together, had sidled across to each other, so that James was now standing alone. One, a man of about twenty, still on his own, caught Jamesâ eye and quickly, almost guiltily, scuttled into a group. A large highly coloured bird suddenly flapped into the sky from a wall behind a pottery stall. Triggered by its movement a number of similar birds arose from other points along the concourse and flew to join it. They clustered and perched on a branch of a tree away to Jamesâ left.
The machine, and its silent assurance that it could extricate him instantly, gave James some confidence. Not a lot, but some. He moved a metre forward. There was no response among the Indians. Even a baby,about twelve months old, sitting on the ground nearby, gazed at him with unwavering concentration. James took another step. Then, to his own surprise, in a high nervous voice, he said:
âI donât want to cause any trouble. My nameâs James. I just wanted to visit you.â
Here and there various spectators exchanged glances. James knew they could not understand his words but he was hopeful that they might understand the tenor of his message. He waited for a minute to see if anything would happen, but there was still no movement. So he walked to where the baby sat, and patted its head. A woman standing nearby emitted a low slow hiss. The baby, for no apparent reason, started crying. James, watching the crowd intently, still gripping the machine, went to a small cooking fire beside an array of food. He selected a sweet potato, picked it up and bit into it. Someone in the crowd called out. There was a murmur, and a shifting of feet. Suddenly a boy ran forward. He looked younger than James, but because of the small build of these people it was hard to tell. He stood a metre from James, gazing with a startled look into his face. He seemed startled at his own impetuosity. The two boys locked eyes and stared in fascination and fear at each other. James noticed that the boy was holding a knife and, realising that he might not react fast enough if the boy went to stab him, he nearly pressed the Return key there and then. But he resisted the temptation. He wanted to break the intense eye-contact but was scared to, thinking that it might beinterpreted as a sign of weakness. Instead he groped with his right hand for another sweet potato and, finding one, brought it up between the two of them. Without taking his eyes off the other boy he took a bite out of the vegetable and then handed it to the Mayan. Slowly, after a long, long pause, the boy bit a large piece out of it with his clean white teeth, then chewed and swallowed.
There was a roar from the onlookers. The tension had been broken by this simple act. People started to move toward them. James, fearful of being mobbed, held up his hand, and the movement stopped. He grinned at the boy. The Indian looked at him without smiling, but James was reassured by the lively intelligence of his dark eyes, just as he was struck, incongruously, by the largeness of the boyâs nose. The boy pointed towards the southern end of the concourse and said something in his own language. He took a few steps in that direction, indicating that James should follow. James saw no harm in doing so. The two boys began walking through the Indians, weaving in and out of the colourful market display. Most people stood their ground as they passed; a few stepped back a little, a few reached out a hand and touched James curiously. He was embarrassed, but also exultant.
They left the market, skirting around a number of two-storey stone and plaster buildings, and started out along a vast arena with huge pyramids at the end of it. James gaped at the scale of it all. Behind him he became aware that the crowd had fallen into line, and morepeople were joining all the time. He checked again that the machine, now finely laced with drops of his sweat, was still in his hand. He even quickly flicked it on to check the battery
The machine, and its silent assurance that it could extricate him instantly, gave James some confidence. Not a lot, but some. He moved a metre forward. There was no response among the Indians. Even a baby,about twelve months old, sitting on the ground nearby, gazed at him with unwavering concentration. James took another step. Then, to his own surprise, in a high nervous voice, he said:
âI donât want to cause any trouble. My nameâs James. I just wanted to visit you.â
Here and there various spectators exchanged glances. James knew they could not understand his words but he was hopeful that they might understand the tenor of his message. He waited for a minute to see if anything would happen, but there was still no movement. So he walked to where the baby sat, and patted its head. A woman standing nearby emitted a low slow hiss. The baby, for no apparent reason, started crying. James, watching the crowd intently, still gripping the machine, went to a small cooking fire beside an array of food. He selected a sweet potato, picked it up and bit into it. Someone in the crowd called out. There was a murmur, and a shifting of feet. Suddenly a boy ran forward. He looked younger than James, but because of the small build of these people it was hard to tell. He stood a metre from James, gazing with a startled look into his face. He seemed startled at his own impetuosity. The two boys locked eyes and stared in fascination and fear at each other. James noticed that the boy was holding a knife and, realising that he might not react fast enough if the boy went to stab him, he nearly pressed the Return key there and then. But he resisted the temptation. He wanted to break the intense eye-contact but was scared to, thinking that it might beinterpreted as a sign of weakness. Instead he groped with his right hand for another sweet potato and, finding one, brought it up between the two of them. Without taking his eyes off the other boy he took a bite out of the vegetable and then handed it to the Mayan. Slowly, after a long, long pause, the boy bit a large piece out of it with his clean white teeth, then chewed and swallowed.
There was a roar from the onlookers. The tension had been broken by this simple act. People started to move toward them. James, fearful of being mobbed, held up his hand, and the movement stopped. He grinned at the boy. The Indian looked at him without smiling, but James was reassured by the lively intelligence of his dark eyes, just as he was struck, incongruously, by the largeness of the boyâs nose. The boy pointed towards the southern end of the concourse and said something in his own language. He took a few steps in that direction, indicating that James should follow. James saw no harm in doing so. The two boys began walking through the Indians, weaving in and out of the colourful market display. Most people stood their ground as they passed; a few stepped back a little, a few reached out a hand and touched James curiously. He was embarrassed, but also exultant.
They left the market, skirting around a number of two-storey stone and plaster buildings, and started out along a vast arena with huge pyramids at the end of it. James gaped at the scale of it all. Behind him he became aware that the crowd had fallen into line, and morepeople were joining all the time. He checked again that the machine, now finely laced with drops of his sweat, was still in his hand. He even quickly flicked it on to check the battery
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