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She had the look of a free spirit with a warm sense of humor. There isn't a day that goes by I don't recall her image."
"You didn't go after her?" Loren asked in mild surprise.
"Believe it or not, I was very shy in those days. I walked the same sidewalk every day for a month, hoping to spot her again. But she never showed. She was probably vacationing with her parents and left for home soon after our paths crossed."
"That's sad," said Loren.
"Oh, I don't know." Giordino laughed suddenly. "We might have married, had ten kids and found we hated each other."
"To me, Pitt is like your lost love. An illusion I can never quite hold on to."
"He'll change," Giordino said sympathetically. "All men mellow with age."
Loren smiled faintly and shook her head. "Not the Dirk Pitts of this world. They're driven by an inner desire to solve mysteries and challenge the unknown. The last thing any of them wants is to grow old with the wife and kids and die in a nursing home."
The small port of San Felipe wore a festive air. The dock was crowded with people. Everywhere there was an atmosphere of excitement as the patrol boat neared the entrance to the breakwaters forming the harbor.
Maderas turned to Pitt. "Quite a reception."
Pitt's eyes narrowed against the sun. "Is it some sort of local holiday?"
"News of your remarkable journey through the earth has drawn them."
"You've got to be kidding," said Pitt in honest surprise.
"No, senor. Because of your discovery of the river flowing below the desert, you've become a hero to every farmer and rancher from here to Arizona who struggles to survive in a harsh wasteland." He nodded at two vans with technicians unloading television camera equipment. "That's why you've become big news."
"Oh, God." Pitt groaned. "All
I want is a soft bed to sleep in for three days."
Pitt's mental and physical condition had improved considerably upon receiving word over the ship's radio from Admiral Sandecker that Loren, Rudi, and Al were alive, if slightly the worse for wear.
Sandecker also brought him up to date on Cyrus Sarason's death at the hands of Billy Yuma and the capture of Zolar and Oxley, along with Huascar's treasure, by Gaskill and Ragsdale with the help of Henry and Micki Moore.
There was hope for the little people after all, Pitt thought stoically.
It seemed like an hour, though it was only a few minutes before the Porqueria tied up to the Alhambra for the second time that day. A large paper sign was unfolded across the upper passenger deck of the ferryboat, the letters still dripping fresh paint. It read, WELCOME BACK FROM THE DEAD.
On the auto deck a Mexican mariachi street band was lined up, playing and singing a tune that seemed familiar. Pitt leaned over the railing of the patrol boat, cocked an ear, and threw back his head in laughter. He then doubled over with pain as his merriment caused a burst of fire inside his rib cage.
Giordino had pulled off the ultimate coup.
"Do you know the song they're playing?" asked Maderas, mildly alarmed at Pitt's strange display of mirth and agony.
"I recognize the tune, but not the words," Pitt gasped through the hurt. "They're singing in Spanish."
Miralos andando
Vealos andando
Lleva a tu novia favorita, tu companero real
Bajate a la represa, dije la represa
Juntate con ese gentio andando, oiga la musica y la cancion
Es simplemente magnifico camarada, esperando en la represa
