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Going from stall to stall, inspecting all the produce, and bargaining for a
good price took a long time.
Then the senora had to go to the bank. Madeleine waited for her outside,
guarding their purchases.
Despite the shade, the heat made her feel thirsty and light-headed. By the
time they returned to the pension, more than two hours after leaving it, she
felt wilted.
Ransom was heading out the front door when they got back. He stopped in his
tracks and scowled at her. I was just coming to find you! Where the hell have
you been?
Shopping, she said, plodding past him with her sacks of produce. You could
offer to take one of these.
Shopping? he repeated, ignoring the heavy sack she tried to thrust at him.
Shopping?
Yes. You know: exchanging money for goods.
You're not supposed to go anywhere without me, he snapped.
You're feeling better, I see.
Are you listening to me, Maddie? His tone irritated her.
Yes, I'm listening.
Don't go wandering off without me again. I mean it.
Fine, she snapped. It felt good to snap at someone; she hadn't realized how
much tension was coiled in her belly from that encounter with the soldiers.
For good measure, she snapped at him again. Fine.
Senora Gutierrez giggled at the expression on Ransom's face and said something
about men and their silly demands. She tried to take the sacks from Madeleine,
but Madeleine courteously insisted on carrying them back to the kitchen for
the old woman. When she came back out into the bar, Ransom had apparently
decided to abandon the fight they'd been about to have.
I'm hungry, he said instead. What's for lunch?
It looked like twenty pounds of onions and carrots to me.
I can hardly wait, he said dryly. Did you talk to Veracruz?
To his secretary. She recounted their brief conversation.
Good. I think I'll call the Palace again, though. Just to make sure someone
has definitely arranged a car for us.
Madeleine went upstairs to shower off the sweat and dirt from her morning
shopping. When she came back downstairs, she found Ransom wandering restlessly
around the veranda.
There's no answer at the Palace, he said, staring out at the jungle which
began only a hundred yards away from the back of the pension.
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No answer? She frowned. That's odd.
It's weird. Even for Montedora, it's weird.
Maybe the phone lines are down or something, she suggested.
He shook his head. I asked the city operator. She said they're working. No
one's answering.
But they've got people on duty twenty-four hours a day. It's the Presidential
Palace, the head of the national government, she said in bemusement. How
can
I don't like it.
What do you
Let's turn on the radio.
He turned abruptly and went back inside. Madeleine followed him. He went
behind the bar and turned on the ancient radio, tuning into one of Montedora's
government controlled news stations. Madeleine couldn't follow the announcer's
rapid, muffled Spanish and asked what was being said.
Ransom shook his head. Nothing, really. It's just an agricultural report.
Something about more foreign subsidies being made available in the Calentura
Valley.
They don't need subsidies there, Madeleine said with a disgusted sigh.
They're all big plantations, like mine. It's the small farmers who need
Uh-huh.
Realizing he wasn't listening, and that her comments weren't relevant to the
current problem, she shut up and sat down at the bar. After a few minutes,
Ransom went upstairs and got a small twelve-band radio from his suitcase. He
tuned into an English-language international broadcast and told Madeleine to
listen to it.
An hour later, Senora Gutierrez announced their lunch was ready on the
veranda. Ransom asked her to bring it inside so he could stay by the pension's
radio and telephone. Curious about this request, Senor
Gutierrez came into the barroom and asked what was going on. After exchanging
a few words with
Ransom, he, too, sat down at the bar to eat his lunch.
Seeing that Ransom wasn't eating, Madeleine reminded him that, after the
morning's unpleasant events, he should get some solid food into his stomach.
He agreed absently and slowly ate about half his meal before trying to phone
the Palace again. No answer.
The Montedorans were living under their fourth non-elected government in a
decade, and everyone knew it was only a matter of time before the elusive
guerilla army of the Doristas mounted a major offensive against Veracruz's
regime. Neither the radio news nor the phone calls Ransom made to Montedora
City suggested that the capital was under attack. Yet the Palace had suddenly
stopped answering the telephone.
Wondering if anyone else knew about this strange phenomenon, Senor Gutierrez
decided to stroll into the main square, where his friends would be gathering
for coffee. Madeleine continued listening to world news, watching Ransom's
intense concentration with uneasy foreboding.
The senor returned an hour later, agitated, sweating, and speaking so fast
that Madeleine couldn't understand him. The expression on Ransom's face warned
her it was alarming news, though.
What? she demanded.
The army just cleared the streets and sent everyone home, he said. He asked
Senor Gutierrez to clarify something, then continued, There's a curfew in
effect until noon tomorrow.
What?
Frightened, Senor Gutierrez went straight to the kitchen to tell the news to
his wife, daughters, and daughter-in-law. His married son and two
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grandchildren came inside, as did the other two guests of the pension. Within
minutes, a dozen people were gathering around the radio, which still rumbled
with dull news about road construction and the First Lady's charity work.
I don't understand, Madeleine whispered to Ransom.
Neither do I, he murmured. But something's happening.
How
Shhh! This is it! He turned up the radio. The room fell silent as the
regular news broadcast was interrupted, everyone listening intently.
Unable to follow the announcement, Madeleine waited until Ransom finally
turned to explain it to her. His expression was stark. The entire country is
under the same curfew as Doragua.
Good God. Her voice was thin with sudden fear. Has the Palace been
attacked?
I don't know. Only the curfew was announced. No explanation.
But that must mean
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