Chapter 9 Yucatan Snow

From the town of Brownsville on the Rio Grande to the vast and mysterious Yucatan Peninsula, the land distance is about 900 miles. It took Ben Snow more than a week to complete this journey on horseback.As soon as he crossed the Tropic of Cancer and reached Tampico in the south, he began to regret the trip—the climate and the attitude of the people suddenly turned bad.He had just bought a new horse from a bleary-eyed Mexican outside Tampico when he met a gang of robbers who had been emboldened by drinking.He killed one, wounded another, and escaped the others by wading across the shallow bay of the Panuko on his fast horse.Even so, there are still two-thirds of the journey waiting for him.

He was looking for a man named Chancellor - Wade Chancellor.At this point, all he knew was a name and a story he heard in a bar in San Antonio.But enough to drive Ben Snow on the nine-hundred-mile journey.Of course, there are times when a story heard in a dimly lit bar is enough to start the journey.And here's the story...there were three of them, hard-nosed, weather-beaten, and recognizably veterans.It didn't take long for Ben to confirm that guess—they had served in Teddy Roosevelt's Rough Riders in Cuba.The three ex-soldiers laid out a crumpled pile of banknotes and gold coins on the table in front of him.

"Two thousand dollars," said the tallest of them all. "We all contributed. The others also contributed." Ben Snow stared at the money suspiciously, "What is this for?" "We want you to help us kill someone." "I think you've got the wrong guy." The big guy—his name was Ventner—shakes his head. "You're Ben Snow, aren't you?" "That's right." "Then we're right. Two thousand dollars to kill Wade Chancellor." "Looking at you, you can do it yourself. If this is very important, why hire me?" He became interested.Something beneath the surface always hits that curious nerve.

"Because Chancellor is a thousand miles away in Mexico." "That means I'm going all the way there to kill him for you? Why?" Wantner spread his hands on the table, "When the Rough Riders were formed, he signed us up. Most of the recruits came from the West—Native Indians, cowboys, wagon drivers, miners, and hunters— Let me say, we put together a very strong fighting team. We followed Teddy down south and beat the Cubans to the ground..." "Spanish." "... Spaniards! They're all the way. Anyway, if we hadn't got yellow fever, we'd be over there."

Ben Snow cleared his throat, "Then what's going on with this Chancellor?" "Yes, I was going to say it. Yes, Wade Chancellor was with us when we went up San Juan Hills. He was with us, and then defected—and because of his escape, I His brother and some other tough guys were killed. Spaniard fire hit them from the flank that Chanther was supposed to be covering. We tracked down the rat with difficulty and finally found that he booked a ticket to Tickets for tramp cargo ships in Central America, which will stop in Yucatan along the way." "Where do you think he will disembark?"

"We knew he would," Wantner said. "The Rough Riders came on a boat from Florida, and the name of that boat was the Yucatan, and I remember when he said he was going to visit there one day. Anyway, we heard recently Said he was there, sure. Organized the Indians, took the whole goddam country. Guess he made himself a general there or something." One of the other two uttered an expletive, "A man like him is not worthy of being a soldier." Ben leaned back in his chair. "So you want to kill him?" "We wanted to kill him because he was a cowardly, useless deserter, that's why. If he got caught by the army, they would have executed him too, so we just saved them trouble."

Ben cleared his throat and spoke softly, not wishing to be hostile to these people, "I don't think the Rough Riders are a regular army..." "Sir, we are the first voluntary cavalry in the United States, and though most of the horses are left in Florida. But we will always be an army." "Ted didn't like the name Rough Rider at first, but he stuck with it." As they said, the three veterans, although they were not old, only when they looked back at the history did they show a fleeting brilliance on their faces.At this point they may be united only by lust for vengeance.Ben listened for a while, then asked, "Why did you come after me? Who told you I was a hired killer?"

Wantner smiled shyly, "You are Ben Snow. Some people say that you are Billy the Kid..." "Billy has been dead for almost twenty years." "Of course, of course. Then you're Ben Snow. You're famous in the country, too. We hear you've been to New Orleans, and you're on your way home. You're a killer." "Possibly. But not the killer you're thinking of." Wantner stood up, and the other two followed suit. "Think about it. Wait until tomorrow. We'll talk again in the morning." "You can save your tongue. Anyway, I don't like Mexico."

"think about it." I thought about it, but didn't think much of it.Almost by chance, that night, he met a Union marshal he knew.When the conversation turned to Mexico and the growing threat of rogue gangs, Ben mentioned the name Wade Chancellor. "Chanther, right there in the Yucatan. Yes, I've heard the rumors the last few months. But he's not just a brigand. He's an emperor there, or at least a general. Wears medals and all. Came out there after the war, and I guess he really blew the Indians off. The biggest guy since Cortez." This piqued Ben's interest, but he didn't show it.The words intrigued him and raised questions in his mind. "Don't you think the rumor is exaggerated? How can one man conquer hundreds of Indians in a few months?"

"I'd like to know that too," the marshal sneered, "and I'd like to try this technique at home." Ben remembered that he had an Indian wife. "I might go to Mexico soon," he said to the man, not knowing what had changed his mind but a flash of thought, a thirst for knowledge that had shaped his entire life.A deserter who should have been executed has somehow become a sinister figure, a man in power.For Ben, those in power are always sinister, especially when the origin of their power is clouded by suspicion. So, early the next morning, before dawn, he put the packed necessities on his horse and walked towards the southern border.He did not tell Wanttner of his departure.The veteran would never understand why he decided to go on the journey himself after he refused to accept the two thousand dollars.Maybe Ben Snow doesn't even fully understand himself.Of course, he didn't want to be employed by Wanttner as an assassin.Murder was someone else's game, or other young people's game, as it usually was... Crossing the Tropic of Cancer and heading south, he approached the hills that surrounded Mexico City, and the road got rougher, but it was easy for Ben.Every day he traveled farther and farther, met fewer and fewer Aboriginal people, and never encountered the bandit gangs he encountered in the North.He passed through Vercruz, overlooking the ancient fortress of the San Juan de la Ura castle, from where he could see the entire harbor.The southernmost port on the Gulf of Mexico was suddenly renamed Camp Echo Cove, named after a town on the coast of the Yucatan.Ben arrived in this town on the penultimate day of his long journey.

As he was changing horses for the last time outside Camp Echo, a Mexican horseman approached him unhurriedly, "Ah, sir! You're from the north?" "Texas," Ben said matter-of-factly, "was in New Mexico." "Come a long way. Changed a lot of horses." The Mexican dismounted from his mount and came, one hand casually on the revolver holstered at his hip.Although Ben carried one himself, he was a little surprised to see a man with a gun approaching so friendly.A few years ago, it was almost impossible to see people carrying weapons on the streets of Texas. Now only cowboys and police officers carry guns. "It's quite far. Maybe I should come by boat. From the map, it doesn't seem to be that far." The Mexican nodded, "Are you here to find someone?" "I'm looking for Wade Chancellor." "To find him, you have to ride a horse to the interior of the peninsula for half a day. If you want, I can take you there." Ben held out a hand. "My name is Ben Snow. It's a pleasure traveling with you." The Mexican nodded. "My name is Antonio Arras. I'm employed by Wade Chancellor." Well, Ben decided that if it was a mistake to reveal his destination, it was too late to change it.But if Chancellor really held power as rumored, it would be impossible for Ben to find him without alerting him anyway.They drank some wine in a little shack by the stables, and a dirty Mexican poured hot rum from a dusty amber bottle.Then they mounted their horses—Aras leading the way—and rode eastward. After a few hours of their horseback riding, the sparse undergrowth was visibly replaced by rainforest.The weather grew warmer, too, and strange vines and thickets of tropical trees shaded their path more and more darkly.Ben had never been in a place like this in his life, and already felt the heavy shirt press uncomfortably against his skin.Beads of sweat glistened on his forehead, and riding on horseback was so uncomfortable that he even began to thank the occasional slanting, dense and low bushes, which made them have to dismount, lead the horses, and walk slowly . "How far is this road going?" Ben asked Arras on the way. "Not far," replied the Mexican, "we are getting closer to the ruins." "You know the country like the back of your hand." "I have lived in Yucatan since I was born. Thirty-eight years now. Before me, so did my father and grandfather. My father once told me that our family is Bartolomeo Columbus - Christopher Descendant of Columbus' brother." Ben nodded, "In the north, in my country, some people's ancestors are Puritans who immigrated to America. I think it is an honor to be a descendant of Brother Columbus." Arras shrugged, "He is not a good person. Christopher appointed him to manage the West Indies, and his main achievement was to introduce bloodhounds to track and slaughter the aborigines who opposed his rule. He stole their gold, Make them slaves." "You've had a lot of education." The Mexican laughed, "I sat on Papa's lap and just listened to him tell Bartolomeo's story." "But you speak English very well." "I went to school in Mexico City, and I've been to your country. It's a great place." "Tell me, what Wade Chancelle's trying to do here—start an Indian army?" Arras shrugged. At this time, they walked out of the bushes, and he easily got on his horse. "I think he is just trying to restore the glory of Mayan civilization. He is a great leader, a great general." "He's a deserter from Teddy Roosevelt's Rough Riders." As soon as the words came out, Ben realized he had made his second mistake of the day.While the Mexican appeared friendly, his stance is unknown. But the conversation was interrupted by a path that suddenly widened in front of them.Here, a huge, thousand-year-old pyramid covered in vines stands majestically in the rainforest, blocking the way like an old Spanish army.A section of dilapidated stone steps extended to the very center of the pyramid. Ben remembered that he had read a story in a book about the high priest using living people to sacrifice unknown gods. "It's amazing," he gasped, "it's amazing!" "There are many such relics in Yucatan," Arras told him, "that's all that's left of a civilization that was once highly developed. Sometimes I think, we've entered the twentieth century, what will our civilization leave ?” They rode on, and after a few hours, finally a trace of salty air entered Ben's nostrils, "We're not far from the sea." "That's right. Our long journey is finally coming to an end. You'll be seeing Wade Chancellor for yourself soon." The rainforest thinned out, and they came to a flat open country, stretching for about a mile, bordering the sea.On the edge of the rocky cliffs stood a number of structures, ancient and modern—another Mayan pyramid, and an equally ancient flat-topped stone building.Among these ruins, some shacks and houses were built.As they got closer, Ben saw some Indians come out and meet them.Many people hold modern rifles in their hands.With a general like Chancellor, they must already know how to use a gun. Ben followed Arras, past the staring Indians, into the old stone building next to the pyramid.Under the earth, deep in the earth, where the waves beat against the rocks and swirled around them in puffs of salty mist, he reasoned that the wind must always be this strong here. The interior of the building is surprisingly modern, with broken stone bricks that have been reinforced with beautiful planed timber, presumably felled from the adjacent rainforest.They went through the two outer rooms, and Arras left Ben to wait alone, and went to find Wade Chancellor himself.It didn't take long for the Mexicans to return - followed by the man who made Ben Snow travel more than nine hundred miles to meet... Wade Chancellor was a tall young man in his late thirties Aged, he looked more like a lawyer than a general or a shooter.Not even the wispy beard on his chin and the three shiny medals on his chest could dispel the illusion that he was just a masquerade party attendee, a theater actor in makeshift costumes.But he has an army pistol slung from his belt, and his yellow eyes are dangerous, and when you notice these, you will change the conclusion you reached earlier.At least, it was like this when standing in front of this man who was almost ten years younger than him.At first glance, the man Wade Chancell looks harmless, and that alone could make him dangerous. "You have come all the way to meet me," he said, extending a hand in greeting. "What can I do for you?" Ben gave him a friendly smile, "Well, I've been riding, and I've heard a lot of rumors about you. I thought I knew a friend of yours in Texas, and thought I'd drop by and give You take a good one." The yellow eyes were hard. "I don't have any friends in Texas. I don't have any anywhere else." "The man's name is Ventura." Wade Chancellor smiled, with a hint of grimness on his lips, "Mr. Snow, there are three rifles aimed at your back right now. If Vintner sends you to assassinate me, I promise you that you will never put a gun on me again." out of the pouch." Ben pushed his hat up a little, exposing his wet forehead. "I'm not a hired killer, Chancellor. I'm just here to find out if the rumors about you are true." "it is true." Arras brought three large glasses from nowhere. "Gentlemen, I think we can drink something cold. Cool drinks to cool down." Wade Chancer relented and poured a glass.He sat down on a carved wooden chair and motioned for Ben to do the same. "Forgive me, my host is against the rules of hospitality. Please sit down." "Just what are you trying to do here, Chancellor?" Ben asked him. The young man with the beard waved his hand, "I want to organize a revolution. Yucatan, Mexico, and maybe the whole of Central America within a few years. I can do it." "Among the Indians, what power do you have?" He laughed again, "It's just the power of power, the power of justice. I want them to regain their glorious status in this world." Ben leaned back in his chair, knowing that if the rifle was still ready, what he said next might take three bullets to his back. "Vantner said you defected in Cuba." "Wantner is a fool. Why should I fight for the personal honor of a man like Roosevelt when I can lead my own army and win my own wars?" Ben took a sip of his wine and found the exotic concoction quite palatable.Rum and some juice, he supposed. "Would you kill Mexicans in order to achieve your purpose?" Chancellor grinned. "I'd rather kill Americans to get what I want. Don't you think?" Another person walked in, a middle-aged man with glasses and slightly bald.He wears clothes in the European style that is trending in eastern American cities.Ben thought he should be in Texas, not here. "You have guests," the man said in surprise, "I'm sorry." "Never mind, Professor Yrel. This is Ben Snow, who has come all the way from Texas to visit us," and said to Ben, "Professor Yrel is a famous scientist in Paris. He used to be with the Curies and other Some have worked together. You see, people come from all over the world to visit Wade Chancell's territory." Ben shook hands with the Frenchman. "Nice to meet you, Professor. What surprises await me here?" Chancellor laughed aloud. "Only Maggie Fish. She's an American like you, and I hired a nurse." Ben caught on to the words "like you".Apparently, Wade Chancell no longer considers America his hometown.He was truly a man without a country, and perhaps that is why he felt the need to create his own. "Are you hired to work here, too, Professor?" he asked. "Oh, dear, no," said the Frenchman, as if laughing at the idea, "you could call it a working holiday. I'm here for a few months, studying the customs of the native peoples. You know, the French have a Always interested." Ben smiled, "I thought they lost interest thirty years ago with the help of the United States." Professor Yrel blushed, "My country occasionally regresses back to imperialism, but we won't talk about that." Wade Chancellor, who had been watching with disinterest, suddenly bent over and coughed.He put a handkerchief over his mouth, and as he removed it, Ben saw a smear of blood.But he regained his composure almost immediately and rose to his feet. "Excuse me, I don't feel very well recently." After saying that, he left, and Aras hurriedly followed, leaving only Ben and Professor Yrel behind. "An unusual man," said Ben, lighting a cigarette from the box on the table. "Unusual," Yrel agreed, "and dangerous." "How dangerous is he?" The Frenchman looked around and lowered his voice, "He organized the Indians, and sometimes he said he wanted to send an army to march on Mexico City. I believe he will do what he said." "Will Indians be at his mercy? After all, he's an American." Yrel shrugged, "But the important thing is that there are Mexicans like Arras supporting him. They also dream of regaining the heyday of Mayan civilization." "It's not that easy to control the Indians." "He has a power. There's no question about that." "This stuff sounds unreal." The Frenchman laughed. "Life is illusory. Even I am illusory—my last name means illusory, but there is such a thing. Of course, recent developments in science are even more illusory than people like Chancellor." But be careful. I've seen his native men kill strangers here, and not let them go. None of us is safe, especially you, you know Chanther's past." "Did you hear that?" Yrel nodded, "I listened for a while before entering the house. I said, be careful, be careful." "I can handle it." Yrel nodded, and left in a hurry like when he came.It was getting dark outside, Arras came back and took his skills to the room where he stayed overnight.The accommodation arranged for him was a small wooden hut near the ancient pyramid, and the eccentric small room looked like it was used as a storage room.When he was alone, he surveyed the house cautiously, and was about to go to bed when he heard the sound of someone approaching, which he could not be mistaken for. Ben's hand was on the pistol, and the candlelight flickered in the doorway, revealing the figure of a girl.She was clearly American, with her freckled face and blonde hair, and she must have been the nurse, Maggie Fish. "Hello—I hear there's another American staying here tonight." "Come in," he said, releasing his grip on the gun, "this place is full of wonders. My name is Ben Snow." "Maggie Fish. I'm a nurse here, taking care of these Indians as best as I can. I guess this semblance of health care for them is part of Mr. Chancellor's conquest plan." She was quite reserved. There was a hint of sharpness in the language, and this woman who was not yet twenty-five surprised Ben.He even speculated for no reason whether she was also Chancellor's mistress. "You're the second person tonight to show displeasure with Wade Chancellor," he said. "Is Arras his only friend?" "Chancelle uses enemies like other people use friends. Who else did you talk to?" "The Frenchman—Professor Yrel." She put a drop of wax on the table, and fixed the candle firmly.The flickering yellow candlelight reflected her moving face. "Don't be fooled by Yrel," she said, "he's good both ways for his own purposes. I bet he didn't tell you he gave him a medal when he denounced Chanther, yes Bar?" "A medal?" She nodded, "Two of the medals he wears are from the American Army - I guess he stole them from the corpse. But the one in the middle is from France. Yrel brought it from Paris a month ago , dedicated to him as a symbol of the French government's goodwill." He noticed that only part of her young and tight body was hidden by the typical Mexican clothing she was wearing. "Why are you telling me this? What can I do?" "You're an American, like me." "And Chancellor too." "Exactly! I knew a long time ago that the Washington government wasn't going to let it go. I knew they were going to send someone to clean up Chancellor." "But it's not me, believe me. A man named Vintner tried to hire me to kill Chancellor, but I said no. You can say I'm just passing through, but you're not that innocent." The girl was a little annoyed, "I told you he hired me as a nurse. If you don't believe me, hang out with me tomorrow," and then thinking, she added, "You can meet old Oak." "who is it?" "An Indian. He's their spiritual leader, really. I think he's the oldest man in the world." "how old is he?" "He said that when Cortés landed in Veracruz, he was a child, and that was in 1518. That would mean he was three hundred and ninety years old. I know it's ridiculous, but in the tribe, Written accounts of him go back more than a hundred years. He was a wrinkled old man when we fought for the Revolution, and an American historian visited him in 1840." Ben sees a glimmer of light. "Chancell hired you mainly to take care of the old man, didn't he? It was his first step in mastering the Indians—be kind to their chief. Chancell wanted to revive their past, and this A leader with a direct connection to the past." The woman smiled, "You are a qualified detective. The Mayan civilization is on the verge of decline, and when Cortes captured..." Ben interrupted her with a quick wave of his hand, pulling her close to him. "There's someone out there!" he whispered eagerly, his other hand reaching for the pistol at his waist. The wooden door opened suddenly, and two barbarians with fierce eyes broke in, their long daggers gleaming in the candlelight.Behind him, Maggie Fish screamed before Ben drew his gun.His revolver fired, hitting the first Indian on the temple, and the icy blade sliced ​​across his shirt.He lost his balance and fell backward, knocking the candle off the table.If he was alone, he could risk fighting with his bare hands in the dark, but he couldn't risk it with a girl in danger.At the last moment when the candle was flickering out, he fired twice cautiously and quickly, as he had done for twenty years, and with the perfect skill of a man who made his living with guns, he hit the mark. silence.After that, after a while. "Book?" "Lie still. They may not be dead. Can you touch the candle?" "I think so." "Very well, click on it and step aside." Ben saw the dead bodies of the two attempted assassins in the light of the flickering flame at the end of the candle, revived.He shot one man in the left eye, but the other was alive, blood bubbling from a fatal wound on his chest, lingering.Ben knelt beside him, trying to hear the words from his moving lips. "what?" "Neve..." he repeated clearly, before dying. "Snow," Maggie Fish translated, "he's calling your name." "Possibly." Ben stood up, reloading his pistol. "What are you going to do with them?" He looked out the door, then carefully closed the door. "No one seems to have heard the gunshots and came to check. I'll throw the body over the cliff and into the sea. That way, Wade Chancellor will know I'm just kidding." Really. If he sends other people over, I will accompany you at any time." "Things have come to this point, you still want to stay?" Ben nodded, "at least until tomorrow. I want to meet that person with you, that three hundred and ninety-year-old man..." From Ben's point of view, the early morning activities were no different. The Indians were busy completing the tasks assigned earlier, and seemed to have not noticed that two companions were missing.He saw Professor Yrel and Arras walking along the cliff, and if they were looking for a body, they didn't show it.With the sombrero flapping in the breeze, the Mexican looked dangerously teetering. Maggie Fish was in her room preparing various medicines for her daily tour of the Aboriginal people. "I'm up early," she said, "and Wade Chancell seems to be very ill." "What's up with him?" "I don't know exactly what happened. Diarrhea and bleeding, but I don't know what caused it. He was a young man." Ben glanced at the bottles and cans, "You didn't accidentally poison him, did you?" "Of course not! I can't—he's got an Indian cook who's going to try every dish for him, like a Roman emperor." "Sometimes I think he's a demon, not a human being at all. See?" She held up a black square box. "It's a camera, for taking pictures, you know. Indians are obsessed with this stuff .But a few weeks ago, I tried to take a picture of Chancellor, but there was nothing. The film was foggy, as if I was taking a picture of a ghost!" Ben checked the camera with interest.He'd seen it before, but never up close, and he was obsessed with taking pictures like a child. "Another wonder of the twentieth century," he said. "I imagine everyone will own one one day. Did you ever take a picture of that old man?" She nodded, "Some of them are clearly photographed. But come with me, you can see him with your own eyes." Ben followed her around some small Indian shacks.She told him that there were still many Indians living in the rainforest, and that the two dead assassins probably came from there.Ben listened intently to her and watched the Indians they encountered attentively.Many young men have one thing in common in their expressions and eyes, which both attract him and repel him, which makes him puzzled. Finally, near noon, they arrived in front of a shack at the outermost edge of the complex.Outwardly, it is no different from other shacks, but there is a sense of isolation, if not physical isolation, then spiritual isolation. "We're here." Maggie Fish gasped, as if she was about to enter a church. The man in the room was indeed old—his wrinkled, mummy-like face was certainly the oldest thing Ben had ever seen—and when he spoke there was a clear throaty sound of dying.He ignored their questions, and in half-Spanish, half-Indian, spoke of the splendor he knew, of the mighty armies of Cortés that roamed the land many years ago, of the swords, swords, and shocks of armored units. Sky cannon fire.And beside him, Yunsun of Old Oak was squatting, and he was already an old man.Yes, Ben thought, an excellent place for a man with dreams of past glories.The Indians of the entire tribe listened to the legend of the glorious war told by the old saint every day. For Wade Chancellor, it was an excellent starting point. They stayed there more than twenty minutes, seeing and hearing old Oak.Finally, just as the visit was drawing to a close, Arras appeared at the door. "You must come, Miss Fish," he said darkly. "Wade Chancellor is very ill." "I'll go right away." They left in a hurry, leaving Ben lost in thought.He walked back slowly, stopped in front of the ancient and weedy Great Pyramid, and climbed up.Stone steps lead all the way to the top.Ben climbed to the top of the tower and took a short break to take in the expansive panorama of the sea and rainforest stretching beneath his feet.Climbing made him a little out of breath, time is not forgiving, he is no longer young, but standing on the top of the tower so close to the clouds, he temporarily forgot about it.Standing here, everything seems so small, people can feel endless power.Here, a wise coward like Wade Chancellor can imagine himself Lord of All Creation and sacrifice human beings for his own purposes, as the Mayans did long ago. Ben went down the tower with some reluctance, and went to find Professor Yrel.The Frenchman's quarters were easily found in the wing of the big stone house, but he was nowhere to be seen.Ben took a few minutes to survey the clean but empty room, noticing the names of the stack of reading materials on the bedside table.Pamphlets, mostly printed in French, dealing with various fields of science.While living in New Orleans, Ben had learned a bit of French, and some of the titles are easy to read: "Alkali Processes, Products, and History of Trade," C. T．Kinzett, London, 1877; The Chemical Effects of Rays of Radium, Marie and Pierre Curie, Paris, 1899; Metallurgy: Silver and Gold, J. Parcy, London , 1880. Just as Ben picked up one of the pamphlets and was trying to translate the few words he knew, Professor Yrel returned.The Frenchman was pale and trembling. "Wade Chancellor is dead," the voice changed, "God saved us all..." All afternoon, the great house had been clouded with darkness, which gradually lifted as night fell, replaced by a sense of urgency.News of Chancellor's sudden death had already spread among the Indians.Their restless voices reached the Great Room, where Ben Snow met Wade Chancellor for the only time in his life.Maggie Fish was there, too, and Professor Yrel, Arras and Ben.The Mexican, rifle in hand, paced like a caged animal in some terrible zoo of his own fantasies. "They're going to kill us all," he said. "They're crazy." "Then let's get out of here," Ben suggested. "Going through the rainforest?" Professor Yrel cleared his throat, "Chanther parked a small boat under the cliff. In this way, we can bypass the rainforest and return to the civilized city." Arras dropped his rifle, "I'm not going. The time is right, I won't let it slip through my fingers." "But you also said they were going to kill us." "Not if we control them," the Mexican said, "if we control them like Chancellor." "By Old Oak?" suggested the woman. Arras shook his head, "That's only part of it. For someone like Chancellor, Old Oak can only help him create the right atmosphere." Ben decided it was time to expose the truth, "Anyway, Old Oak is a fake." "Counterfeit?" "Of course! Nobody lives to be three hundred and ninety, not even here. Don't you notice that old Indians all look alike, especially in the dim light? It's just a family hoax—"当一个老奥克去世后，他们偷偷地将他埋葬，由他的儿子接替他。现在这个儿子的年纪已经足够大了，可以接他的班了。直到一个老奥克无子而终，这场骗局才结束。但同时，这也是一个伟大的传奇——即使一些印第安人会心存怀疑。我曾经读到过，在欧洲有一个男人，名叫老巴尔，也玩过同样的把戏。传说他生于1483年，死于1635年，但其实是祖孙三代轮番饰演一人。” 外面不知从哪里传来一声枪响。“原住民都不睡觉。”马姬·费什本想开个玩笑，却没有成功。 亚拉斯朝大门跑去。“我去制止他们，”他说，“我必须去！” 本对伊瑞尔喊道：“带马姬上船，等我回来。我去追那个愣头青。” 屋外，一团篝火被点燃在雨林的外缘，火焰高高地腾向夜空。借着火光，本看到许多武装的野蛮人朝他跑来。他飞快地射出两枪，压住了他们的进攻，四下环视，寻找亚拉斯。墨西哥人正朝着金字塔顶上那间漆黑的小室爬去。本跟了上去，一天之中第二次攀登金字塔。他清楚，印第安人会紧追在后。 “亚拉斯！”他大吼道，“站住！” 墨西哥人已经爬到了塔顶，点燃了一根蜡烛，搜寻着什么，“你无法阻止我。我已经回不了头了！” “什么？”本终于截住了他，气喘吁吁地问，“什么东西值得你付出这样的代价？” 亚拉斯转过身，手里仍然端着来复枪，“你要理解我，朋友。我要的不仅是权力，像钱瑟那样。我要的是伴随权力而来的辉煌。看这儿——这是一位玛雅大祭司的石棺，他已经死了大概一千年了。我想要的是他那时候的辉煌的重生，为了尤卡坦，为了所有墨西哥人。” “这就是你支持韦德·钱瑟的原因？” “这就是我支持他的原因。” “也是因为这个，你默许他让印第安人吸食毒品？” “毒品？”在摇曳的烛火下，墨西哥人的双眼透着谨慎。 “你心里清楚我的意思，亚拉斯！那些印第安人吸食毒品，已经疯了。你可以从他们的脸上，眼中看出来。这就是为什么他们如此驯服地听从钱瑟的命令——因为他让他们染上了毒瘾。他派来杀我的其中一个人，临死前，嘴里叨念着雪。令他在意的一定不是我的名字——他是想要一些毒品，据我推测是可卡因。这种白色的晶体对于印第安人来说一定很像雪，他们大概只是从马姬·费什的照片上见过雪。” 亚拉斯伸出另一只手，将大祭司的石棺盖顺着石滚轴向后推去。“你说的没错。他给他们可卡因，这里还有更多——我帮助他从南美的古柯种植园搞到了一大批可卡因。我会给他们这个，像钱瑟那样控制住他们。” 本拔出了手枪，“我不会让你这么做的，亚拉斯。” 墨西哥人端起了来复枪，“我并不邪恶——这一点你必须相信。我只是一个有梦想的人。如果几磅的可卡因可以换回一个王朝，我愿一试。现在我得杀了你，并不是因为我恨你，而是因为我的梦想。对不起，真的对不起。” 他的手指刚要扣紧扳机，本一枪射穿了他的前额……十分钟后，本迎着海浪，涉水走到等候的小船边。伊瑞尔和那女孩儿把他拉上船，他精疲力竭地瘫倒在船板上。“你是怎么逃出来的？”马姬·费什问。 本咳了一声，坐起身，湿透的衣服紧贴着他冰冷的身体。“好不容易。印第安人一定有禁忌，不能爬上金字塔。他们在塔下守株待兔，我是从后面下来的。每节石阶大概有八英尺高，但我还是设法下来了。” “亚拉斯呢？” “亚拉斯死了。而他打算分给印第安人的可卡因也沉入海底了。我过来的时候处理掉了。” “可卡因！”伊瑞尔喃喃自语道，“原来他是用这个方法！” “我曾经怀疑过，”马姬·费什说，“但是我没有证据。” 风扬起了他们的帆，将他们送入了开阔无边的大海。运气好的话，几个小时后他们就能离开尤卡坦了。离开尤卡坦，回去，回到得克萨斯去。“我得去找个人，”本似乎是在自言自语，“一个叫万特纳的人。他愿意出两千美金要韦德·钱瑟的命。” “你会收他的钱吗？”伊瑞尔问。 “不，”本答道，看到那女孩儿忙着调整船帆，听不见他们的谈话，“不会，我不会收的，教授。因为是你谋杀了韦德·钱瑟。” “你这话是什么意思？他是自然死亡。” “我知道的也不多，教授，所以我不会把你的秘密泄露出去的。在你房间里，我看到一本关于镭的书，我只明白我可以翻译的几段文字。镭是一种新的化学元素，1898年刚刚被两个叫居里的人发现，而韦德说过，你和他们一起工作过。这种物质的威力尚不清楚，但已经被证明是致命的。我想就是这个要了韦德·钱瑟的命。” 浪花飞溅，伊瑞尔教授面无表情。最终，片刻的寂静之后，他说：“我并不知道镭可以置人于死地。我在动物身上做的实验并无相关结果。我只知道镭可以让他生重病，也就解除了他带来的威胁。” “你是为法国政府工作的间谍吗？” 伊瑞尔耸耸肩，“我不能说。我们这样说吧，我是为所有害怕韦德·钱瑟的权利梦的人工作的。” 本点点头，“我想，对我来说够了。我没有权利惩罚你，甚至评判你。”之后，他又说，“你可能会对镭的一个作用感兴趣。当那女孩儿想给钱瑟拍照时，镭令照片变得模糊。这是另一件引起我疑心的事。” “你知道镭藏在哪里吗？”伊瑞尔问，说话中的语气分明透着一股子自豪，“不过是一小块儿银色金属，但却足以在一个月内要了他的命。” 本凝视着天空，心里突然涌起一阵悲哀，不禁想知道当死亡的射线可以杀人于无形时，未来还会给世界留下什么呢？“我想我知道，”他回答说，“我想是藏在你别在钱瑟胸前的勋章里……”

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