguel says everything is quiet.
Hes quite a character, said OHara. He certainly knows a lot about these mountains and he knows a bit about medicine too.
He was born near here, Benedetta said. And he was a medical student until She stopped.
Until what? prompted OHara.
Until the revolution. She looked at her hands. All his family were killed that is why he hates Lopez. That is why he works with my uncle he knows that my uncle will ruin Lopez.
I thought he had a chip on his shoulder, said OHara.
She sighed. It is a great pity about Miguel; he was going to do so much. He was very interested in the soroche, you know; he intended to study it as soon as he had taken his degree. But when the revolution came he had to leave the country and he had no money so he could not continue his studies. He worked in the Argentine for a while, and then he met my uncle. He saved my uncles life.
Oh? OHara raised his eyebrows.
In the beginning Lopez knew that he was not safe while my uncle was alive. He knew that my uncle would organize an opposition underground, you know. So wherever my uncle went he was in danger from the murderers hired by Lopez even in the Argentine. There were several attempts to kill him, and it was one of these times that Miguel saved his life.
OHara said, Your uncle must have felt like another Trotsky. Joe Stalin had him bumped off in Mexico.
That is right, she said with a grimace of distaste. But they were communists, both of them. Anyway, Miguel stayed with us after that. He said that all he wanted was food to eat and a bed to sleep in, and he would help my uncle come back to Cordillera. And here we are.