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Authors: Isabel Allende
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afraid of it," Mauro Carías admitted.
"If the Beast exists, I shall find it. The man—certainly not the animal—has yet to be born who can elude Ludovic Leblanc," proclaimed the professor, who was given to referring to himself in the third person.
"Count on my soldiers, Professor," Captain Ariosto hastened to offer. "Contrary to what my good friend Carías has said, they are brave men."
"And you can count on all my resources as well, my dear Professor Leblanc. I have motor launches and a good radio transmitter," Mauro Carías seconded.
"And count on
me
to help with any problems of illness or accidents that may arise," Dr. Omayra Torres added smoothly, as if she didn't recall Leblanc's wish to exclude her from the expedition.
"As I have told you, mam'selle—"
"Doctor!" she corrected once again.
"As I have told you, the budget for this expedition is limited; we cannot take tourists," Leblanc stated emphatically.
"I am not a tourist. The expedition cannot proceed without an authorized physician and without the necessary serum."
"The doctor is right. Captain Ariosto will explain the law to you," César Santos intervened. He knew the doctor and evidently was attracted to her.
"Ahem, well… It is true that…" the captain stammered, looking toward Mauro Carías with confusion.
"There will be no problem if you include Omayra. I myself will pay her expenses." The entrepreneur smiled and put his arm around the young physician's shoulders.
"Thank you, Mauro, but that will not be necessary, my expenses are paid by the government," she said, gently freeing herself.
"I see. In that case there is nothing more to discuss. I hope we find the Beast. If not, the venture will be pointless," spoke up the photographer Timothy Bruce.
"Trust me, young man. I have experience regarding this type of creature, and I myself have designed some infallible traps. You can see models of my traps in my study of the Abominable Snowman of the Himalayas." The professor shot him a smile of satisfaction, at the same time gesturing to Karakawe to fan a little faster.
"Were you able to trap it?" Alex asked with assumed innocence, because he knew the answer all too well.
"It does not exist, young man. The supposed creature of the Himalayas is a hoax. Perhaps this famous Beast will be as well."
"People have seen it," Nadia declared.
"Ignorant people, no doubt, child," the professor scolded.
"Padre Valdomero isn't ignorant," Nadia protested.
"Who?"
"A Catholic missionary who was kidnapped by the savages and has been as crazy as a loon ever since," Captain Ariosto intervened. He spoke English with a strong Spanish accent, and as he was always chomping on a cigar, he was not easy to understand.
"He wasn't kidnapped and he isn't crazy!" Nadia exclaimed.
"Calm down, sweetie." Mauro Carías smiled and patted Nadia's head; she immediately slipped out of his reach.
"Padre Valdomero is actually a very wise man," César Santos interjected. "He speaks several Indian languages and he knows the flora and fauna of the Amazon better than anyone. He can set fractured bones, pull teeth, and once or twice, he has operated on cataracts with a scalpel he made himself."
"Yes, but he has had no success at all in cleaning up Santa María de la Lluvia, or in converting the Indians to Christianity. You've seen how they still go around stark naked," Mauro Carías mocked.
"I doubt that the Indians need to be converted," said César Santos.
He explained that the indigenous peoples were very spiritual. They believed that everything had a soul—trees, animals, rivers, clouds. For them, spirit and matter were one and the same. They could not understand the simplicity of the foreigners' religion; they said it was the same story over and over, while they had many stories of gods and demons, and spirits of sky and earth. Padre Valdomero had given up trying to explain that Christ died on the cross to save humankind from sin, because the idea of such a sacrifice left the
"If the Beast exists, I shall find it. The man—certainly not the animal—has yet to be born who can elude Ludovic Leblanc," proclaimed the professor, who was given to referring to himself in the third person.
"Count on my soldiers, Professor," Captain Ariosto hastened to offer. "Contrary to what my good friend Carías has said, they are brave men."
"And you can count on all my resources as well, my dear Professor Leblanc. I have motor launches and a good radio transmitter," Mauro Carías seconded.
"And count on
me
to help with any problems of illness or accidents that may arise," Dr. Omayra Torres added smoothly, as if she didn't recall Leblanc's wish to exclude her from the expedition.
"As I have told you, mam'selle—"
"Doctor!" she corrected once again.
"As I have told you, the budget for this expedition is limited; we cannot take tourists," Leblanc stated emphatically.
"I am not a tourist. The expedition cannot proceed without an authorized physician and without the necessary serum."
"The doctor is right. Captain Ariosto will explain the law to you," César Santos intervened. He knew the doctor and evidently was attracted to her.
"Ahem, well… It is true that…" the captain stammered, looking toward Mauro Carías with confusion.
"There will be no problem if you include Omayra. I myself will pay her expenses." The entrepreneur smiled and put his arm around the young physician's shoulders.
"Thank you, Mauro, but that will not be necessary, my expenses are paid by the government," she said, gently freeing herself.
"I see. In that case there is nothing more to discuss. I hope we find the Beast. If not, the venture will be pointless," spoke up the photographer Timothy Bruce.
"Trust me, young man. I have experience regarding this type of creature, and I myself have designed some infallible traps. You can see models of my traps in my study of the Abominable Snowman of the Himalayas." The professor shot him a smile of satisfaction, at the same time gesturing to Karakawe to fan a little faster.
"Were you able to trap it?" Alex asked with assumed innocence, because he knew the answer all too well.
"It does not exist, young man. The supposed creature of the Himalayas is a hoax. Perhaps this famous Beast will be as well."
"People have seen it," Nadia declared.
"Ignorant people, no doubt, child," the professor scolded.
"Padre Valdomero isn't ignorant," Nadia protested.
"Who?"
"A Catholic missionary who was kidnapped by the savages and has been as crazy as a loon ever since," Captain Ariosto intervened. He spoke English with a strong Spanish accent, and as he was always chomping on a cigar, he was not easy to understand.
"He wasn't kidnapped and he isn't crazy!" Nadia exclaimed.
"Calm down, sweetie." Mauro Carías smiled and patted Nadia's head; she immediately slipped out of his reach.
"Padre Valdomero is actually a very wise man," César Santos interjected. "He speaks several Indian languages and he knows the flora and fauna of the Amazon better than anyone. He can set fractured bones, pull teeth, and once or twice, he has operated on cataracts with a scalpel he made himself."
"Yes, but he has had no success at all in cleaning up Santa María de la Lluvia, or in converting the Indians to Christianity. You've seen how they still go around stark naked," Mauro Carías mocked.
"I doubt that the Indians need to be converted," said César Santos.
He explained that the indigenous peoples were very spiritual. They believed that everything had a soul—trees, animals, rivers, clouds. For them, spirit and matter were one and the same. They could not understand the simplicity of the foreigners' religion; they said it was the same story over and over, while they had many stories of gods and demons, and spirits of sky and earth. Padre Valdomero had given up trying to explain that Christ died on the cross to save humankind from sin, because the idea of such a sacrifice left the
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