Dennis Wheatley - Unholy Crusade

Producing the Biro he had borrowed from Juanita, he asked her to let him have the writing pad again. Then, while the family regarded him with interest and awe, he wrote out a telegram, and a letter to Chela.

He addressed the telegram to Bernadino Enriquez, stating, with Juanita's help, where the farm was situated and adding only that Chela was there, wounded but not dangerously, and being well cared for.

To Chela he explained why he was compelled to leave her and said that, if he did succeed in getting away, immediately he was safe he would let her know. He mentioned the great debt they owed the Zupangos, then ended by saying how greatly he loved her and that, although they might never meet again, he would treasure the memory of her all his life.

By the time he had done, the men of the family were, as well as they could, politely suppressing their yawns. Knowing that in the ordinary way they would have turned in soon after sundown, he asked Juanita to thank them for all they had done and tell them to go to bed, while she and he repaired to the other room.

With smiles and deep bows they wished him good night in dumb show then, the mother included, they proceeded to spread their palliasses on the floor in front of the cooking range.

When he and Juanita had settled themselves in the bedroom, he gave her the draft of the telegram and asked if she could send it the following afternoon from the village.

She shook her dark head. `No, Lord. It is a little place and has no post office. But I could take a mule and ride in to Apizaco with it.'

`Good enough,' he smiled. `It is important, and I am sure you will not fail me in getting it off. But I don't want you to hand it in before four o'clock.' Giving her the letter for Chela, he went on, `I want you to give this to the Senorita as soon as she is sufficiently recovered to read it. She is a great lady and her father is immensely rich. You may be sure that he will reward you and your family handsomely for all your kindness to us.'

At that Juanita bridled. `We need no reward, Lord. To have you in our home is a great honour.'

He smiled again. `I am sure that your father would have felt insulted if I had offered him money in return for his hospitality. But you have promised to provide me with some clothes, the razor and other things. For those I insist on paying. There is also the telegram.'

A week or so earlier, Hunterscombe had given him approximately fifty pounds of Secret Service money to use, if need be, for bribes or in an emergency. The handful of coins concealed in his shoes had been to enable him to telephone from a public call box; by far the greater part of the money was in notes, which he had since hidden in the lining of his jacket, just below his right armpit. Fishing them out, he gave Juanita three hundred peso notes.

As she took them, she said, `That will be more than enough, Lord. I will collect the things as soon as the others are sound asleep.'

`There is one other matter,' he told her. `The day after tomorrow, the police will come here. They may take you all in to Apizaco to question you about the Senorita and myself. She, of course, will still be in bed here, but I shall be gone and they will press you to tell them all that you have learned about me. I am counting on you to say nothing about your cutting my hair before I leave or the clothes you are going to get for me. Say only that I arrived here in the middle of last night, went up the mountain today to search for my friend, and left during darkness tonight, while you were all asleep. Is that clear?'

`Yes, Lord,' she assured him, wide eyed. `Not a word more shall. they get from me.'

He patted her on the cheek. `Well said, Juanita. But you will all be subjected to a lot of unpleasantness and for that I am determined to compensate you.' As he spoke, he took the pair of magnificent ear rings from his pocket, held them up to her so that their pear shaped drop pearls glistened in the light of the lamp, and went on:

`These are for you; but you must not attempt to sell them, otherwise you might get into serious trouble. Before the Senorita leaves here you are to give them to her. They are worth several thousand pesos. She will either buy them from you, or sell them for you and send you the money. She has many jewels; so no one will question her ownership of them and what then fetch will make a handsome dowry for you, with which you can buy a pleasant house where I hope you will live happily with your man for many years.'

Hesitantly she accepted the jewels, then dropped him an awkward curtsy and murmured, `Lord, your generosity overwhelms me. I have done nothing… nothing to deserve this wonderful gift.'

`You have done more than enough,' he assured her. `As for your parents and brothers, the Seniority’s father will see to it that for all their lives they will never know want. And now I must sleep. Can you keep awake for six hours or so?'

She glanced at a cheap wrist watch she was wearing. `It is now a quarter to eight. At what time, Lord, do you wish to be awakened?'

`Let's say two o'clock. But should you feel yourself dropping off before that, you must rouse me.'

`Have no fear, Lord. I shall be doing my knitting and will wake you on the minute.'

Gratefully he stretched himself out on the palliasse. She moved the lamp so that his face was in shadow. Within minutes he was fast asleep.

Faithful to her promise, at two o'clock she shook him by the shoulder until he opened his eyes. For a moment he did not know where he was, then memories of the previous day came back to him. Sitting up, he knuckled the sleep from his eyes, and asked Juanita

`Did you manage to get all the things?'

She smiled. `Yes, Lord. I took them out after my family had gone to sleep, and they are now in the wine press shed.' Producing a pair of scissors, she added, `If you will turn round, I will cut off your hair.'

A quarter of an hour later she had given him a crew cut and trimmed his beard as closely as possible. She then brought him a saucepan of warm water that she had left on the range and gave him the family razor to shave off the rest of his beard.

Standing up, he stepped across to Chela. For several moments he looked down on her lovely face, now a little drawn. Silently he cursed the conspiracy that had been the cause of all his troubles and now forced them to separate. They had known such wonderful happiness together; but now it seemed certain that they must part for ever. Taking from his pocket the finest of the jeweled bracelets that had been put on him as Quetzalcoatl, he slipped it on over her wrist and kissed her lovingly on the forehead.

Turning to Juanita, he asked, `Do you think we can get out of the house without rousing your family?'

She shrugged. 'They all sleep like logs, Lord. But what matter if one of them does wake? They would never think of stopping you.' Having turned down the wick of the lantern until it gave out only a faint glow, she opened the door and he followed her into the living room.

The other Zupangos were sound asleep, two of them snoring loudly. Adam and Juanita tiptoed past them and eased back the wooden bar of the outer door. Once it creaked loudly; the old woman gave a grunt and turned over, but went off again. Two minutes later they were out in the cold, crisp air.

Juanita led him to the wine press shed, turned up the lantern and got out from behind a cask the things she had procured for him. The clothes consisted of a pair of blue dungarees that were just broad enough to take his shoulders but much too short for him, a checked cotton shirt and a loose fitting leather jacket with tarnished brass buttons. Quickly he changed into them then, pointing to his own clothes on the floor, he said

`I want you to burn these. And tonight. It is important that the police should not find them.'