“She heard my pleas. ”
“What the hell are you talking about, Jimmy?”
“The Virgin answered when I cried out, ‘Virgin of Guadalupe, save us!’”
“The Virgin answered you?”
“That’s right.”
“You’re crazy, Jimmy.”
“It was just seconds after I prayed for her to save us, after I shouted out in despair, that we hit the sand bank.”
“But, what. ”
“You don’t believe me? You didn’t hear me shouting?”
“We were all shouting, scared shitless, Jimmy, don’t be an ass. The one who shouted loudest was that fat oarsman, the one next to me, who didn’t know how to swim and was squealing like a pig. He almost pulled me under, the motherfucker. He sure made up for his silence earlier. ”
“That good-for-nothing, he’s why you didn’t hear me shout.”
“We all asked God to save us and now it turns out the Virgin answered you. I think it was really bad for you to dress up as a priest. ”
“I’m telling you, it was a miracle. You wouldn’t understand.”
“Okay, so the Virgin was right there, in the waves, waiting for you to pray to her. Really? She appeared to you, without the rest of us seeing her?”
“Stop making fun of me.”
“So stop talking crap. We were lucky we capsized before we’d gotten too far from shore. That’s what really happened.”
“You don’t believe in miracles?”
“Yeah, but the miracle wasn’t for you, it was for all of us, and it wasn’t because you shouted but because we all begged for help. You military guys think that even God is under your command. ”
“If we come out of this alive, I’m going to go to the Basilica of Guadalupe in Mexico to offer up thanks.”
“Just pass me the water, I’m thirsty again.”
“Here. Careful! Don’t fall!
“Calm down. ”
“. ”
“Jimmy, about what time is it?”
“I lost my watch in the wreck.”
“I know, but you’re good at figuring out the time. You think it’s about nine?”
“My father gave it to me, before he died.”
“. ”
“It was my best keepsake from him.”
“I don’t know why we had to get involved in this. ”
“What are you talking about, Clemen?”
“The coup. The whole thing. Look where we are: in a canal lost in the middle of a swamp in the bay, in this little boat, without the least idea what will become of us.”
“We’re alive, that’s what matters most.”
“You know what would be the worst, Jimmy? If after all this they caught us. ”
“Don’t even think about it. I’m not going to let them get me. If you want to surrender, go ahead, but I’ve got this gun.”
“That Mono Harris, what a guy, he even left you his gun.”
“We owe him our lives. He got us this boat, he towed us into this canal that is difficult to find, and he came back to bring us provisions. He’s like our guardian angel.”
“My poor mother must be worried to death. And Mila and the kids. ”
“Truth is, Clemen, I don’t understand why you got involved in the coup. You’re not in the military and you’re not even very interested in politics; you just like to be a radio announcer, work in the theater, drink, the ladies. Why did you get involved?”
“Because we have to get rid of that son of a bitch. ”
“A lot of people think that but they don’t take the risk and participate in a coup.”
“And you, why did you get involved?”
“For me, it was simple: I’m in the military, and I swore to defend the constitution that scoundrel is violating. But you?. Don’t start getting nervous again.”
“My father is in prison. Doesn’t that count? There’s no freedom anymore.”
“You’ll excuse me for saying so, Clemen, but you aren’t anything like my uncle. He’s a politician, a serious man who maintains a strong stand in opposition to the general. But there’s no way I can see you as a politician. Did you think this was some kind of adventure that would turn you into a hero?”
“Man, dressing up as a priest really did mess you up. Now you want to confess me. ”
“There’s no way to have a serious conversation with you.”
“The only thing I know is that I’ll never get involved with anything to do with the military again. You guys are a fiasco.”
“Don’t let’s start on this again.”
“Defend the constitution.? Don’t make me laugh, Jimmy. You think I’m going to believe you that a turd like Tito Calvo or that mama’s boy General Marroquín got involved in the coup to defend the constitution? Who knows how much money Don Agustín offered them, not knowing they wouldn’t have the balls to do it right. ”
“Stop defaming the dead.”
“I hope that strike works, the one Mono Harris told us about.”
“If we couldn’t bring him down by force, there’s no way it can be done with a strike.”
“So then what? The motherfucker will be in power for the rest of his life?”
“That’s why we should leave any way we can.”
“What about the gringos? Why don’t they get involved once and for all and finish off that Nazi?”
“I already told you what Captain Masey told me: ‘You put him in, you take him out.’”
“How convenient for them, as if they didn’t have anything to do with it. Look at those clouds, Jimmy: really weird. ”
“You’re right.”
“A storm. That’s all we need.”
“No. It’s fog, a fog bank’s coming this way.”
“Along the coast? That’s strange. That only happens in the mountains.”
“Well, here it is.”
“Now there’s a breeze. I really can’t see anything, Jimmy. It’s so dark. ”
“Shhh. Quiet. ”
“What’s going on?”
“Listen. ”
“What?”
“A noise. ”
“It’s the waves.”
“No, listen.”
“. ”
“I’m going to row us into the mangroves.”
“Go on, then.”
“Lower your voice. ”
“I don’t like this foggy air; it gives me goose bumps.”
“We’ll stay here behind the branches. Here we’ve got cover and we can see if anyone is coming up the canal.”
“Jimmy, I can’t see anything.”
“Keep your voice down. Don’t you understand?”
“This is like a nightmare. I’ve never been somewhere like this, it’s so creepy. ”
“It’s just fog. Try to control your fear. ”
“At any moment some vermin can attack us from these branches. They say the bats in the mangroves are savage.”
“Something’s approaching. ”
“Where?”
“Over there, at the entrance to the canal.”
“Fuck!”
“Shhh. Sounds like a canoe. You see the glow? They must have a lamp on the floor.”
“Maybe it’s the soldiers?”
“I told you, Clemen, we can’t trust. Let’s hide.”
“They might be fishermen. ”
“I don’t think so. They’re staying on the other side of the canal. If they were fishermen, they’d go down the middle.”
“Don’t shoot, Jimmy.”
“Shh. Here they come.”
“I can’t see anything.”
“I can only see one silhouette. That’s it.”
“The soldier with the gold tooth?!”
“If it were him, there’d be two of them. A soldier never goes alone, they’re always in pairs. ”
“I saw him, Jimmy!”
“Maybe the other one is hiding on the floor of the canoe. That’s it: we can’t see the other one, but he must have his rifle at the ready in the bow and we can only make out the one in the rear.”