Free River of Death by Alistair MacLean Page A

camera.
    Diaz said: ‘You won’t believe this, but it will even take pictures if you wish.’
    Hamilton smiled but without humour. ‘I don’t think I’ll be indulging in any photography this time out. What’s the radio transmitting range?’
    ‘Five hundred kilometres.’
    ‘Enough. Waterproof?’
    ‘Naturally. You leave tomorrow?’
    ‘No. We have to get provisions and jungle gear and fly them to Cuiabá. We must get the hovercraft on the move. More important, though, I must go ahead and check on our friend Mr Jones.’
    ‘Back to the Colony?’
    ‘Back to the Colony.’
    Diaz said slowly: ‘You are an extraordinarily persistent man, Mr Hamilton. God knows you’ve every right to be.’ He shook his head. ‘I greatly fear for the health of your travelling companions in your forthcoming expedition.’
    Hamilton had rejoined his travelling companions-to-be. Outside the uncurtained windows of the Villa Haydn’s drawing-room the sky was dark: the room itself was brightly but not harshly lit by the light from the three crystal chandeliers. There were nine people in the room, most of themstanding, most of them with aperitif glasses in their hands. Present were Hamilton, the twin Sergeants Herera, Smith and his entourage. Heffner, to whom Hamilton had just been introduced, was slightly flushed of face, slightly loud of voice and was sitting on an arm of the chair Maria was occupying. Tracy was regarding him with disfavour.
    Smith said to Hamilton: ‘I must say your heavenly twins, as you call them, have an air of competence about them.’
    ‘They’re not much at home in drawing-rooms. But in the jungle, yes. They’re good. Squirrel-hunter’s eyes.’
    ‘Meaning?’
    ‘Either of them, with his rifle, can hit a playing-card at a hundred yards. Most people can’t even see a card at that distance.’
    ‘That meant to sound intimidating, threatening?’
    ‘Neither. Reassuring. Very useful accomplishment when wild boars or alligators or head-hunters or cannibals come at you. Let’s not confuse this coming trip with a Sunday school picnic.’
    ‘I’m aware of that.’ Smith was trying to sound patient. ‘Well, your plan sounds reasonable. We leave in a couple of days?’
    ‘More like a week. I repeat, no picnic: you don’t go dashing off into the Amazonian rainforest at a couple of hours’ notice, especially when you are going to be passing through hostile territory—and, believe me, we will be. We have to allow several days for the hovercraft to get up to Cuiabá—wedon’t know what difficulties it might encounter. Then we have to get all our provisions and equipment and fly them over to Cuiabá. At least, you will. I have some business to attend to first.’
    Smith raised an eyebrow. He was very good at raising eyebrows. ‘What business?’
    ‘Sorry.’ Hamilton didn’t sound sorry. ‘Where can one hire a helicopter in this city?’
    Smith took a deep breath then clearly made up his mind to ignore the outright rebuff. ‘Well, you know I have this freight Sikorsky—’
    ‘That lumbering giant? No thank you.’
    ‘I have a smaller one. And a pilot.’
    ‘Again, no thanks. Tracy’s not the only one who can fly a helicopter.’
    Smith looked at him in silence. His face was without expression but it was not difficult to guess what he was thinking: it would have been perfectly in keeping with Hamilton’s secretive nature, his policy of never letting his left hand know what his right was doing, to have flown his own helicopter over the Lost City, so that no other person could share his knowledge. At last Smith said: ‘Gracious, aren’t you? You don’t see a little friction arising when we set off on this search?’
    Hamilton shrugged indifferently. ‘It isn’t a search. I know where I’m going. And if you think some friction is going to arise, then why don’t you leave behind those liable to give rise to friction? It’s a matter of indifference to me who comes along.’
    ‘I’ll decide