Curse of the Condor Read Free Page A

authorities, but never from himself.
    He pulled his poncho around himself, knowing it was much too warm to wear it, but wanting to hide the condor tattoo that was etched upon his upper arm. He made it to the water without anyone stopping him, and was just stepping into his dugout canoe when a woman's voice caught his attention.
    “¿Puede usted ayudarme? ” she said, mispronouncing the Spanish words.
    Another blasted tourist. He turned to see the blonde leaning over a small guide book to speaking Spanish. The men of the village crowded around her curiously. Conrado knew this gringa was either severely stupid, or extremely brave to come to Iquitos by herself, as he didn't see any other Americans with her. She stuck out like a sore thumb.
    She donned a big floppy hat that half-hid her face, and dark sunglasses that kept him from seeing her eyes. She daringly exposed more of her pale skin than she should have to the equator's hot sun with the shorts, tank top, and sandals she wore.  A huge straw purse hung on her shoulder, and two suitcases rested at her feet.
    "I need a guide to take me into the jungle," she overpronounced the words loudly and slowly as if that would make her meaning more comprehensible to the villagers. Then she flipped through the book again and found the word for guide. " Guía ," she said with a smile of satisfaction, then pointed toward the jungle which gave every man there a good look at her lacy bra through the huge arm holes of her oversized tank top.
    Conrado almost laughed. She deserved exactly what she got.
    "I want to go see the . . . " she paused a moment and dug a sheet of paper out of her huge purse. "Jee-var-roe tribe," she read off, pronouncing it like an American would with the sound of the j instead of h.
    Conrado stopped in his tracks. What would an American want with the aggressive Jivaro? He figured he'd better stick around a moment or two to hear more.
    "No tourists to see Jivaro," a villager told her in broken English.
    "Oh, good, you speak English," she said slapping the book shut and slipping it into her straw purse. "When can we leave?"
    "No take you to Jivaro," he told her again, but she wouldn't let up.
    "I have to go there," she said and reached into her open-topped purse and pulled out a fistful of American paper money. "I'll pay someone to take me."
    What was she doing? Conrado shook his head at the way she foolishly displayed her money, and wasn't surprised when some of the children of the village jumped up and grabbed it and ran off. These people were very poor, and he couldn’t blame them for taking what she more or less offered.
    "Come back here," she shouted, but it was too late. All hell broke loose as the children showed their friends, and they too ran over to beg for money. One small boy picked up her suitcase, meaning to help, but when it popped open and clothes were spewed through the air, the children excitedly grabbed for the contents. Little girls held up fancy bras and panties, and the boys waved panty hose over their heads and let them fly behind them as they ran barefoot through the dusty streets.
    The woman stood there open-mouthed, her body frozen. Then she shook her head as realization hit her, and went after her belongings. She pulled on one end of a long skirt with three children gripping the other in what they thought was a game of tug-o-war. It ripped down the middle and the woman fell on her rump. She screamed as the rest of her belongings disappeared.
    The men congregating around laughed in amusement, and the women rounded up their children, disappearing into open doorways. The American woman picked up a stray shoe and threw it after the last of the stragglers.
    "No! Stop. Somebody help me," she called, but the villagers ignored her and went on with their own business of the day.
    Conrado let out a breath and shook his head. He watched the woman pull her hat from her head along with her sunglasses and throw them to the ground in disgust. Two toddlers