202 ALBACORA 



steps or his voice. And if I do not? How long can I 

 wait? Where can I go to find him? Neither Jo nor 

 John Manning could fall asleep, either. 



"At eight o'clock," I told them, as we waited for 

 the dawn, "I'm going to follow Lou's path." 



"I ought to follow it, if anybody does," John said. 



"I can't stand the inactivity, John. Why did I let him 

 go?" 



"You didn't let him go," Jo said. "He went." 



"We can't follow him until it gets light," John 

 said. 



"There's nothing we can do, Genie," Jo said, "except 

 listen." 



"You aren't going to get rid of him this easily, any- 

 way," John said. "Any jaguar that starts to mix with 

 Lou is making a terrible mistake." 



"It probably would be skinned alive," Jo said. 



"What about snakes?" I said. 



"Lou will use 'em to bait Bosco tomorrow morning," 

 John said. 



I tried to smile. 



Jo opened some cans of beer that was warm and 

 thick and unpleasant, and we sat in the truck drinking 

 it and listening. At dawn the Mannings were urging 

 me to wait until after eight o'clock. Jo suddenly cried 

 out sharply. "Quiet" she said. "I heard it." 



"What?" I said, "what?" 



Then I heard the crackling of footsteps down the 



