Part 11 (1/2)

”You go,” he had mumbled in stilted Portuguese. ”I stay here with Padre Batista.”

So they had set off, determined to cover as much distance as possible before nightfall. But Corporal Warczak was a cautious tracker, proceeding at a snail's pace. This left much time for Nathan to review his heated outburst with Richard Zane. It had taken him this long to cool off and consider the man's words. Maybe he had been narrow-minded and had not considered all the factors involved.

Off to his left, the crackle of dead twigs announced Manny's approach. He and Tor-tor had kept a bit of distance between themselves and the rest. When the large cat was nearby the Rangers were edgy, fingering their M- 16s. The only one of the unit who showed curiosity about the jaguar was Corporal Dennis Jorgensen. He accompanied Manny now, asking questions about the cat.

”So how much does he eat in a day?” The tall corporal took off his slouch hat and swiped the sweat from his brow. He had shockingly white hair and pale blue eyes, clearly of some Nordic descent.

Manny patted the cat. ”Somewhere around ten pounds of meat, but he's been living a pretty sedentary life with me. Out in the wild, you almost have to double that amount:”

”And how are you going to keep feeding him out here?”

Manny nodded to Nathan as he joined him. ”He'll have to hunt. It was the reason I brought him along.”

”And if he fails?”

Manny glanced to the soldiers behind them. ”There's always other sources of meat:”

Jorgensen's face paled a bit, then realized Manny was joking and nudged him with an elbow. ”Very funny.” He fell back to join the others in his unit.

Manny turned his attention to Nate. ”So how're you holding up? I heard about that row with Zane.”

”I'm fine,” he said with a long sigh. Tor-tor nudged his leg with a furry muzzle, and Nate scratched the jaguar behind the ear. ”Just feeling d.a.m.n foolish:”

”Nothing to feel foolish about. I trust that guy about as far as it would take Tor-tor to run his sorry a.s.s down. Which, believe me, wouldn't be far.” He pointed a hand forward. ”Did you see that dandy outfit he's wearing? Has he ever been in the real jungle?”

Nate smiled, cheered by his friend.

”Now that Dr. Fong. She looks d.a.m.n fine in her outfit.” Manny glanced to him with one eyebrow raised.

”I wouldn't kick her out of my hammock for eating crackers. And Kelly O'Brien-”

A commotion ahead interrupted Manny. Voices were raised, and the group was stopped, gathered near a bend in the river. Manny and Nate hurried forward.

As Nate stepped into the throng, he found Anna Fong and Professor Kouwe bent near a dugout canoe that had been pulled fully onto the bank and clumsily covered with palm fronds.

”The trail led here,” Kelly said.

Nathan glanced at her. The doctor's face, covered in a sheen of sweat, was almost aglow. Her hair had been pulled back with a rolled green handkerchief that served as a headband.

Professor Kouwe stood with a palm frond in his hand. ”These were torn from a mwapu palm.” He flipped to show the ragged end of the branch. ”Not cut, torn:”

Kelly nodded. ”Agent Clark had no knives with him when he was found:”

Professor Kouwe ran a finger along the dried and yellowing tips of the fronds. ”And from the rate of decay, this was torn from the living plant around two weeks ago:”

Frank bent closer. ”Around the time when Gerald Clark stumbled into the village:”

”Exactly.”

Kelly's voice grew excited. ”Then there's no doubt he must have used this boat to get here:”

Nathan stared out at the small river. Both banks were thick with dense walls of vegetation: vines, palms, bushes, mosses, stranglers, and ferns. The river itself was about thirty feet across, a featureless silt brown flow. Near the sh.o.r.es, the waters were clear enough to see the muddy, rocky riverbed, but within a few feet visibility vanished.

Anything could be lurking under the water: snakes, caimans, piranhas. There were even catfish so large that they were known to bite the feet off unsuspecting swimmers.

Captain Waxman shoved forward. ”So where do we go from here? We can airlift boats to our position, but then what?”