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They shoved the pram farther onto the shore and mo for a few ave the hovercraft more power to hold it in one place

"That's the answer to Joe's disappearing river," Trout said "No round" He tried to reach Zavala on the radio but got no answer and assue or the transh rocky walls They decided without hesitation to push ahead They went in slowly, co the ith his handheld spotlight

The vibration and noise created by the thrust propeller unnerved the bats They ca s and sharp claws Austin doubled their speed The hovercraft was on its air cushion again Both men crouched low in the open cockpit, hardly able to see through the flying swarm of black furry bodies The craft bounced off the rocky shores several tio forward, Austin kept the pedal to the metal

Then they were through it and into the clear

Austin brought the engine down to an idle, and the current moved them ahead

Are you okay?" he asked

"My hair will probably go as white as yours, but other than that I'"

The sound of theand reechoing off the rough walls Austin could only hope that any adversaries they met were stone deaf, because their arrival would have been announced forup waves on either side, and before long they eer cavern They s and saw that the river ended again but that there was a canal leading off from it

The canal ended at a small pier illuminated by a lantern They tied up next to three prams and left the hovercraft With their weapons at ready they proceeded along the ay into the quarry They stopped to inspect the contents of the boxes, then pressed on Sunlight was shining faintly in the distance

37 AUSTIN STOPPED UNDER THE CORBELED archway and listened to thefaintly in the distance A Latin beat With his back to the wall he edged his way around the corner, CAR-15 held at ready, finger on the trigger He stuck his head out, scanned the area around the loading platforlare of daylight He signaled Trout to follow With Austin still at point theyclose to the foliage on the side

Near where a rutted track into the woods left the ot down on their hands and knees They crawled parallel to the track, then dropped to their bellies and slithered to the edge of a cleared area Austin inched forward and peered through the tall grass Trout's hand gripped his shoulder, but Austin had already seen the mop of hair that was the hue of fine red wine: Gamay She was tied to the rear bumper of a battered GMC truck Her face was the color of boiled lobster, skin peeled off her sunburned nose, and her crowning glory was a tangle of greasy curls, but otherwise she seeht Next to her was an Indian man who must be Dr Chi Gamay had her eyes closed, but she opened them and looked cautiously around as if she sensed their presence

Austin quickly took in the rest of the scene The source of the music was a portable booround behind the truck were three ame of cards Their weapons lay within arm's reach, and all three men wore pistols Austin's eye traveled to the front of the truck to where a fourth ine He, too, wore a pistol, but ainst a tire Austin signaled Trout to back up Paul nodded, understanding the need to reconnoiter, but the disappointment in his face was obvious

Minutes later they leaned up against a tree and assessed the situation

"We've got four arainst the weapons we're carrying," Austin said "But Gamay and Dr Chi are directly in the line of fire I don't like the idea of the fourth ht at hand He could still cause daestions?"

"We could call in reinforce the walkietalkie at his belt "But even if they got here soon, that wouldhurt"