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had to act the part
    she had set herself, and it was somehow
    easier to act than to believe in what she
    was doing. Deep down inside her she
    was afraid, but on the surface she was
    ice cool and in command of the situation.
    She said, .'It's good of you to be so
    concerned, senor, but quite unnecessary.
    I can look after myself. 'I'm neither a
    child nor a fool, and I don't need you to
    judge my actions.'
    Not a long speech, she thought
    detachedly, but an effective one, she
    hoped. In a situation like this, she
    needed to make every word count.
    She glanced at the hotel-keeper, noting
    with satisfaction that he did not seem
    quite so sure of himself as he had been.
    There was an air of uncertainty about
    him, and he eyed her as if she was
    something new in his experience. She
    wanted to giggle, but that would be fatal,
    so she deepened her expression of calm
    assurance.
    'There must be someone around here,'
    she said crisply.
    'Someone who knows this region well.
    And you don't have to feel responsible
    for anything. Just introduce me to him,
    and I'll do the rest.'
    The man gave her a long look, then
    shrugged deeply and fatalistically.
    He said slowly, 'There is such a one—
    Vitas de Mendoza—but whether he will
    agree to take you to Diablo is another
    matter.'
    'That's
    my
    problem,'
    she
    said
    confidently, almost gaily. She had talked
    round this definitely hostile little man.
    She could talk round the world. 'When
    can I meet him?'
    He hesitated. 'Later, senorita. I will
    speak to him of your request. At the
    moment he is engaged.'
    She saw him give a half-glance over his
    shoulder at that door down the passage,
    and remembered the sound of men's
    voices and laughter.
    'I'd prefer to see him right away. The
    matter is urgent. I'm not just a casual
    sightseer, I'm looking for my brother.'
    'And you think the brother has gone to
    Diablo.' He shook his head. 'That is not
    good, senorita, but it gives me an idea.
    Tomorrow or the next day there will be
    an army patrol arriving here. If you
    speak to Captain Lopez he will look for
    your brother.'
    Rachel was silent for a moment. It was a
    tempting
    prospect
    to
    resign
    the
    responsibility for finding Mark to the
    army, but at the back of her mind she
    was remembering what Isabel had told
    her about the illegal trafficking in
    emeralds. Supposing when this Captain
    Lopez found Mark, he actually had
    emeralds in his possession? She
    swallowed. It didn't really bear thinking
    about. She had no idea of the sort of
    sentences attempts to smuggle emeralds
    might carry, but she imagined they would
    be heavy, and that Colombian prisons
    would be a bad scene too. Besides, if
    Mark were arrested, it would be the
    death of her grandfather.
    She had to face the fact that she must find
    Mark herself—with the help of Vitas de
    Mendoza, and hope that he was the sort
    of man who could be bribed to keep his
    mouth shut if Mark had broken the law in
    any way. The thought made her feel sick
    with fright and despair, but it also had to
    be faced.
    'I haven't got time to wait for the army,'
    she said. 'You don't even know yourself
    when they'll be arriving, and they could
    be held up. I've got to see this Mendoza
    man
    immediately.
    There'll
    be
    arrangements to make, and I want to
    leave as soon as possible.'
    She left her small case standing by the
    desk and went down the passage
    towards the closed door. She wouldn't
    have been at all surprised if he'd
    grabbed her arm and tried to stop her as
    she passed him. When she reached the
    door she risked a glance back over her
    shoulder, and saw that he was standing
    quite still staring after her with an
    almost bemused expression on his face,
    and she could have laughed out loud.
    All she had to do now was bemuse Vitas
    de Mendoza into taking her to Diablo,
    she thought as she opened the door and
    stepped into the room beyond.
    It was a good job that she was still
    acting—making an entrance—or what
    faced her when she entered the