ALBACORA 173 



"We need them all," Lou said. 



"Let's see," Wheeler said. "You want a speedboat 

 with 200 extras and you want it constructed of teak- 

 wood and mahogany." 



"There's something else you have to consider," Lou 

 said. "We won't be doing all our fishing out of a sin- 

 gle port. We're going to be using this boat way down 

 in Chile. We don't know just what the different ports 

 will be like. Some of them may be primitive. The Ex- 

 plorer has to be able to sustain itself for weeks on 

 end." 



Wheeler whistled again. 



"It's got to be a boat with enough size to take rough 

 sea and at the same time it's got to be maneuverable 

 enough to stay with the fastest fish," Lou said. "That's 

 about it." 



"How long before you'll need this?" Wheeler asked. 



"Six months," Lou said. 



"Impossible," Wheeler said. 



"Well, here's the situation," Lou said. "Grace Lines 

 is willing to ship the boat for us on board the Santa 

 Rita, but they've given me a deadline. If we miss the 

 deadline, we can forget the whole thing because there 

 won't be any expedition or any boat or any business 

 for you." 



"We'll meet your deadline, Mr. Marron," Wheeler 

 said. "But how about a bigger boat that could make it 

 to South America on its own?" 



