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a little closer to the Eslabon Pass, so that tomorrow we’ll have an earlier start, pass it by, and be on our way.’

‘Good idea,’ Karl conceded. ‘Maybe I’d better forget about hunting.’

‘No, that isn’t necessary,’ Kevin said. ‘Yossi and I will just pull it along by the rope.’

‘OK, if you think you can manage without me.’ Karl took up the shotgun and a few shells and marched off into the jungle.

Marcus insisted on accompanying us, though he was suffering again from the painful rash on his feet.

‘I think I just have to keep my feet dry,’ he said. ‘They hurt like hell.’

‘So maybe you should wait here,’ Kevin said.

‘Oh, no, that wasn’t what I meant at all. I’m coming to help you.’

We untied the raft and started dragging it by a rope fastened to its bow. The closer we got to the pass, the rockier the riverbank became and the harder it was to haul the raft.

‘We’d better get aboard and take it down out to the middle of the river,’ Kevin proposed. ‘You don’t intend to try going through the pass on your own?’ Marcus exclaimed in fright.

‘And why not?’ Kevin demanded. ‘It looks to me like it would be easy. We’ll stay in the middle and let the current carry us right between the rocks. We might take a few knocks, but that’s nothing to get excited about.’