"He really liked that. The first thing he said when we pulled him out of the water was 'Jesus, that was fun! Can we do that again?'"
Ashton smiled at Clete.
"Then Delojo shows up and says he's got good news for me. I have been given command of a team. And they are going to parachute us into Argentina with a radar set."
"Did he tell you why?"
"Yeah. To find a ship that's supplying German submarines. He told me the first team they sent down here disappeared, and that the second team got shot down while they were locating the ship for a submarine. So the next thing I know we're on an airplane headed for Brazil, three very nice guys and the go-rilla. I finally figured out what the gorilla is supposed to do. I think he has or-ders to shoot me the minute he sees me pissing my pants, providing I've got the radar up and working. You know where it goes, right?"
"Yeah, we have figured that out," Clete said. "How did you get here, Ashton? I mean, to this place?"
"I came down here to see if there wasn't some other way besides by para-chute to get the radar set across the border." Ashton said. "If I never jump out of an airplane again, it will be too soon."
"By 'other way' you mean by rubber boat?"
"Just when I was beginning to think that maybe you weren't as dumb as I thought, you ask a question like that," Ashton said. "Come with me, por favor, mi Mayor."
He picked up his beer glass and led Clete to the far side of the swimming pool. From there they could look down at the Rio Uruguay.
"That sonofabitch is at least three-quarters of a mile wide, and the current is at least six knots," Ashton said. "The radar set is broken down into four crates, each weighing two hundred pounds. Maybe the Marine Corps can pad-dle something like that across that river in little rubber boats, but I have no in-tention of trying."
"How did you get here?" Clete asked.
"On the ferry," Ashton said.
"No trouble getting across the border?"
"They gave us all phony Brazilian passports," Ashton said. "No problem."
"Tell me about Consuelo," Clete said.
"The Brazilian town on the other side of the river is Sao Borja. I went to a bar there, and in the interests of international friendship struck up a conversa-tion with Consuelo. We had a couple of drinks, and I asked her where a poor lonely businessman could go for a good time. Consuelo said she knew just the place-she meant here; this is the NoTellMotel of choice for the local sports-men on both sides of the border-but it was expensive. I asked her how expen-sive. You would be surprised, Major, how far the American dollar goes down here."
"How far?"
"Twenty dollars a day for Consuelo-plus rations and quarters, of course, say another fifteen bucks-and another fifteen a day for her cousin's Fiat."
"That sounds like a bargain," Clete said. "And aside from watching the div-ing demonstrations, how have you passed the time?"
"I passed the word, very discreetly, that I had four crates of tractor parts I would like to get into Argentina without anybody official noticing."
"And?"
"The only nibble I got was from a character who might as well have had `Cop' written on his forehead. You have any ideas, mi Mayor?"
"There's an airplane waiting for me at Porto Alegre," Clete said.
"Were you paying attention before when I said I am not about to parachute me, or the radar, or anybody on my team except the gorilla-you're welcome to him-into anywhere?"
"I just came from checking out the airstrip where I'm going to land the air-plane," Clete said.
"On this side of the border?"
Clete nodded.
"You're an officer and a gentleman, so you don't lie, right?" Ashton said.
"Not about this."