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  She straightened abruptly. “Here!” she said.

  “Here?”

  “Yes, here!” She whirled toward him. “Here, damn it!”

  He gave a quick, disbelieving look at the impenetrable tangle on the banks and said, “My opinion exactly,” before he yelled a command to Pepe, who instantly turned the boat toward shore.

  There wasn’t a good place to leave the boats, but Ben hid them as best he could, pulling them into a cove and securing them with chains to sturdy trees. Even so, he was well aware that the boats were just as likely as not to be missing when they returned. It was a problem he’d foreseen, though, so they dragged two large, inflatable rafts about fifty yards inland and hid them, too.

  The tangle of vegetation was always thickest on the riverbanks, where more sunlight was available; they had to hack their way off the boats, but once they were in the dimness under the triple canopy, they found it much easier to move around. Plant life didn’t linger on the jungle floor; it had to reach upward, toward the sunlight, to survive. It was a different world under the canopy, a world of climbing orchids and still, humid air. Giant buttressed roots anchored trees whose limbs stretched far overhead, lost in a sea of green. The brightest noon became a twilight in this dim world where vegetation reigned; thick liana vines trailed from overhead, sometimes swaying with the invisible movements of monkeys far above. Occasionally a ray of sunlight would dapple the leaves. Sound seemed to flatten and die; though they could hear the chirping and chattering of the jungle denizens, it had a muted, faraway quality to it. The jungle had the same hushed expectancy as a cathedral.

  Jillian worked with the men to unload the boats. Each of them would carry a pack that included their own lightweight tent, a foam sleeping pad, their personal belongings, and some of the general supplies. The remaining supplies would be loaded onto four two-man litters, to be carried by the eight helpers. Ben had also left enough supplies with the rafts to get them back to Manaus.

  It took most of the remaining hours of daylight to unload the boat and divide the supplies, so rather than push on, Ben decided they’d spend the night there. They set up the tents in their first inland camp and built a fire. They would leave the alcohol stoves behind, as they added too much weight. Henceforth, they would cook on a campfire.

  Late in the afternoon Kates left the camp to attend to a call of nature. Less than two minutes later they heard his hoarse scream. Ben grabbed his shotgun and plunged in the direction of the screams, with everyone else streaming behind him.

  The vegetation was so dense that Kates hadn’t gone far. Jillian plainly heard Ben say, “It isn’t poisonous.”

  “Goddammit, don’t tell me it isn’t poisonous!” Kates was screaming when they all got there. “It’s a coral snake!”

  “False coral,” Ben said patiently. “It’s a river snake. Unless you’re small enough for it to swallow, you aren’t in any danger. Just calm down, and from now on carry a stick with you.”

  The Brazilians were already heading back to camp, trying to hide their smiles. Jillian turned to do the same, and bumped into Dutra.

  Instantly she jumped back, her stomach roiling with distaste at having touched him. She hadn’t realized he was standing so close behind her, though as his rank smell rose to her nostrils she wondered how she could have missed him. He didn’t say anything, just grinned at her, showing his stained teeth. The long incisors made a chill prickle her spine. His eyes were flat and malevolent as he stared at her breasts; Jillian had the sickening intuition that he was thinking of biting them.

  She started to hurry back to the camp, but then halted. Though the tents were only about twenty yards away, the thick vegetation would hide her from view for most of the way. With Dutra so close, there was no way she would take the chance of being caught alone even for those few steps. Instead, she deliberately stepped close to Ben’s side. He gave her a surprised look; then his gaze slid to Dutra, and she saw instant understanding replace the surprise.

  He slipped his arm around her waist. Jillian thought wryly that she should have expected that. Ben Lewis wasn’t one to let any opportunity pass.

  Leaving Kates there to accomplish what had been interrupted by his sighting of the snake, they turned back to the camp. Dutra was nowhere in sight, and she was surprised at how silently he could move.

  Ben squeezed her waist. “All right?” he asked in a low voice.

  “Sure,” she replied, giving him a grateful smile. “I was just being cautious.”

  “Smart girl.”

  He halted when they could just see the tents through the foliage, holding her in place beside him. “I’m going to kiss you,” he murmured, already bending his head. “Play along.”

  Play along, indeed. Caught in his strong arms before she could react, she didn’t have much choice. She tried to protest, but then his lips were on hers, and he slipped his tongue into her mouth before she could prevent it.

  A wild shudder of pleasure racked her, and she had the disjointed thought that it should be against the law for anyone to kiss the way Ben Lewis did. She knew she should push him away, but couldn’t resist the temptation to let herself enjoy the moment. She wound her arms around his brawny neck and sank against him, reveling in the hardness of his muscled body.

  He made a rough sound of surprise and satisfaction in his throat and gathered her even closer, adjusting her hips to fit his. One hand slipped down to squeeze her buttocks.

  Quick as a flash Jillian slipped away from him, giving him a wink over her shoulder as she stepped into the camp clearing. Behind her, she heard his groan of frustration. It was just what he deserved. She hadn’t evaded Dutra just to put herself in Ben’s hands, skillful though they were; he needed to learn not to take advantage of a damsel in distress.

  After eating, she retired early to her tent, deciding that Ben still looked a bit put out and it would be best to avoid him. Inside, she unrolled the foam pad, which was only about an inch thick but surprisingly comfortable. The nylon tents were small; high enough to sit up in, four and a half feet wide. The sleep pads were thirty inches wide, so that left two feet on the side for personal gear. The open end of the tent could be closed by a heavy-duty, two-sided plastic zipper. To secure it, she took a roll of electrician’s tape from her pack, cut off a three-inch strip, and placed it across the zipper right below the head. That way no one on the outside could unzip it; it made a cheap and effective security device. With sturdy nylon between her and the jungle, and electrician’s tape between her and Ben Lewis, she felt fairly safe.

  She carefully plotted the coordinates that she would give Ben the next morning, then packed everything away and undressed. From experience she knew enough to get comfortable, and that meant stripping down to her underwear, which consisted of cotton underpants and a cotton tank shirt. She didn’t carry bras on expeditions.

  She switched off the flashlight; faint light from the fire filtered through the nylon, so it wasn’t completely dark. She reached into her pack and got the pistol, putting it close by her head. She could hear Ben retiring to his tent, which he had positioned right next to hers, and the low murmur of voices from those who remained around the fire. If they were smart, they would try to get as much sleep as they could, because tomorrow would be grueling. Taking her own advice, she stretched out and promptly went to sleep.

  * * *

  Rick stared resentfully at the two tents set up right next to each other. “She’s told him about the treasure,” he muttered to Kates. “He’s going to try to cut in on us.”

  Kates had had the same thought, but Lewis hadn’t said anything to indicate that he thought there was anything in the jungle other than ruins. He wouldn’t have worried about it if Lewis hadn’t turned out to be completely different from the man Kates had thought he was hiring. The Lewis who had taken charge of the expedition was a far cry from the careless booze hound he had seemed at first.

  “We’ll have to watch him,” Kates finally said. That was about all they could do r