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There was no reply

"Dirk, are you still there?"

Pitt had dozed off and was blissfully unaware that he had broken the connection

40

The Air Canada jet buh a thick cloud whose soft white curves showed the first orange tint froan its slow descent toward Guadeloupe, Suh herand watched the deep, dark blue-purple water below turn to light blue and then turquoise as the aircraft flew over the reefs and lagoons Sitting next to her in the aisle seat, Dirk studied a chart of the waters around the Isles des Saintes, a group of islands to the south of Guadeloupe

She stared with growing curiosity as the two ether in the shape of a butterfly Basse-Terre for and was blanketed with thickly forested hills and mountains Surrounded by lush ferns, its rain forest contains sohest waterfalls, which flon fro volcano that rises above forty-eight hundred feet Both islands, with a total land area the size of Luxeroves called the Riviere Salee

The eastern wing of the butterfly, Grande-Terre was a contrast to Basse-Terre The island ishills, arcane, the major source for the three distilleries that produce Guadeloupe's fine rums

Su some of the island's ed with swaying pal Once she and Dirk had finished their survey for Odysseus' lost fleet, Admiral Sandecker would no doubt order the a few days of rest and enjoyardless of the consequences of incurring the admiral's wrath

The plane made a wide circle that took it over Pointe-a-Pitre, the commercial capital of Guadeloupe She looked down at the red tile roofs ated metal The pleasant toas embellished by a picturesque square in its center surrounded by outdoor shops and cafes The narrow streets see home for dinner Few drove cars Many of thehts were already beginning to flicker on in the little houses around the port city Ships were tied to docks, with little fishing boats co into harbor after a day's catch

The pilot settled the plane on the landing approach to Guadeloupe's Pole Caraibes Airport The landing gear thu flaps hummed into a doard position For a brief instant, the last of the setting sun flashed into the s before the plane settled onto the runith the usual bounce, protest of tires and shrill whine of the reverse thrust of the turbines as the plane braked before taxiing to the terminal

Sus in the tropics The offshore breezes usually came up and bleay the worst of the day's heat and huetation after a rain and the aroma of the ever-present tropical flowers

"How's your French?" Dirk asked Su stairs from their aircraft at the Guadeloupe airport

"About as good as your Swahili," she said, looking radiant in a vibrant flowered skirt andblouse "Why do you ask?"

"Only the tourists speak English The locals speak French or a French-Creole dialect"

"Since neither of us n language"