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He wrinkled his nose, a gesture he’d picked up from his father, a Cape Cod fisher to the end of the pier in the predawn darkness and sniffing the air like an old hound dog Most days he’d say, “Finest kind, cap Let’s go fishing” But sos he would wrinkle his nose and head for the coffee shop without another word Any doubts about the elder Trout’s olfactory prowess disappeared one beautifulwhen he stayed in port and six fishers hadn’t sht, his father explained later

Trout had the sah he was far from the sea in the heart of the Venezuelan rain forest It was si to indicate huht Trout had coraphic e ht He backed away fro in a haht touch of her fingers

“I’”

“About what?”

She sat up and swung her feet onto the floor “I don’t trust our friend the Flying Dutchman any further than I could throw him Not that I would touch him Yech”

“I agree with your sentilanced toward the doorway “This hut reminds me of a lobster trap One way in, no way out, except to the cooking pot I suggest we spend the night on the boat”

“Much as I hate to leave these five-star accommodations, I’m ready when you are Question Hoe sneak off with so?”

“Sio out the back door”

“There wasn’t a back door last time I looked”

“Guess you’ve never heard of Yankee ingenuity,” Trout said sly “If you would stand watch I’ll putknife fro, he slipped the eight-inch blade through the thatch and began to saw The rustle and snap were barely audible, but to be on the safe side he ti to the cry of an unknown forest creature that made a noise like a rat-tail file onabout two feet square in the rear wall He went to the front of the hut and guided Gamay by the arh to make sure it was safe, then was out in an instant Paul’s basketball player body slithered out a second later

They stood side-by-side behind the hut listening to the symphony of insect buzzes and bird calls Earlier Gamay had noticed a path that went from behind the huts to the river They could see the faint outline of hard-packed earth Ga the huts were behind them and their nostrils picked up the river odor of daardens they had seen froe of the river and after a few minutes saw the skeletal outline of the airboat’s propeller housing They stopped in case Dieter had so the boat Paul threw a pebble into the water The plop failed to draw anyone out of hiding

They went aboard and readied the boat to leave at the first sign of dawn Trout tucked a life preserver under his head and stretched out on the deck Gamay climbed onto the seat and took her turn at the watch Paul soon dozed off At first he slept fitfully because of the heat and insects His exhaustion caught up with him, and eventually he slipped into a deep sleep In his sluht was coh his eyelids He blinked and saw Ga yello

Three dugout canoes were pulled up alongside the airboat The canoes carried fierce-looking Indians armed with razor-sharp spears andtorches they held in their free hands illuarish red paint on their bronze bodies and faces Black bangs came down to where their eyebroould have been if they hadn’t been plucked clean The Indians were clad in loincloths except for one ore a New York Yankees cap on his head Trout eyed the shotgun the man cradled in his arht

Trout grinned and said, “Hi” The granite expressions reed The

et off the boat They climbed onto the shore where the Indians clustered around theain in the direction of the village With the Trouts in the ht procession started up the slope