Chapter 16 Candlesticks in Bogotá - 7

Arcadio Almeiras was fifty-six at the time.At first he was terrified of becoming a painter, but he had studied painting with Emilio Petorutti in the early 1920s.He also traveled across the ocean to meet Clay in Berlin.As for Kandinsky, Almelas well remembered visiting him three or four times in Weimar.That was when Almeiras wished he had a little, a little talent. "And yet there isn't even a bit of it. It's a complete Gobi desert." He asked: "In your opinion, whose painting is this?" The tall young man shrugged. "Kondinigki-like name. But it's worth a lot, I'm sure. A thousand dollars at least."

His Spanish is perfectly compliant, though hesitant to speak it. "Are you French?" "Belgians," said the young man. Almeiras took the painting to the door of the store and examined it carefully in the pale Argentine winter sun.This is a common thing, when the artist signed the letter s in "Kandinsky" (Kandinsky) like a j, at this time a very beautiful young woman came from his shop in Buenos Aires Passing by the gallery on Florida Street, Almeiras smiled at her and turned away. "This is Kandinsky, a Russian painter who died not long ago in Paris. You're right; it's worth a lot of money. Over a thousand dollars at least. Do you really intend to sell it?"

"I need money. I didn't steal this painting." He produced some receipts, which were not of much value except to prove that the painting was legally bought a year ago in Madrid from a man named Maurer, and that it was legally brought from Madrid to Buenos Aires. . Almeiras said, "There are several other paintings mentioned here..." "Four more," said the young man.He took a small notebook out of his pocket, turned it to a page, and showed Almeras it read: "Madrid, July 3, 1946. From Günter Maurer in Berlin Five paintings were bought there: Klee, F. Marc, Kondinigchi, F. Marc, A. Mackay. $1,200."

"Did you really get these five paintings for only twelve hundred dollars?" "He's asking $5,000, but he's in a hurry to sell it." Almeiras closed his eyes. "A Klee, two Marks, a Kandinsky, and an Auguste Marquet for twelve hundred dollars! Those Europeans are really crazy! Would you consider selling them Sell ​​it all?" "I'm not going to do that," replied the young man calmly. "Maybe later..." "Or someone will offer you what you think is right." The young man's thin face seemed to be pierced by a pair of very pale eyes, which was quite impressive. When he smiled, the lines on his face softened visibly.

"I think so." It was agreed that the Kandinsky painting would be kept by Almeiras for several days.He expressed his desire to see the other four spokes, purely for his own enjoyment, but the young man said he had not brought them, they were not in Buenos Aires, or even in Argentina.He left them with his brother in Bogotá.Yes, he has a family, father, mother and three brothers, all in Bogota.He will be going back there soon. "Can you speak German?" Almeiras asked. He said he only spoke some common words. "Jawchl (of course)", "Kommen Siemet mir (follow me)" and the like, he had a good laugh.

"Der Blaue Reiter—'The Blue Rider,'" said Almeiras. "It was the name of a group of painters formed before the outbreak of the First World War. Kandinsky, Marc, Marquet and Klee were members. Collectors would certainly be interested in buying all five of your paintings at the same time. That in itself It's already a collection. Do you understand?" "I understand," said the young man. "Especially Argentines of German origin. We have a lot of Germans in Argentina, especially lately. Franz Marc and Auguste Marquet both died in the Great War from 1914 to 1918. They Their paintings are coveted by collectors. They died young and didn't have time to paint many. For people of German descent, buying their paintings is almost - how should I put it? - almost a patriotic attitude."

"I see," repeated the young man. "Then I agree to sell it all. If the price is right. Thank you for your honesty. I won't forget." No, he couldn't leave his address in Buenos Aires, but he would still come to the gallery.Almeiras asked him his name, and he replied that his name was Henry Arter. After seventeen days of watching, Erich Steyr appeared. Diego Haas is Argentinian.He was born in this country to his father, a Carinthian from southern Austria (Note: Haas is a Germanic surname, if read in Spanish, it is "Aas"), and his mother's surname—she grew up in Didn't miss the opportunity to point this out - it's de Carvajal... (There's a long list to come)Diego is a plump, blond youth with a round face. His short stature is inversely proportional to his protruding cynical attitude. The carefree and broad-minded style he shows is almost stupid.In addition to Spanish, he also spoke German and English, learned French for a while, and was recently working as a secretary for an extremely wealthy German expatriate, Erich Steyr.It was September, and five months of secretaryship had taught him some of the most essential facts about his employer: Erich Joachim, Steyr, very rich, very smart, very beautiful , very learned, very refined and refined, but if he is not the meanest villain in the world, at least he is at least one of the best villains.

Diego smiled modestly at Steyr. "I've never heard the name of this Kandinsky, sir. But I'm ready to admit he was wonderful." He glanced casually at the painting and exclaimed, "It's wonderful!" Then he leaves the gallery to go outside to admire the women in the street.Next to it are Steyer's car, Steyer's driver and Steyer's bodyguard.Steyer does not live in Buenos Aires.Not long after he arrived in Argentina, he bought a beautiful villa near Córdoba through Diego; less than a week after buying the house, countless crates arrived, containing priceless treasures .Even Diego, who has always prided himself on his lack of literacy, was amazed at the sight of so many art treasures.At the same time, Steyer set about planning his future in Argentina and indeed in South America as a whole: he intended to establish himself as an investment advisor, especially to his less fortunate compatriots who were escaping international Jewry. escaped from the motherland. Jawohl (of course),” Diego said calmly, unmoved by the falsely enthusiastic confession. He thought Steyer was too good-natured to say such stupid things seriously; He was a piece of rubbish, and rubbish was rubbish. Together they walked into Argentina, to neighboring countries like Chile, and even as far as Venezuela; also to Bogota, Colombia.

To tell the truth—Diego Haas admitted himself when he told George Taalas about it—he had no particularly vivid recollection of that day in September 1947.From the very beginning he realized that Steyr had a passion for art, especially paintings.So the gallery in Almeiras is almost a must-stop; it's second to none in Argentina, and it's not unusual to see a Kandinsky painting there.It wasn't until Diego himself met Wang, especially after the nightmarish scene in Bogotá two months later, that he connected all the signs... After several weeks, the "Kandinsky deal" really took shape.During this time, Steyer returned to the gallery several times, apparently directing a slow-moving negotiation.

On November 5, Almeiras informed Steyr that the owner of the painting had finally decided to agree. On the pretext of going to a business meeting with Colombia, Steyr hoped to achieve the goal of killing two birds with one stone, and they arrived in Bogota on November 6, 1947. "I hate Bogotá," said Diego Haas, "and I despise Santiago, Lima, La Paz and Quito, aside from that. I just barely put up with Buenos Aires. As for the ones I hate Not to mention Asuncion and Caracas, which I hate so much. In fact, the only exception is Rio de Janeiro, even though they don't speak Spanish there..."

"Keep your big mouth shut, please?" Steyr said without raising his voice, as usual.He sat in the backseat of his car and read something, his attention focused on a certain deal.Diego sat next to Attorney Steyer.The Colombian driver was a tortoise-like driver, and to his right was Paul Gruber—Diego thought cows were a little smarter than him, though Diego didn't think much of cows either. . "I don't know much about Europe," Diego continued, unfazed by the pretext. "Except for a few European women here and there. I almost convinced Mamita - my mother - to let me live in Paris for a year or two, where you Nazi buddies started your own' Tourism'. In my own case, I am a victim of the Third Reich." The plane had brought the three men from Caracas to Bogotá an hour earlier. "Hass, if you make one more stupid joke like this, I'll ask Gruber to beat you up. He'll be glad to do it." The car headed towards the city center, where it was around four o'clock in the afternoon.It is raining cold and drizzle, which is probably because of the very high altitude here (Note: Bogota, the capital of Colombia, has an altitude of 2640 meters. Although it is close to the equator, due to the higher terrain, the climate Cool, like spring all the year round).They walked straight to their hotel, near the San Carlos Palace where Bolivar had lived.The hotel desk handed Steyer a letter.The letter was written in Spanish and signed Henry Alter.Diego translated the contents of the letter. "The letter says that if you want to buy his paintings, you can meet him every evening after six o'clock at No. 8, Via Baccata, Chapineiro. 0le! (Note: Spanish: excellent.) Letter No '0le', I said that." Steyer decided to postpone the matter until the third day.But then, driven by an eagerness to see the paintings for which he had been waiting for two months (Diego thought it was a mania), he decided to go that very evening.When they reached number 8, Calle Baccata, Diego checked the time: 8:15.They found a new building that had just been completed, and no one seemed to have lived in it yet.But when they got to the door, a man came up to them and said that an apartment on the fifth floor was already occupied.Yes, it is Mr. Henry Alder.He had just entered and was at home. After entering the door, a narrow corridor leads to the cellar and the room of the vacant caretaker.A corridor led them to a straight staircase with a small landing at the top of the first flight of steps.Five or six steps to the left is the second corridor, where there are two elevators and emergency fire escapes. As usual, Gruber opened the door and was the first to reach the elevator.He was two or three meters ahead of Steyr, and the distance between him and Diego Haas was even greater, because Diego had stopped to talk to the caretaker of the empty house, who he thought was rather "odd". Diego heard three shots, but for a split second he didn't know who fired them.He had just reached the top of the first escalator and was about to step onto the platform.He hesitated, not knowing what to do, to see what was wrong, or to "run away as soon as possible and pretend I was calling for help".However, the development of the situation did not give him time to choose.A very tall figure appeared beside him, issuing orders to him calmly in Spanish. "Go get the house inspector. There was an accident there." Diego didn't have to call, the housekeeper heard the gunfire and came by himself. (But the Colombian driver who had brought Steyer and the three did not come because the door to the building was closed.) Diego took some relief from the stranger's calm demeanor and climbed the last few steps. steps. He came into the second corridor.Gruber curled up on the iron door of an elevator, standing on the door with one cheek, as if listening through the door.But blood had begun to trickle down his neck. Erich Steyr was a few steps away, unharmed, with hands raised above his head, a look of horror on his face. "Get down," Diego was told.He did so at once, as did the out-of-breath caretaker who had just come running.A large hand appeared in Diego's field of vision, searching him. "Please don't tickle. I'm ticklish. I don't have a weapon on me, thank God. I could cripple myself with nail clippers with my fine hands." "I have nothing against you," said the deep voice of the stranger. "As long as you keep quiet, I won't hurt a single hair of your hair." "I'll be as quiet as a mouse," Diego replied, trying his best to convince him. "In fact I've been planning to stay on my stomach all night." The man also searched the occupants of the house, but found nothing.There was a moment's silence, and then the stranger spoke again, this time in German. "Do you still know me, Ehrlich?" "You are Reb Klimrod," Steyer said. "You've grown up a lot." silence. "She died in Belzec, Ehrlich. Same with Mina and Katie. Did you get them to Belzec on purpose, or did you hand them over to the SS in Lvov?" "I wasn't thinking about which camp in particular. Reb, that blond boy you put him on the ground understood everything you and I were saying. Which means you'd have to kill him too." "I've been to Hartheim Castle." "I want Epoke to show you the pictures before he kills you, if he can find them. Did he show you?" "yes." There was silence again. "I'm not afraid, Reb. Whatever you're going to do to me." "it is good." "How did you find me?" "You sent your wife a postcard from Buenos Aires telling her you had arrived safely. I searched her house one night and almost overlooked it. Then I remembered you wrote a play , takes place in Vienna. One of the characters in the play is named Tarantello, as signed on the postcard." "That's the price a man pays for writing. Do you really have paintings of Clay and Marc and Marquet?" "No. At least not since you looted my house. Go to the elevator, Ehrlich. The one on the right." "All the things are in Cordoba, Leiber, everything is there, and nothing is missing. As long as you give me time, I can arrange for everything to be returned to you through legal means." "Go in." "If I die, you will lose everything, and everything you hold so dear." The fourth shot prompted Diego Haas to look up.Steyer was seen grimacing in pain, standing on only one left leg; bullets had mashed his right knee. "Don't force me to kill you like this, Ehrlich. You won't succeed. Get in the elevator." Steyer landed on one good leg, using the wall for support, and moved forward hop by hop. "You really speak German?" For a few seconds Diego didn't know if it was him or not that was being asked.It never occurred to him to lie. "Very fluent," he said. "But I've only been to Europe to look under the skirts of women there." For the first time he had a clear look at the man whom Steyr called "Reber Klimrod."The man was stern, and his hatred and contempt gave him an air of majesty and terror.But the voice remained unimaginably calm. "Please get up and walk over to have a look." Diego complied.He found a very ordinary-looking elevator.Then he noticed that the inside of the elevator was nailed only with shiny sheet steel, as if someone had forgotten to finish it. Taped at eye-level were three photographs of the same man crawling across the floor of what seemed to be a cavern, his mouth open, in the apex of pain. "My father, Johann Klimrod. Take a good look, Ehrlich. You have plenty of time for that." Steyer slumped in a corner of the elevator.He wanted to say something, but the steel door was closed, and the click of the lock drowned out his words.Inside the closed door was a small window, big enough for two hands laid side by side.Soon Steyer's face appeared behind the window.Diego could see his lips moving, but could not hear the slightest sound. "What's your name?" "Has. Diego Haas." "Stay out of the way. I don't want you to be victimized. Go sit where you are, with that man. He's not looking after the house, and he's not responsible. He has no idea what I'm up to. Don't move either of you." .” After speaking, Klimrod started to work.He brought a cloth bag and the whole wiring system from the stairwell.He seemed to hesitate for a second; his pale gray eyes opened wide, and his lips quivered slightly, as if he were about to cry.But he connected all the circuits one by one.Only then did Diego notice blood dripping from his right arm and a bloody gash in his jacket above the elbow: Gruber must have hit him with a shot. After he connected the circuit, nothing seemed to happen.No sparks sputtered, and no other movement could be seen.Klimrod took a step back, staring into the small window.After a few minutes, he ran his finger lightly across the steel door.In the next few minutes, he repeated this action many times, but said nothing.Until he said to Diego in German without looking back, "You touch this." Diego fell in love again.He held out a trembling hand, but drew it back immediately: the steel plate was hot. "It's nothing," Klimrod's voice seemed to come from afar, as if in a dream. "In a minute, the steel plate will start to turn red..." He just pressed the button.It was the typical hum of an elevator starting, but the steel cage began to rise so slowly that it was barely noticeable, perhaps a few centimeters a minute. Klimrod took out eight silver candlesticks and eight candles from the cloth bag, and arranged them in front of the elevator.Sure enough, the steel plate of the elevator began to turn slightly red.Diego dared not look into the little window. "Eight candlesticks, eight candles," said Klimrod, "two for each member of my family..." He lit the candles one by one.Steyr's face through the window looked like it was melting in pain; his eyes seemed to be burning.Diego thought he might have something to say at this moment.Klimrod took a step back and began to mutter in a language Diego couldn't recognize for a while. When he finished, there was a vacuum above the yellow candle flame, below the now reddened elevator.The elevator is still going up, and the steel plate is getting white hot.Diego trembled with fear and looked away. "Both of you please get up." This sentence is spoken in Spanish. He led them down a short flight of steps, and then down a straight staircase.The Colombian driver only spotted them when they were almost below.Reb Klimrod fired two shots high above the driver's head. The driver still felt that he was being targeted, so he disappeared from the door immediately. "follow me." They went into the two small rooms side by side where the caretaker lived. "Go inside, please," Klimrod ordered to the caretaker, closing and locking the cell door.He pushed Diego Haas forward to the side street, where a "Volkswagen" car was parked. "Please drive. My injury will hinder me. I hope you know how to drive." They heard footsteps behind them: the Colombian driver was running toward them.One of his bullets pierced the rear window and hit the right edge of the windshield.Klimrod returned two shots, clearly not wanting to hit his target. "Please get the car out." The car took two more shots, but a full-speed sharp turn from Diego sent them out of range.The car soon reached Caracas Avenue. "Where are we going?" Diego asked. "Go to the airport." "The driver will certainly report to the police. And Mr. Steyer has some very powerful friends there." "Go to the airport." "Yes, full speed ahead." He gradually regained his composure and began to regain his active and talkative temperament, although he still had lingering fears about the scene he had just witnessed. He asked, "What are you reciting in front of those candlesticks?" "'Kadish' - a Jewish prayer for the dead." "Because you're Jewish?" "Not anymore, but I was a bit involved once," said Klimrod... ...Suddenly, he yelled: "Stop!" The "Volkswagen" car had just driven into the huge open space in Sanctuary Yang, and two police cars were about to come forward and intercept them. "Turn around. Please hurry up." "Call me Nuvolari (Note: Tazio Nuvolari (1892-1953), a famous Italian racing driver who has won 12 world championships and is the greatest racing driver of the 1930s. )." said Jego. He flipped the car around at a frantic pace, as if it was his life or death. "Maybe it is, you big fool!" he thought. "If this tall, gray-eyed guy with a terribly soft voice doesn't kill you, the military police will; anything that moves, they shoot." road.He was going through the moment when his heart was beating the most in his life. As other vehicles appeared from left, right, and behind, he was now literally sucked into the vortex, and with an incomprehensible joy he used all his skills to avoid them, almost like dancing a wild Spanish dance... … ...until he put his foot on the brake and braked, as Klimrod ordered.He didn't even have time to figure it out ("Everything is ready and waiting there, don't worry," Reber said), but he found himself behind the wheel of a truck driving west, after the "Volkswagen" sedan. Two police cars even passed them. After a while, the road started to spin down into one of the dirtiest trails, and it was almost impossible to see anything in the pouring rain.The headlights of the car illuminate either a forested slope or a cliff with a bloody mouth at each turn.At least a dozen times, Diego had already fumbled with the brakes and felt that the truck was propelled by its own inertial force and began to slide directly into the abyss in the yellow mud.He miraculously saved the day every time. "I can't brake even if I want to," he kept saying to himself. "It's time to fall, dear Diego!" This frenzied descent continued for several hours before they saw a pitifully small flat land ahead.Diego stood up on the pedal and braked as hard as he could, but couldn't stop, and the truck hit a large rock.The car finally stopped. They stepped out of the car at the same time.There is a niche in the corner of the rock, where stands a light blue and gold statue of the Virgin, at the foot of the statue are a few flowers in a pot and some votive offerings, thanking the Virgin for blessing the drivers of trucks and cars Get through this deadly downhill safely. "Ah, so that's what it is," Dizhigo said happily, "but my driving skills aren't too bad after all..." He turned and saw Reb Klymulod weeping against the rock. After this stop and another for gas, it took another four hours to reach Villavicencio, a town less than two kilometers below Bogota in altitude (not distance).After this period of time, the relationship between Klimrod and Haas has developed to a rather harmonious level, which is also a strange thing.After they left Villavicencio and headed east, Klimrod asked Diego where they were and what lay ahead.Diego laughed out loud. "My geography grades were never excellent. History, Spanish, foreign languages, and maths and chemistry weren't much better. I relied on Mamita to figure out how to avoid exams. Under these circumstances, it was almost possible for me to get a law degree. It is, of course, one of the most disgusting scandals in the history of world universities. In short, there is nothing on the right, and an empty field on the left. As for the front, it is worse." "What exactly is that place?" Diego thought while pointing ahead.It was a bit of a historic moment, and he asked himself, "What are you going to do, my dear little Dumpty Diego?" He said: "You walk straight ahead for 2,500 or 3,000 kilometers, and you turn right somewhere. That's the Amazon. From there you start paddling, theoretically, another 1,500 kilometers or so , in about a month, you will reach the Atlantic Ocean. From there you can go back to Austria." He started to start, seeing an unimaginable passion from that thin face, Diego immediately restrained himself a lot. "They'll have to settle with you," he said, suddenly regretting his slippery tone. "In my country alone, in Argentina, they've invested more than $100 million. There are people like Steyr all over the South American continent, and I've heard that there is an organization that is going to send more of them here It may enlighten some others how they'll let go of what you've done with Steyer. Besides, the man in charge of that building . . . " "He's not really looking after the house. I'm paying him to play the part, but he doesn't know anything else, please leave him out." "Can he speak German?" "No." He thought it was a prank. "Then he doesn't understand a word you and Steyer are talking about." He laughed, and a pair of yellow eyes sparkled. "I'm actually the only witness, the only person who knows your name..." Diego took Klimrod's hand and forced him to draw a Colt pistol from his belt and bring the barrel to his temple. "Bang!" he said cheerfully. "But I'm going to tell you anyway, it's going to make me sad." They passed a place called Puerto López, where, seeing a plane fly over them twice, they suddenly changed direction and headed toward the endless prairies in a hot, buzzing silence. advance.More than forty hours after they left Bogota, they crossed San Carlos in Gualoa and arrived at Chafrai Ranch on the morning of November 9.Beyond that was another registered ranch called Olqueta, where they arrived after a final fourteen-hour journey.So far, the road has come to an end. Although Diego tried to keep the truck going, he had to concede defeat in front of a river.There was no bridge over this river, and they searched for a long time but could not find Jindu. "It's over," Diego said exhaustedly. After he turned off the engine, the silence was overwhelming again.What was more, he could not help feeling that an irremediable folly was about to be accomplished.There were at least twenty chances that they would have been killed in the hours-long relentless rush down the winding road from Bogotá, but this process was by no means premeditated but merely a continuation of their escape from Chapinero.Later, they gradually went eastward to an inaccessible place. It was like a game, like climbing up centimeter by centimeter to the edge of a bottomless pit... "We're at the end now..." He climbed onto the running boards of the truck and from there onto the roof.He didn't see much—the jungle stretched along a yellow river, sometimes obscuring it completely—but the imagination that was aroused by it was great: it was an absolutely immeasurable space, unknown to all, Gray-green hazy, sticky, hundreds of thousands of square kilometers, full of beasts and... Thinking of this, Diego got goosebumps. "Listen," he began suddenly, with a seriousness that surprised even himself, "this is madness. You can't even think about going straight ahead..." "There is something I want you to do," Klimrod said gently, "This truck you and I were using just now, I borrowed it from a guy who didn't know what I was going to do with it. You'll find the guy's name and address inside the truck, and he might get some Trouble. You have to find a way to convince the police that he is innocent. And please pay for the damage on my behalf." He was wearing only the boots, trousers and cloth shirt he had bought in Villavicencio five days earlier.He drew a Colt automatic from the back of his belt and put it on the hood. "Take this too, or throw it away. As for the money..." He turned upside down the cloth bag from which he had taken the candlesticks and candles in Bogotá, and shook out two books, three passports, and some scattered banknotes.He just put the book back in the sack and slipped the strap over his shoulder. "Thank you. I will remember you, Diego." A minute later he had walked away. Diego Haas, torn by an inexplicable sense of desperation, called out to his back two or three times, begging him to come back.But Klimrod doesn't seem to hear it even once.He made his way toward the jungle, and was soon devoured by greed. Two days later, on November 11, 1947, Diego Haas returned to civilization and was arrested by soldiers who gave him several blows on the head and other parts of his body.He was brought back to Villavicencio, and from there he was taken to Bogota.In Bogota, the interrogator insisted that he was responsible for the crime, and the conclusion was very decisive.But Haas also insisted on his own statement: he was an innocent victim, under the threat of a big pistol and twelve hand grenades, he was forced by that madman to drive, first a car, then a truck, and headed straight to the university. At the end of the grassland, he would never dream of going to that kind of place alone.No, the madman didn't say what his name was, and he didn't mention why Mr. Steyer was burned alive, "I am deeply saddened by the tragic death of my dear boss. 0le!" ’ not aloud.) The elevator was opened with an oxygen torch to find Mr. Steyer inside a disgusting pile of charred flesh. What does that madman look like? "He's about thirty-five years old;" said Diego. "I estimate he's about five feet seventy. He has black hair, dark eyes, and a scar on his left cheek. He's missing a piece of his left little finger." Oh, I almost forgot: he walks with a limp. Yes, he can speak German, but with a heavy Russian accent. No, no, not Polish, but Russian. I know some Russian, no mistake! He can never be a real German. He mentioned Caracas and Venezuela at one point. But I guess he was heading for the southern border." He got punched a few more times because his description of the madman didn't quite match the one given by the housekeeper, who wasn't even a real housekeeper but just an impromptu stand-in.Diego said this was not surprising, since the stand-in janitor was clearly nearsighted and an alcoholic (which was true). Afterwards, Diego's all-powerful Mamipe in Buenos Aires intervened, explaining that her only, somewhat deranged son might be anything (especially a hapless egg), but never an accomplice of a "Polish Jew or a Russian Communist".Immediately after Diego was released, he went to the owner of the truck (he was not in too much trouble, only a few teeth were knocked out), and used the 12600 that Klimrod left Diego Part of the hundred and twenty-five dollars paid for his loss.The rest was given to the not real caretaker of the house, who lost only three fingers when he was released. A textile tycoon in Medellín offered a reward of twenty thousand dollars for the capture of the madman. With his promotion, a four-week manhunt was carried out in a vast area from Nongcha in the north to the border with Ecuador in the south. To the east, two columns of soldiers and three planes went into search.They even discovered the last place the truck arrived, and searched tens of kilometers deep in the prairie there.But this kind of search does not have a lot of confidence, because no matter how crazy the madman is, it is impossible for him to be crazy enough to keep going forward. At that time, the king was on his way to his future kingdom. Guaribo Wang himself said to David Setiniaz one day that it would be absolutely impossible for him to follow the route he traveled in those years as a tribute.事实上，要不是塞梯尼亚兹坚持，雷伯也许不会费工夫回到这条路上来寻觅自己的旧踪。可是塞梯尼亚兹坚持要他这样做，并说服了他。一儿六九年三月，他和王带着许多地图，乘坐一架大型直升飞机，在这一地区上空作了一次飞行。 挡住迪耶戈·哈斯所驾驶的卡车去路的那条河名叫马纳卡西亚斯河，要不就是它的一条大支流。马纳卡西亚斯河朝东南偏东方向绕了一个弯子，然后向北流入梅塔河，而梅塔河本身又是奥里诺科河的一条支流。王没有沿着河走，他过了河朝东南偏南方向而去。想必他就是在那个时候渡过了阿里亚里河。他对塞梯尼亚兹讲起过一条被森林侵蚀了一半的小路，基梯尼亚兹认为这就是美国一家橡胶田地产商一九四二年在哥伦比亚境内的瓜维亚雷河流域开发时所走过的道路。 王还谈到离波多拉孔科尔迪亚镇不远有个独家村，在这里，瓜亚贝罗河与阿里亚里河汇合成瓜维亚雷河——奥里诺科河的另一条大支流。 关于他那次惊人的旅行，王没有作任何其他的解释。他大体上顺着瓜维亚雷河的流向前进，在步行一百天后，约于一九四八年二月初到达阿塔瓦波的圣费尔南多，这是委内瑞拉境内的一个小集镇。 本来，这个年轻人可以轻而易举地从圣费尔南多沿奥里诺科河顺流而下到达圭亚那，或去加拉加斯，直抵加勒比海。但是他选择了东行之路，朝着人迹罕至的奥里诺科河上游一直向前，深入亚马逊尼亚腹地。奥里诺科河从帕里马山的峻岭险峰之间流过，这是一群令人眩晕和难以想象的锥体，犹如巨大的风琴管子从潮湿的丛林中拔地而起，最高的可达两干五百米。 在与王一起作第一次旅行之后的次年，塞梯尼亚兹又曾独自飞越这个地区上空。在阿塔瓦波的圣费尔南多，他发现那是一个两三千居民的小镇，照例不可缺少的玻利瓦尔广场四周环绕一座座低矮的房屋。该镇五十年前曾是委内瑞拉亚马逊地区的首府，也是橡胶探险队力图挽回那次大规模橡胶冒险颓势的出发点，可是后来实际上被废弃了。塞梯尼亚兹坐宣升飞机从阿亚库乔港起飞，越过奥里诺科河，先到埃斯梅拉尔达——意思是绿宝石。当年雷伯到那里的时候，这个地方是委内瑞拉行政当局管辖权力所及的最远点。过了埃斯梅拉尔达，寒梯尼亚兹进入禁区，穿过三个成立不久的天主教传道区，其中最早的一个也是一九五一年才建立的。他在第三个也是建立最晚的一个传道区普拉塔纳尔着陆，受到萨雷斯会传教上、一个名叫巴尔托利的意大利人很有礼貌的接待。 塞撒尼亚兹乘飞机继续在空中逆奥里诺科河之流而上。他飞渡被洪堡（注：亚历山大·冯·洪堡（1769—1859），德国博物学家，自然地理学家。）称为“南美洲的赫丘利之柱”（注：赫丘利是罗马神话中的力大无比的英雄。“赫丘利之柱”指的是直布罗陀海峡两岸悬崖峭壁。）的地方（实际上是一处宽度随季节而异、约为二百至三百米的急滩，即瓜阿里沃滩)，并说服神经相当紧张的直升飞机驾驶员进入奥里诺科河正式由此开始的一个峡谷。他们看到了帕里马山脉的口子以及委内瑞拉与巴西接壤的边界。直至今天，那里仍然是地球上最荒凉、最神秘的地域之一。在塞梯尼亚兹的想象中，这个地区生活着无数爬行和飞翔的动物。果不出他所料：那里的蚊子每平方米有上百万个；有一种叫做赫亨的小虫，给他们蜇破的伤口至少要过一个星期才能愈合；有成百上千种各式各样的虫豸，只要人身上擦破了一丁点儿皮，它们就会来吮血；有穿皮潜蚤，系沙蚤的一种，专在皮下产卵；有吸血蝙蝠；有一次能跳二十厘米捕食的螳蚰，这种蜘蛛毒得可怕；有红色的和其他颜色的蚂蚁；有能在一夜之间吃掉一只木柜的白蚂，蛇当然少不了，对于它们来说，亚马逊尼亚是个安乐窝；还有美洲虎、鳄鱼、电鱼…… ……以及印第安人。 一九七〇年，在加拉加斯，也就是克立姆罗德到过那里以后过了二十二年，有人警告塞梯尼亚兹：他要去的地方（幸好是乘直升飞机）是二十年前还被称为瓜阿里沃即猿人的亚诺马米人的地域。“先生，危险得很哪。”亚诺马米人是亚马逊尼亚地区一直拒绝与文明接触的最后一个大部落。一九四八年四月，经过了将近二千五百公里子然一身的跋涉之后，王正是来到了他们中间。 在抵达阿塔瓦波的圣费尔南多之前，他已经多次碰到过印第安人，到了奥里诺科河岸之后，当他沿着这条巨川溯流而上时，遇见他们的机会就更多了。有几次他居然能登上他们的划子，有时侯一连乘上好几天。那些印第安人偶尔也能讲几句蹩脚的西班牙语，他们见了这个白人似乎并不怎么惊讶。此外，还有那些面有菜色的橡胶探险队，王曾与他们同路整整一个星期。他们告诉他，马基里塔雷人一般说来不算好斗，他们有时偷人家的东西，但也仅此而已。瓜阿里沃人可不一样，“他们会杀死你，年轻人，而且你还不知道他们是怎么杀你的……”接着，他们便给他讲一些可怕的故事，描述那些定居在委内瑞拉和巴西之间的浪人如何凶狠残忍。没有任何身份证件，也没有护照，雷伯·克立姆罗德不是乘木筏就是泅水越过了哥伦比亚与委内瑞拉的边界，并且在圣费尔南多渡过奥里诺科河。他没有在这个小镇上出现，也没有在后来经过的任何一个村庄里露面。在埃斯梅拉尔达传道区他也是这样做的，一直等到天黑才从外围绕过那儿的几所房屋。他到达瓜阿里沃滩估计在三月底。 相遇发生在大约二十天以后。时间想必已近正午，但光线还是昏暗如晦，微弱至极的几点阳光也被树木、叶子和藤本植物组成的几十米厚的天花板完全遮蔽。某些藤本植物几乎有一米高，在这半暗不明如同海底的一片朦胧中，它们看上去就象是一条条巨蟒，有时候也确实是蛇。地上，给败叶加厚的腐殖土壤散发着恶臭，里边充满了令人长出鸡皮疙瘩的生命幼体。这情景就象在神话中一只巨兽深绿色的、悸动着的肚子里行走。 他停下来，倒不是因为害怕，而是要喘一口气。他右手握着把大砍刀，这是他在途中用手表换来的。迪耶戈·哈斯可能会认不出他来，他变得比以前更瘦，同时身体却起了变化青春期的一些迹象已永远消失。他的身高已达到顶点，那一米八七的瘦溜身材将是大卫·塞梯尼亚兹任何时候都不会认错的。他的皮肤被太阳晒成一种很象金子的黄褐色，这种肤色仅次于他那双浅灰色的眼睛，永远给人以难忘的印象。他的胡子从来就不十分浓密，现在留长了，使他的外貌具有墨西哥基督像的那种神秘气质。当他发现自己来到印第安人的营地时，他刚刚在一百二十到一百三十华氏度的酷暑和难以置信的潮湿中不停顿地步行了六个小时，而过去七天他所经之处的地势一直在持续升高。 过了一会几，等呼吸恢复正常之后，他又继续赶路。他悄没声儿地滑行穿过草木之墙而绝不触动枝叶，这样又走了一段距离，然后到达一块几乎有六十米长的空地。 这片人工开辟出来的空地上有三所茅屋。正象橡胶探险队向他描述的那样，每所茅屋都呈三角形，它们的主要建筑材料棕榈树干不是用任何机械伐倒，而是按照瓜阿里沃人的方法，通过扭力连根拔起和折断的。除了一个小火堆在潮气很重的空气中燃烧外，没有任何生命在活动的迹象。 他在空地边缘深绿色的树荫下呆着不动有很长一段时间，空地周围的森林一片葱笼，有时会突然泛黄，而在树梢上则变成耀眼的白色。然后他慢慢地向前移动。他挨近灶火，放下布袋，开始脱衣服，甚至脱去靴子。他把靴子、衣服整整齐齐堆在袅袅升起的灶烟旁，然后把大砍刀压在衣物堆上，刀刃对着自己，也就是说，便于别人抓起刀柄。 他退后三四步又停下，脑袋微微后倾，仰望叶丛天花板上那个很小的罅隙，这窟窿使人还不至于以为太阳已永远消失。他全身的皮肤跟他的脸和手一样，也是那种带点儿金黄的古铜色，汗水象是在细长的肌肉上涂了一层油。He waits.先前，他曾经觉察到，除了森林的自然气息，还有窸窸簌簌的声响隐约可闻；几分钟后，他又听见了这种响声。 他们是同时出现的，一共五个男人。刚才他们听见他走近时，曾隐蔽起来，现在一个个都从藏匿的地方露面，动作象爬行动物般轻捷，几乎无声无息。他们中最高的一个只有一米六〇，但个个都很年轻、健壮，赤身露体，看上去象上了釉一般锃光瓦亮。他们身上涂着红黑两种颜色，颇不俗气，正方形和菱形的图案画得整整齐齐，各人右臂上都有一小簇五色羽毛。总的效果美得惊人。其中两个人的耳朵上用笋的硬尖穿了孔。每个人腰里都系着一条编成辫状的细绳，在包皮下打一个结使他们的生殖器向上竖起。他们的头发梳成皇冠形状，把象僧侣头顶上那样剃光的一块围在当中。 然而，在那个时刻，最根本的问题是：他们都引满了大弓把箭头瞄准雷伯·克立姆罗德。他纹丝不动，这一点想必对他们产生了一定的影响。他们慢慢地向他围拢来，用涂过毒药的战矢尖端轻轻触及他的身体。这时，他们当中的一个捡起了那柄大砍刀，用手指试试刀刃，还试着想把它折断，以检验钢刀的硬度。他突然把砍刀扔出去，一棵棕搁树干被干净利落地砍断了。这人顿时放声大笑，他的笑声就象是一个信号。一大群男人、妇女和孩子如同无声的影子般纷纷从树林里出来。他们稍觉胆壮以后，便围着这个依然豪不动弹的巨人形成一个圆周。拿着大砍刀的那个人用它划了一下克立姆罗德，看见刀刃划过的地方流出一条细细的血，又笑了起来。别人也都走上前来，其中有几个还用指甲在他身上抓刮，想要证实他的皮肤颜色不是涂上去的。（橡胶探险队讲过这样一个故事：他们曾逮住一个黑人，因为对他的肤色很觉惊奇，几乎把他身上的皮全都扒了下来，这才弄明白他的黑皮肤是天生的。） 最后，他们统统围上来，包括妇女在内，都来抚摸他，拉扯他的头发。他的眼睛似乎对他们特别有吸引力。但是，他们跟这人身材上的差距太悬殊了，为了看他的眼睛，他们必须退后几步抬起头来。克立姆罗德就象格列佛来到了小人国。到目前为止，他们还一句话也没有说过，最先开腔的是一个年纪较大的男人，他的两个腮帮子直到眼睛下面都是鼓囊囊的，因为嘴里塞满了不知什么东西，还有略带绿色的汁水直往外淌。他说话时带着威胁的口吻。与此同时，有几个男人拿走了雷伯的衣服、靴子和布袋。有一两个把衬衣和裤子试着往身上穿，往头上套，另外几个则把靴子顶在头上，居然也能够不让掉下来，把其余的人都逗乐了。 “阿契卡（朋友），”雷伯说着面露笑容。 不知什么缘故，他的友好表示没有得到响应。忽然间，这一群人纷纷作好离去的准备接着，只不过几秒钟，空地上已阗无一人，动作之神速简直令人怀疑自己在做梦。雷伯又叫了两声“阿契卡！”但他得到的回答只是正好射在他脚边地上的三支箭，其中一支不偏不倚插在他两条腿中间。而他甚至没有看见射箭的人…… 王回忆说，他在后面跟着他们，跟了“八至十天”，始终保持一百来米的距离，身上仍然一丝不技。除了两本书之外，他们把他所有的东西都拿走了，这两本书他在进入这块空地前藏起来了。他说他们有好几次想要阻止他跟在后面；或是朝他走回来，并且发出恫吓的尖叫声；或是索性向他射几支打猎的小箭，其中有两次使他受了一点轻伤，但是显然并不想杀害他。 这八到十天过去了以后（王认识到这段时间本来还可能延长），他已是筋疲力竭。他浑身布满虫子叮咬留下的数不清的疙瘩，双脚在渗血，那是被沙蚤等可恶的小昆虫啮食所致，它们往往在人趟水的时候通过暴露的伤口钻到皮肤下面把自己包起来，那样子就象是露在壳外的牡蛎，可怕得很，而且疼得厉害。这还不算，由于他锲而不舍地生怕失去瓜阿里沃人的踪迹，他甚至顾不上吃东西，尽管在过去的几个月里，他从安第斯山脉脚下开始作这次令人难以置信的徒步旅行以来，在觅食这方面已获得一些经验。 事后王只是简单地说：“于是到了我一步也不能再往前走的时候；等我苏醒过来一看，他们都围住了我，朝我微笑。随后的几个月，我就跟他们在一起过，然后进一步南下，向内格罗河进发……” 由居心不良的SPI（注：葡萄牙文印第安人保护局的缩写。）设在莫腊以北卡马瑙河边的贸易站是由一个名叫拉莫斯的人主持的。一九四八年他三十四岁，一年前他在贝伦结了婚，七个月前他被选派到这个贸易站时，决定带着他的妻子来。在亚马逊尼亚工作的SPI全部文职人员中，他远不是最坏的一个。七个月中，他没有杀过任何印第安人，甚至还结束了在这以前一直在做的一件事，即用某些细菌使当地土人受感染——开始时引起伤风头疼，这对白人来说只是小小毛病，但对于土著居民几乎总是致命的。把枪卖给寻觅黄金和金刚钻的冒险者向来是贸易站的正常业务，他无须了解这些枪派了什么用场。他根本不知道，这些“温切斯特73”正是当年在美国和墨西哥对印第安人作战时用过的枪支。 印第安人顾客对拉莫斯所主持的贸易站产生敌对情绪的最初迹象始于一九四八年十月。在那之前，贸易情况一直是令人愉快的：一些小玩意儿和金属炊具被用来交换天然的块金或小金刚钻，以及弓箭之类，所有这些生意在经济上是有利可图的，因为印策安人的武器可以远销里约热内卢。这种贸易还有战略上的好处：温切斯特枪的买主需要对付的野蛮人如果没有武器，这些枪支就能发挥更大的效力。但是到了十月份，印第安人开始表现出不大愿意成交的样子，尤其是弓，你无论用什么去换，他们都不干。 至于这个白人，他是在十一月份出现的。无论是拉莫斯的十六个下属，还是拉莫斯本人，谁也不可能看错：虽然他赤条条一丝不挂，他是个白人，个子很高，眼珠子的颜色极谈，长发用一条绿色的头箍束在脑门上，胡子稀稀拉拉。他来过三四回，但从来没有真正走近贸易站，总是靠后站着。别人用葡萄牙语或西班牙语跟他攀谈，他并无反应，好象没有听见似的。和他同来的瓦依米里人很尊重他，没有得到他的同意从不自行成交。他能讲他们的语言，声调缓慢，嗓音低沉。 拉莫斯记得他的雇员中有个姓罗沙的曾对他提起过，说他——罗沙——注意到瓦依米里人中间有三四个瓜阿里沃人，这是十分诧异的现象，因为帕里马山区各部落与内格罗河一带各部落之间的敌对状态是众所周知的。拉莫斯还确悉另一个事实：那个神秘的白人曾由一个十三四岁、出落得极其健美的印第安少女陪着来到贸易站，至少来过一次。 十二月初，在雅瓦佩里河西北约三十公里处发生了一起按拉莫斯的说法叫做“令人遗憾”的事件。一些觅宝者把一个村子的人包括年纪很小的孩子全部杀光。拉莫斯在向贝伦方面报告时，对双方各打五十大板。“要知道，觅宝者过着极其艰苦的生活，而印第安人经常无缘无故敌视他们……” 十二月二十九日，一群怒气冲冲的印第安人来到贸易站，提出一些无法接受的要求，十张弓交换一支温切斯特，或者一支温切斯特换金刚石若干。拉莫斯愤怒地拒绝了。奇怪的是，这对印第安人似乎并没有产生太大的影响。拉莫斯得出结论，认为“令人遗憾的事件”大概已经被忘记了。但是，罗沙——这是个出生于莫腊的年轻人，他名叫乌巴尔多，会讲多种印第安方言——指出，印第安人这次不带妇女和孩子来到贸易站是不符合他们的习俗的，而瓦依米里人的态度由咄咄逼人转为随和这一引人注意的变化，应该归因于那个总是靠后站的白人说的几句话。 拉莫斯耸耸肩，笑道：“这正说明，不管他如何努力使自己显得象只猴子，他仍然是个白人，和我们一样……” 两天后，十二月三十一日，拉莫斯的妻子、怀孕已七个月的克劳迪娅，因为热得实在受不了，便打了一盆水，正把水往身上泼，透过没有玻璃的避蚊纱窗。她发现十来个瓦依米里人一动不动地站在十五至二十米外的树林边缘。她生怕被他们看见自己光着身子，急忙穿上一件衬衫，正要套上裙子，纱窗突然被大砍刀戳破后推开。她尖叫一声，便向丈夫的办公室冲去，由于怀有身孕，而且裙子还没有完全套好，行动很不方便。第一支几乎长达—米二十的战箭射穿了她的右股，第二支射中她的后背，插在肩胛与锁骨之间。她挣扎着逃到敞廊上，发现她的小叔子被将近二十支箭钉死在房屋的木板墙上，其中六支刺穿了他的咽喉，另有一支从近处直接射入他张开的嘴巴，穿出颈后几乎有二十厘米。 克劳迪娅·拉莫斯终于支撑不住，摔倒在地，一个印第安人出现在她面前。克劳迪娅眼看他抡起一根木棒，但是并没有打下来。一声呵斥制止了他，那个白人露面了，是他下的命令。这个瓦依米里人迟疑了一下，嘟囔着跑开了。 “哦，我的天哪！”少妇哭叫起来。 这个浅色眼睛、绿箍束发的白人俯身瞧着少妇。他伸出一只手，用指尖轻轻抚摩克劳迪娅的面颊和嘴唇，一句话也没说便离去了。 乌巴尔多·罗沙从河上回来，正好看见贸易站的一名雇员喉咙被一支箭射穿，在离他十米远的地方倒下去。他立即明白发生了什么事情，便向不远处的一个小仓库跑去。幸好那里装有百叶窗，他进了屋，把门和百叶窗都关上。等到袭击者看见他的时候已经迟了，只得狠狠地捶房子的板壁泄愤。然后他们大概放弃了破门而入的念头走了。罗沙从板壁的缝隙往外窥视，目睹了大部分杀戮场面，他事后提供的证词同拉莫斯的截然相反（拉莫斯的弟弟之所以被杀，可能是因为与他这个当贸易站负责人的哥哥面貌相似的缘故）。据罗沙所述，那个白人非但没有领头袭击，相反，他尽了最大的努力来平息这些印第安人的狂怒，制止他们杀人；他在他们中间跑来跑去，用他们的语言来劝阻他们。 尤其要指出的是，当袭击者折回罗沙藏身的屋子，放起一把火时，又是那个白人出面干预，否则罗沙难免一死：不是被烧死，就是在他不顾一切夺门而逃时被杀死。但是那个白人把这些印第安人推开，用西班牙语叫道：“快离开此地，到河边去！” 罗沙的手被灼伤，头发被烧焦，总算在这座贮有汽油和酒精的房屋倒塌前的一瞬间逃了出来，跑到河边，跳入水中。 贸易站的雇员中，共有九人死亡（包括拉莫斯的弟第在内），四人受伤(包括克劳迪娅·拉莫斯），克劳迪娅没有死，她至今住在桑塔伦。 一九四九年四月，乌巴尔多·罗沙在马瑙斯，有人问他愿不愿意到雅瓦佩里河上游去参与同瓦依米里人重修旧好。十二月事件之后，印第安人实际上已消失得无影无踪，他们都去了北方，甚至可能直抵亚诺马米人居住的地域。征求罗沙意见的人名叫巴尔博扎他是一位研究、开发“塞尔坦”（亚马逊尼亚森林腹地）的专家，而且是比较严肃的一位。在巴西管这种人叫做“塞尔塔尼斯特”。使罗沙感到惊讶的是，尽管此人从属于SPI，却是印第安人真诚的朋友。从一九四三年起，仙就在巴西马托格罗索州同具有真才实学的“土专家”奥尔兰多·维拉斯·博阿斯、克劳迪奥·维拉斯·博阿斯兄弟一起工作。他对罗沙说，他虽然比较了解亚马逊尼亚南部的印第安人，却没有同亚马逊尼亚北部的印第安人打交道的经验，所以他在物色可靠的人做帮手。同他一道的有两个人类学家，但是没有士兵保护。罗沙那时已经离开SPI，为布思轮船公司工作了一段时期。从本世纪初升始，这家公司就经营从英国的利物浦到秘鲁的伊基托斯之间的航线，其中在亚马逊河上的一段航程有四千公里。出了对丛林的热爱，罗沙接受了巴尔博扎的邀请。 这一小群人于五月九日离开马瑙斯，溯内格罗河而上，经过河中的许多岛屿，抵达莫腊。到了那儿，他们采纳罗沙的建议，没有走雅瓦佩里河，而是取道布兰科河，这条河基本上是往北流的。 罗沙把有关那个束着发箍的高个儿白人的事情告诉了巴尔博扎，并对他讲了自己的设想：如果他们能找到达个白人——他显然有足够的威信，甚至可以支配印第安人，可以安全地与他们周旋，连瓦依米里人和亚诺马米人这样差异很大的部落他都能使之共处同住——如果他们能找到这个白人，他或许肯帮助他们完成他们的和乎使命。 他们沿着布兰科河向上游而去。这条河有的地方宽达好几公里。三个星期之后，他们开始看见远处的地形都是高高隆起的庞然大物，顶部是一望无际的森林。这就是人迹罕至、令人生畏的帕卡赖马山。罗沙带着一个译员、皈依基督教的瓦依米里人塞巴斯蒂安，在布兰科河右岸一个叫卡拉卡拉伊的地方上了岸。如果他们所得到的信息是正确的话，那么这个白人可能就在这一带。 整个六月份，罗沙一直在这个地区到处寻找，都没有结果，不过，印第安人的态度使他受到鼓舞。他每到一个村子，都发现小路中央插着一支箭，箭上饰有两根相互交叉的白羽毛，这是和平的标记。他提了许多问题，但从来没有得到回答，他们的脸上毫无表情，也许因为他们不懂得，或者因为他们不愿回答。 六月底，罗沙折回来渡过布兰科河，然后陪同巴尔博扎、一位名叫内尔松·德·安德拉德的民族学者以及塞巴斯蒂安，沿着阿雅拉尼河向上游走了大约五十公里，方向对准穆卡雅伊山。七月六日，他们一行四人来到一个村子，奇怪的是那儿好象正等待着他们的到来。人们用水果和烤野猪招待他们；烤野猪不如盐或者辣椒，这是亚诺马米人的吃法，因为亚诺马米人只喜欢清淡的食物（这种食物使人想到雨中的森林），并且本能地吃一些泥土来补充铁质和其他矿物质的不足。罗沙觉得有几张脸是他从前看见过的。 “我可以起誓，他们就是当初到拉莫斯的贸易站来的那些人，”他对巴尔博扎说，“毫无疑问，他们是亚诺马米人。你看这些图。他们现在不完全在他们自己的地区内。” 通过塞巴斯蒂安的翻译（罗沙自己的亚诺马米语已经不够用了），他被准许去村子里看看。巴尔博扎和他两人获准进入所有的茅屋——只有一处除外。这两个巴西人刚一走近那所茅屋，就有三个男人跳过来把门口堵住，既不作任何解释，也拒绝回答塞巴斯蒂安的问题。 “那没有多大关系，”罗沙并不觉得奇怪，“他们往往禁止陌生人进入'马洛卡'，有时候连妇女也不让进去，那是出于宗教的或其他原因。或许他仍在那里面藏着什么东西……” 或者藏着什么人。 罗沙立刻想到了那个白人。他做了一些试探。就好象是对远处的人讲话似的，他提高了嗓门用葡萄牙语说：“我的名字叫乌巴尔多·罗沙，六个月之前在拉莫斯的贸易站，你救了我的性命。那时我把自己锁在小仓库里，如果没有你，我早就被杀死了。我们只想对你讲几句话……” no response.但是一分钟之后，一个年轻的印第安妇女出现了，罗沙一眼就认出她来：有一天陪同那个白人一起到贸易站来的就是她。她怀里抱着一个出生大约两个月的婴儿，皮肤白得惊人。她全身赤裸裸，只有一小簇染成红色的流苏作为耻骨的掩饰，她的体型很美，脸上也没有涂色。尤其特别的是，一般亚诺马米妇女都用细竹梗穿过鼻孔、嘴唇或者耳垂作为装饰，她却不戴。见了这些白人，她一点都不害怕，倒是颇感兴趣地把他们打量了一番，然后走进那所禁舍。 罗沙想到，那个白人可能听不懂葡萄牙语，十二月那次屠杀发生时，他是用西班牙语叫喊的。安德拉德把罗沙的话翻译成西班牙语，但仍然没有反应。 坚持呆下去看来有困难。塞巴斯蒂安已经用简短的语言发出警告。这些亚诺马米入（他那时候称他们为瓜阿里沃人）逐渐变得不耐烦起来，开始拨弄比他们的身体还要大的战弓作威胁状，而白人们除了大砍刀谁也没有带武器。但是巴尔博扎跟罗沙一样充满信心，决定留在村子附近再看几天动静。 “Silencio（注：西班牙语，不要出声）……” 有人把手轻轻地压在罗沙的肩上，他睁开了眼睛。即使他看不清这个人的面孔，至少也能辨认出那个在月光映衬下轮廓分明的身影——个非常高而又非常瘦的身影。 “Silencio por favor（注：请不要出声）。” 说话的声音低如耳语。罗沙一下子紧张起来，一骨碌从吊床上起身。他跟在那人后面沿河走去，同时既感到惴惴不安，又十分好奇甚至兴奋。走了大约一百米，那个束着发箍的白入转过身来，面对着他。罗沙特别注意到两点：他的身高和一双眼睛。 “你会说西班牙语吗？” “会一点，”罗沙回答。“但我大体都能听懂。” “你在为拉莫斯工作的时候，我曾经观察过你。你是少数几个能正确对待印第安人的雇员之一……我的话你明白吗？” "clear." “现在你们不带武器来到树林里，为什么？” 罗沙把巴尔博扎的使命以及罗沙自己对这位民族学者的信任告诉了他。 罗沙还鼓足勇气加上一旬。“你应该同他谈谈。他这个人……”他努力寻找着恰当的西班牙语词来形容巴尔博扎，“muy sinccro,debuena fe（注：很诚恳，很厚道）” “不。叫他离开这儿，包括他的同伴．这儿不是动物园。他们明天就应该离开。” 话说得很慢，好象漠不关心的样子。这个除了一条束发箍外赤条条一丝不挂的人身上具有一种不同凡响的天然