"The tiny outpost of El Idilio was so remote that it might be said it was at the end of the earth." "In truth, it was far up a river." "A distant tributary in the great Amazonian system deep in a jungle whose frontiers may never be drawn." "Just upstream lived Antonio Bolivar, alone in a hut of his own making on land of his own choosing." "Antonio guessed he was aged more than 60, but the few inhabitants of El Idilio simply called him "Old Man."" "As a young man," "Antonio had left the mountains of his birth with his wife, Dolores, to help colonize the Amazonian jungle." "The government was promising large tracts of land and plentiful technical help to the would-be settlers." "After three weeks of travelling, they were put ashore at a bend in the river." "They were assigned two hectares of jungle, a couple of machetes and a bag, empty of promises." "Antonio remained in the jungle for almost 40 years." "Finally emerging from the jungle and settling in El Idilio," "Antonio Bolivar discovered he possessed the antidote against the poison of old age." ""One final time... "" "He could read." ""... the lovers joined together in a tor-rid embrace... torrid embrace... holding... squeezing," "clasping each other desperately... their hands... sear-ching," "their mouths... burning."" "Their hands searching, huh?" "Searching for what?" "And why are their mouths burning?" "I can guess why." ""Lt was a kiss of im-pass-ioned" "in-ten-si-ty."" ""A kiss... to re-mem-ber" "their... lives... by."" "That's a strange way to end a book." ""A kiss to remember their lives by."" "I don't remember my life by any kisses." "Not even with my wife." "Antonio and Dolores had known each other as children, living in a mountain village near the Embaboran volcano." "They had been betrothed as thirteen-year-olds." "Not that, Antonio." "Those kisses are sinful, I can feel it." "In that green hell of the jungle," "Dolores didn't survive two years." "Not many kisses with you, were there" "Dolores?" "She was carried off by a burning fever, racked with malaria." ""Lt was a kiss of impassioned intensity..." "A kiss to remember their lives by."" "I think I understand." "The rains were coming, that time of year when El Idilio's isolation was even more complete." "The riverboat that visited every few months wouldn't now return after this trip until the wet season was over." "That left El Idilio's only civil servant, his Excellency the Mayor, in a temper even more foul than usual." "Zamora!" "The Mayor's chief occupation was managing his beer supply." "Tell Josefina to get me another beer!" "Seated in his office, he would eke out each bottle by taking a sip at a time, for he knew that once his supply was exhausted, life would become even more desperate." "Down on the wharf," "Doctor Rubicondo Loachamin's twice-yearly travelling dental clinic was open for business." "Does that hurt?" "The good doctor's portable chair was quite an institution along the rivers." "It's supposed to hurt." "And whose fault is that?" "Mine?" "Speak up." "Oh, of course, you can't." "Well, it's the government's fault, get that into your thick skull." "All of you thick-skulled no-hopers, it's the government's fault that your teeth are rotten." "It's the government's fault that you've got toothache." "What are you monkeys gawping at?" "Jibaro have good teeth, eating" " plenty monkey meat." " One day you'll fall into my clutches!" "Then you'll thank me for it, just like this poor devil will when I'm..." "Let..." "let go, you ninny!" "...when I'm finished with him." "There you go." "The mouth of a new-born babe." "Got the rum, Old Man?" "There's a canoe coming!" "Ignore it." "It's probably some bloodsucker from the government come to collect more taxes." "There's two of them!" "There's a sick gringo on the way!" "Someone get the Slimy Toad!" "The gods have accepted you," "Antonio Bolivar." "Few who are bitten ever survive." "Although you are not one of us, we welcome you to stay as one of us." "Snap out of it, Old Man." "That's no sick gringo..." "Mr. Mayor." "Where did you find him?" "I don't suppose these jungle men understand." "Up the river." "Two days." "Turn him over." "You killed him." " Not kill him." " It's obvious." "Machete, slash, dead." "You Captain, you'll be taking a body and four prisoners back." "All right." "Get going, we'll have a little interview in my office." "Move!" "Despite my deepest respect for the authorities, your Excellency," "I don't think that you're shitting in the pot." "What are you talking about?" " What does he know about it?" " Only what I can see." "You see how the flesh is torn in even strips, deep in the jaw and shallow lower down?" "You see how there are four gashes, not one?" "So what are you getting at?" "A four-bladed machete?" "Claw marks." "It's a jaguar." "A big one." " Smell it." " I can see it's putrid." "Bend down and smell." "Don't be afraid of death and maggots." " Smells of death and maggots." " Smells like cat piss." "This gringo was killed by a female jaguar." "She pissed on him to mark him so that other animals wouldn't eat him." "Superstitious rubbish." "These savages robbed and killed him, then sprinkled him with cat piss..." "They'll stop at nothing." "All right, your Excellency," "I think we've solved it." "Don't you dare move!" "This man is an American citizen!" "The Americans have declared war for less than this." "Let them go." "They and understand." "This bastard gringo killed these cubs." "Look at the bullet holes in these little skins." "And what happened to the father?" "He would have been caring for them while the mother was out hunting." "That's what these animals do." "Look at the size of those claw marks on this gringo." "She would have found him by the smell of her babies in his pack." "Let them go." "So you're not dead yet, Antonio Bolivar." "It doesn't look like it." " I'm not stinking either." " I didn't know you were a detective," "Old Man, you certainly shut his Excellency up." "Dangerous thing to do." "But he deserves it." "I hope that one day the Jibaro put a dart through his head." "I think his wife will kill him first." "She's storing up the hatred." " These things take time." " Oh, I'm sorry." "I completely forgot with all this dead man business." "Tell Josefina things are a little hot for me right now." "Give me ten minutes." "Not like the old days..." "You know," "I rue the day that you started to read, Old Man." "Cost me the best lay this side of the river." "Next." " Name?" " Antonio Bolivar." " Can you read?" " Don't make me laugh." "He's practically a heathen." "Can you?" "I, I, I don't know." "You've been in the jungle too long, Old Man." "The jungle rots everything, even your memory." "What does it say here?" ""The... hon... our... able... honourable... can... di... date... "" "Candidate." ""The honourable candidate."" "There you are." " You have the right." " The right to what?" "To vote... in the universal secret ballot... to make a democratic choice between one of the three candidates aspiring to government office." "What is this right going to cost me?" "Nothing." "Democracy is free." "Who am I supposed to vote for?" "Me, of course." "The people's choice." "Mark your cross in the top box." "It's his democratic right to do as he's told." "Fron-te-ra." "Frontera." "Next." "Yes, I can read." "I am too old for the jungle but at least I can read." "Sar... di-nes." "Sar... di... nes." "Sar... dines." "Sardines." ""K-nock then enter."" " What do you want?" " The sign said" " "K-nock then enter."" " I know what the sign says." "And the word is "Knock", you idiot." "What do you want?" "I want to borrow something to read." "What to read?" "Anything." "I just got a newspaper." "Three months old." "Josefina!" "Bring me that newspaper!" "Not thinking of starting a revolution, are you?" "No, no, no, no." "I just want to read something." "Give it to him." "He wants to read." "That cost me dearly, Antonio Bolivar." "I had to pretend I was in for a "quick one."" "His Excellency was in a rage and he charged me double." "Is it sad?" "She said that you'd weep your heart out." "People who really love each other?" "Yeah, like nobody ever loved before." "They suffer a lot, huh?" "I just get them, I don't read them." "Is there a happy ending?" " She said you'd like it, okay?" " Okay, okay, okay." "Here's to great suffering and happy endings." ""Lovers of the For-got-ten Gar-den."" "Clever." "Some mystery just in the title." ""Lovers of the Forgotten Garden."" ""Lovers of the Forgotten Garden."" "Now here is a question." "Straight away, even before the story begins." "This garden has been forgotten by someone." "The question is, who forgot this garden?" "Not the lovers, because otherwise they would not love this garden so much." "I hope they're lovers of each other and not just lovers of this garden." ""Paul... kissed her... ar-dent-ly... ar-dent-ly... while" "the gon... doo... layer, gondolier..." "looked the oth-er way... and... the... gon... doo-la... gondoola... glided peacefully down the canals of Venice."" "A canoe!" "A canoe is coming!" "Must be a lunatic in this rain." "Napoleon Salinas." "Is it that cat again?" "What the hell." "One less." "Sooner or later he was going to be a goner." "At least his corpse doesn't stink." "It's not completely stiff either." "What do you make of it," "Mr. Expert, hmm?" "Same as your Excellency." "He left here late, drunk, got caught in the storm," "pulled onto the shore to see the night out... and that's when the female attacked." "He managed to launch his canoe, and that's where he bled to death." "I'm glad we agree." "So our beast" " is getting closer." " Yes, and probably on our side of the river." "I can't see any reason to shit our pants." "A grief-crazed jaguar is more dangerous than 20 murderers." "Is that so?" "She's scented and tasted human blood and in her small animal brain, we all murdered her babies." "We all smell the same to her." "Vamoose!" "I have an inquest to perform." "Mr. Expert will help me here." "Is your name Napoleon Salinas?" "It is?" "Good." "Inquest complete." "In pater sum mea culpa ex domine... something like that." "That looks like a gondoola." "Looks nothing like a gondola." "It's not long enough, there's no prow." "Gondola..." "Josefina's getting restless." "Do you know anything about it?" "She's a good servant and she makes me a bit of money on the side." "But she's getting subversive ideas." " Ideas." " Yes, ideas!" "What's wrong with ideas?" "They upset the natural order of things." "We don't want that, do we?" "The natural order of things is upset already." "She's hunting men now." "Josefina?" "No, the jaguar." "We'll have to do something about that then, won't we?" "You're slowing down." "Back so soon, Rubicondo?" "Yeah." "There was a woman's husband waiting for me... with a gun... pointed at me." " You're here for the rains then?" " Yeah." "You're looking very thoughtful, Old Man." "Out with it." "There is a set of 5-centimetre claws waiting for me in the jungle." "How so?" "I suspect the Slimy Toad is planning a hunting expedition." "Well, just tell him that you're too old for" " that kind of thing." " He's got one over me." "I'm not getting very far with this." "Ardently." "Ardently." "How do you kiss someone ardently?" "This Paul clearly is not respectable or else he wouldn't be kissing her in the presence of the gondolier." "Obviously, this is not a kiss to remember a life by." "A bit like my friend, the dentist." "I can just guess how he kisses." "Ah, so maybe he's almost ravishing her." "But could he do that in a gondola without tipping it over?" "I can barely see the word clearly," "much less work out what it means." "I'm a fool." "A man who reads love stories and admits it is less of a fool than one who beats his wife thinking she loves it." "Maybe I'm not." "Okay." "Let's put Rubicondo the Dentist in Paul's place and see if it works." ""Rubicondo kissed her ardently."" "Oh, yeah," "I can imagine that." "Hold it!" "It's Alkaseltzer's mule." " Where is Alkaseltzer?" " That's it." "Search party in the morning." "We'll see who can kill the best, us or that jaguar." "We do not hunt the jaguar." "Their flesh is not edible, and one skin is enough to make adornments that last a generation." "The white man hunter, carrying a gun, violates death with the poison of pain." "I brought you the best part of the liver." "Thank you." "Listen, old fellow." "Talking helps people see eye to eye." "I ought to have you arrested for squatting but we're friends." "And as one hand washes the other and both wipe the shit off, we must help each other." "These are very important gringos, my friends." "They want to see the real jungle and I've told them only you can show it to them." "It's a juicy deal and I'll cut you in on it." "How about this, huh?" "How much for the photograph?" "Old Man?" "How much for the photo?" "First time I fired this gun, I killed its owner with it." "Tell this bastard gringo if he doesn't put that photo back," "I'll pump two rounds straight into his belly." "Clear out!" "Clear out!" "I don't do business with people who don't respect each other's homes." "You're the one who'll have to clear out," " you old shit-bag!" " This is my house!" "And who owns the ground underneath it?" " Nobody owns it." " All the land next to the river from this shore to 100 metres inland, belongs to the state." "And in case you've forgotten," "I am the state round here." "You haven't heard the last of this." " What's eating that old asshole?" " You must understand his mentality." "He's a mountain peasant." "These people hold those sort of thing sacred." "It's his wife." "He brought her to the jungle years ago and she died." "He's never forgiven himself." "He particularly likes Americans." "I guess you're asking me if I'll come with you on the hunt." "You see?" "Talking helps people see eye to eye." "Enjoy the liver." "You," " Doctor Dentist..." " Rubicondo Loachamin reporting for his civic duty, sir." " I didn't know you were a hunter." " Yes, I've tangled with some of the most dangerous man-eating she-cats in the world." "So I figured you could use my experience." "I do have some slight medical knowledge, your Excellency." "Very well." "Very well." " Where are those free delicacies?" " They're not free." "They're paid for by the state." "Why is the state sending geriatrics into the jungle now, huh?" "Even though all these items are issued to you personally, they actually belong to the state." "They are state property in your care, and they must be signed for upon issue and accounted for upon your return." "If we return." "You are unlikely to." "Now is that understood?" "The plan of action is as follows:" "We will make our way to... to Alkaseltzer's hut carefully," " and..." " Hello, Antonio." "And..." "And after that we'll er... we'll see..." "It's a good strategy, your Excellency." "It's a very, very good strategy." "We go to Alkaseltzer's and then after that we'll see." "That's very good." "I have not yet formulated any plan." "I, I..." "I haven't planned for..." "We must remain..." "prepared for change..." "Where the hell do you think you're going?" "I'm moving out." "You can't!" "You don't have my permission." "I won't allow it!" "Yes, I can." "I'm not a slave." "Where do you intend to go?" "To his place." "His place." "Good luck with the hunt, Excellency." "After her, the jaguar will be easy." "Shut up, Doctor!" "Otherwise you won't be going." "You're going to regret those boots, Excellency." "They will make walking difficult." "Why don't you try like us?" " Why don't you shut up?" " Okay." "Hey, wake up, Old Man." "You won't be catching any cats sleepwalking." "Help me out of here, will you?" " Manuel, Onecen!" "Hold on!" " Don't go so fast, you bastards!" "What's keeping you?" "Load your rifles." " It's better to be prepared." " Better keep our cartridges dry." " I'm the one who gives orders here!" " What do you say, Old Man?" "They're government-issue cartridges so you do what the government says." "Help me!" "Help me!" "We told you they'd get in your way." "Copy us." "Walk on the dead branches." "It's easier." "Pull!" "Pull!" "Shit!" "My boot!" " Find my boot!" " Forget it." "It's vanished." "Is no-one going to find my boot?" "You bastards are just trying to sabotage my expedition." "I wouldn't do that if I were you." "Why not?" "It's my boot!" "Scorpions." "They bury themselves till the rains are over and they don't like to be disturbed." "Do you think I'm going to swallow that nonsense?" "You're just trying to frighten me, make fun of me." "No." "Because you're sweating they are particularly attracted to you." "Shut up!" "Take them all out." " Tell me what's wrong." " Take them all out." "One by one." "Line them up there on the table." "Open your mouth." "You've got quite a few good teeth left but quite a few not so good." "Can you pay?" "We've made a bet, Doctor, my friends and I." "You'll take all my teeth out and I won't make a single sound while you do it." "You and I will share my winnings." "Once he starts pulling, you'll run crying home to mummy." "You'd better go and have a few more drinks." "I don't like silly games." "Doctor, if you don't let me win my bet, I'll cut your head off" "with my little friend here." "There are fifteen teeth." "One!" "Two!" "Three!" "Four!" "Five!" "Six!" "Seven!" "Sorry." "A tough one." "Eight!" "I could never tell between a coward, a fool and a brave man." "Nor could I, but if they work for the government, there isn't any difference." "Right!" "Let's go." "We can't carry on." "The men need to rest." "That makes sense..." "for once." "You stay." "I'm going to find somewhere safe." "I'm the one who gives the orders around here." "You look for some place safe, then." "No, I didn't mean that." "You do it." "Off you go." "Do you think she's out there, prowling around?" "I don't know, but I'll know if she comes near." "It's a pity we can't have a big fire." " Better this way." " It'd be much safer with the fire." "Animals don't like fire." "With this fire she can see us... and we cannot see her." "Well, she'd better show herself soon." " I can't go on forever sitting here." " Patience, Excellency, patience." "You cannot succeed at this and go back a hero without patience." "Once before," "I was hunting down a jaguar for some settlers whose cattle were being killed." "I tracked it and I tracked it but it would not let me come near." "And finally I had this idea to lie down on the ground in the open, without moving a muscle, finger on the trigger" "and wait for it to make a move." "I waited like that for three days." "Three days." "Three days of aching joints, and fighting sleep and pissing in my pants." "Three days waiting for that animal to feel confident enough to launch an attack." "So what happened?" "I don't remember." "My brain started playing tricks on me." "I think I fell asleep." "I was very lucky... because that cat could have killed me." "It was a great ruse, to lie down on the ground, in the open." "If you've got so much patience, you'd better take the first watch." "I'd be happy to." "We should have a fire." "Even savages protect themselves with fire." "...and you are chatty like drunken parrots!" "And you are as loud as the devil himself." "And where you come from," " what is it like?" " It's cold." "It is very cold." "You wear long woollen ponchos and hats." "That's why you stink." "You shit in your ponchos." "Do you hunt in your stinking poncho?" "Mountain people don't hunt." " Then what do they do?" " They work in the fields, from sunrise to sunset." "What fools!" "A bad way to go, my friend." " Switch that off!" " There's something out there!" " Put that thing away!" " What the hell do you think...?" "Congratulations." "We had a fair go at that cat just then, but you can kiss her goodnight now." "What was that?" "What is this?" "It's shit." "Can't you smell it?" " I know it's shit!" "But what sort?" " Bat shit." "We camped under a tree of bats." "They fly off in one direction, you know that something's coming from the opposite direction." "You, for example." "Or the jaguar." "You have trouble with the government, huh?" " I won't have you speaking that way!" " Your Excellency." "If you hadn't granted that gringo an illegal permit, we wouldn't be here." "I will tell you what to do from now on." "That's why you brought me here." "Otherwise, you can clean up your own mess." "What's it to be, Excellency?" "Leave you here for the cats?" "If she was with us last night, she wouldn't be here now, would she?" "We're here, aren't we?" "I don't yet know her." "The lamps are still on." "The cat is probably stretched out in Alkaseltzer's hammock." "Well, Plasencio..." "Well, well, well." "You finally made it." "All those years of effort." "Nobody would ever believe that these stones were not from around here." "Then the prospectors would come, and then the road builders... the tourists..." "You're already done for, cat!" "So am I." "What a pathetic place to have a pathetic store." "You need customers to run a store." "Where are his customers?" "Prospectors, hunters, gold diggers." "He did all right." " What did he do with his money?" " Gambled it away" " with his customers." " Looking to get your fingers on it?" "No, I didn't mean that..." "There is another body outside." "I'll be able to read until I'm a hundred." "A bible?" "You want me to get you a bible?" "Why for God's sake do you want a bible?" " To read." " You know a bible will rot your brain worse than the jungle will." "To have something to read." "I'm very relieved." "But you know, if you're after reading material, then I think we ought to..." "Be able to do better than the bible." "What did you say, Old Man?" "Nothing really." "I was just thinking about reading." "Can you really read?" "A bit." "I could never see the use of it myself." "What are you reading?" "A novel." "What's it about?" "It's about love." "Why bother then?" "Because the thoughts are beautiful." "Because the words are beautiful... and the sentences." "And sometimes makes me forget the barbarity of man." "The barbarity of man?" "You mean the Slimy Toad over there?" "Not just him." "Others too." "And me." "It's true." "You're all barbarians." "What about you, Excellency?" "I'm educated." "That's why I'm the Mayor." "The dentist here is educated, your Excellency." "That doesn't make him the Mayor." "Doesn't stop me from being a barbarian, either," "Excellency." "God, how can people be so stupid?" "Think what you like, and stop calling me "Excellency."" "You've all been saying it ever since you heard the doctor say it." "What do you want us to call you, Excellency?" "The judge is called "Your Honour" and the priest "Your Eminence"... and his Excellency, "Excellency."" "It's her." "She's scented us." "There's nothing to say that I didn't at least wound the animal." "Why don't you go out and see?" "Listen, my little friend." "One day soon we're going to be back in the town and I warn you..." "Shut up, you stupid Slimy Toad!" "You open your trap once more and..." " Let's do a deal, Antonio Bolivar." " I'm going back." " I don't want this any more." " Let's do a deal, huh?" "Huh?" "You're the jungle veteran, huh?" "You know it better than you know yourself." "We're just getting in your way." "Track her down and kill her, and the state will pay you a reward." "Stay here, do what you think fit and we'll go back and protect the village, huh?" "I am not interested in rewards." "Everyone has his price." "Even you." "Money... a spot of land, eh?" "A woman..." "Everyone has his price." "That's her." "She's far off." "She's crying for her babies." "What do you say, huh?" "Kill her and you'll never get bothered again about where you built your house." "I'll even get you a certificate of ownership." "No more recriminations... not even about Josefina." "Live the rest of your life in peace." "Sounds good, huh?" "She wants to die." "Is it a deal?" "You don't have to do this." "We can wait for her to come to the village, huh?" "We could easily trap her there..." "It's thick-headed to try to beat her on her own ground." "It's my ground too." "That Slimy Toad is just trying to get you killed, you know?" "Thank her for the reading glasses, my friend." "I never got the chance." "Tell her... tell here it will help me to read till I'm a hundred." "I will." "You should have warned them, Old Man." "Why are you so sure you are the one the beast is coming for?" "Don't you think such an animal could decide to pursue them?" "She could pick them off one by one before they get to El Idilio." "She's smart." "You should have gone with them, but you didn't because you think you know more." "You think it's you she's after." ""Maria moaned plain... plaintive-ly."" "Maria moaned plaintively." "But is that from pleasure or pain?" "The words are bigger and easier to see... but their meaning is no more revealed than without the glass." "Why do you do this, Antonio?" "Why do you read at all?" "I didn't know you were a reader, Old Man." "Neither did I." "But the very thought of a bible..." "That's too much." "Ok." "Just look casual." "I won't pay the Slimy Toad if I'm not going to be doing anything." "Josefina!" "Rubicondo!" " Who's your friend?" " May I present Antonio Bolivar?" "Jungleman... reader." "Hello." "The problem is he doesn't have anything to read." "You've brought him to the wrong place." "I've only got love stories." "No detective or pirate stories?" "Only heartache, hopeless love and happy endings." "That's almost as bad as the bible." "It sounds... it sounds interesting." "May I try one?" "This is one of my favourites." "I cried all the way through." "It must be very beautiful." "It is." "Ok." "Now, go and read the damned thing." "You two can swap handkerchiefs later." "I can't read." "Perhaps you are afraid." "Nushino's people say," ""Hide from your fear."" "What's the matter?" "This is not the first time you've faced a crazed animal." "You've imagined this jaguar thinks of you as her equal." "Don't be so big-headed," "Antonio Bolivar." "Your eyes are tired... and your movements are slow." "After four killings, she knows as much about men as you know about jaguars." "And perhaps you know less than she does." "Come on, Old Man." "Has fear finally got you?" "Isn't there anything you can do to hide yourself from it?" "You are a white man's hunter now, Antonio." "You carry a gun... and fear." "If the trailing is easy and you think the jaguar is yours," "he's behind you." "His eyes are on your neck." "Here you are." "Now I can see you." "Lashing your tail..." "You don't care, do you?" "You're aroused by the nearness of your victims." "No, you are not hunting, you're just moving around..." "You're certain that you're dealing with a weaker species." "Now... off you go, there, in that direction." "And then I lose you." "Do you want me to find you or not?" "What are you up to?" "I know your game." "You want me here." "Here I am!" "I am Antonio Bolivar." "And I have patience enough, my beauty." "You're a strange animal, that's for sure." "I can't work it out, whether you're acting intelligently or out of desperation." ""And death... united them... forever."" "It's so beautiful..." "This is not true." "Death separates forever." "But we're not dead." "No." "Not yet." "So, we can still be united." "Yes, we can." "Keep your head about you, Old Man." "Still too far to be sure." "Antonio?" "Yes?" "What is love?" "In the jungle, the one that survives is the one that moves." "Your brain is getting slow, Old Man." "You should have done this before." "Why don't you attack me?" "What's your game?" "It's not you who wants to die, is it?" "This is why you brought me here." "Forgive me, my friend." "That lousy gringo... he fucked us all up." "You were very lucky, Antonio Bolivar." "That fall could have broken a bone or two." "Lucky you had a fern mattress." "Hello, Antonio." "State property..." "I'd better enjoy it..." "I'm not sure how I'm going to account for this... when I return." "Maybe I am a thunderbolt, but will you share my rapture?" "I might live to be a hundred." "Then you'll need this." "I'm sorry, Dolores." "This lousy jungle has fucked us all up." "But why, my brother?" "Why not like always?" "Go away and come back." "I'm getting too old for the jungle." "Oh, Nushino..." "I miss too many times with the blowpipe." "I want to be able to..." "What new trick is this?" "I thought we were finished with each other." "They say your kind can smell the scent of death on our kind." "Is that true?" "Is it the smell of death I have about me?" "Is it my turn?" "You're pissing on me!" "You're demented!" "Bad way to go, my friend." "I cannot leave in peace, my brother..." "Until his head hangs from a stake," "I will wander like a sad blind parrot earning the hatred of those who never knew me," "disturbing dreams... scaring game..." "Save me, my brother." "Save me from eternal misery." "The Indians." " Where are the Indians?" " On the other side of the river." "Don't worry." "They're not following you." "Antonio Bolivar..." "You are like us." "But you are not one of us." "You should have killed him with a poison dart." "Then all of his courage" "would have been captured in his expression." "How can they shrink that head... when in life... it has been frozen... into that mask of fear... and pain?" "My eternal misery." "Go now... my friend." "You have no rights to linger... among us any longer." "Oh, Antonio, you are a fool." "You can't even shoot straight." "I know you're watching me!" "We're even." "I am Antonio Bolivar!" "I have come to capture your courage!" "A curse on that gringo." "A curse on all the gringos..." "And the prospectors... and the settlers... and the government... and the tourists." ""One final time the lovers joined together in a torrid embrace, holding, squeezing, clasping each other desperately, their hands searching, their mouths burning."" ""Lt was a kiss of impassioned intensity, a kiss to remember their lives by.""