#25 Signing

Gustavo had whittled a display case for The Garza Emerald out of chonta palm a black wood which when polished gave off a nice sheen, but did little to highlight the Emerald.In any case it became the official holder of the stone, custom fit and nailed to the wall and at least once a day Gustavo would remove the emerald find Nina and rub her stomach where their baby was growing in an obvious gesture of luck.

Gustavo and Nina, in fact all of them became thrilled about Nina's pregnancy. Their paradise, was once again in tact with all its majesty and lack of threat-as long as they stayed away from the river,. They could discern no changes to their forest and its inhabitants from the cataclysm outside.

The radio had begun to work again and they had just heard now of the dynamiting of the logjams several days previous. As a precaution they started sorting the stones and half filling 110 pound rice and potato bags with the deepest embedded beryls and leather pouches with the free stones that Nate measured with a special tool quickly and loosely measuring the approximate caratage and eyed them for inclusions, and color and signs of the trapiche, that perfect six spoked wheel of carbon depoists which made them so rare. Then he put them in leather pouches with a code on the outside written with a sharpy and finally tied off each pouch.The number references were like "AA-17" or "B-3" and he then put these numbers in a in a small notebook, one that could fit in the back pocket of his jeans.

Dory noticed that Nate, probably unaware of his actions, had recently started to to take a preference to signinging with Dolores over vocal conversation and he chose to spend more and more time communicating with her over the rest of the group.

So with Nate in the mine most of the day drilling with Gustavo, Nina and Dory who had already begun to study sign language with Dolores ,studied now in earnest.Dolores had learned quite a bit of English it turned out through Nate and so they learned to speak the very special brand of signing she and Nate spoke. Nate knew nothing of these lessons, but Dolores was pleased to be able, after a very short time ,to communicate with two new people and one night at dinner she inadvertantly signed to Dory.
Who did not acknowledge her and became visibly embarassed.
Nate caught the moment. "Whats that all about ?"
Dory put down her fork and looked deeply at nate then she signed confidently, speaking each word clearly: "I love you...Te amo... and I can now enter your mundo by todas las maneras I need to and nada will keep us apart."
Nate stared at her for a minute and no one could read what was in his face.Then he exploded:"Well isn't that dandy ,"he said angrily and got up from the table, "Now the freak show is complete. "
He threw his napkin down on the table and stomped out the door crashing heavily to a seat on the split canoe bench. Viva the macaw squacked her disapproval.

That night in bed he apologized tenderly to Dory."It's the curse of the conquistador come back to get me.They brought measles which they gave to the indians, the indians gave it to the mestizos, all these childhood diseases that in the states you get in childhood ....anyway its come full circle and the ghosts of Indians who breathed the contaminated air of Orellana have now blown that air back to me."
"OK. I see this as a complex question," she said softly."Do you believe you are a conquistador ?"
"Not exactly,but I am stealing the birthright of the Ecuadorian people."
"Like the oil, the trees, all that goes to the Ecuadorian people."
"No not a penny. it is all stolen by the people in power."
"So your emeralds would go to the people in power."
"I guess so.
" Now :Do you believe in ghosts?"
"Metaphorically."
"So why did they let you get so rich these spirits of the ancient indians who your Francisco de Orellana did so wrong?"
"I'm not rich yet. It's many big steps from here to the bank. And there are many wrong steps I could take."
"You are missing the point she said grabbing his face with her hands but I will be there if you want me because I love you with or without all of this."
"Maybe I don't want all of this... just you me and Dolores.Nah I want the dough -strike that last remark!" he said laughing.
" She has taught me so much about you and now that I can communicate with her. What a talented mind she has-"
She should write a book."
"Don't laugh we are teaching her how to write and yes, a book ,but not like this Helen Keller. She has such delightful fantasies and stories about the world... But what about us ?"
"What I can't hear you?"
She punched him.
"You hear me just fine. I notice when there are no other noises, no distractions you can hear almost everything."
"So you are on to me."
"Of course I am on to you."
"About us...I am in love with you. And I can't imagine a world without you but I am afraid that our struggle has not even begun yet and I wonder not if our relationship will survive that struggle but if I will survive that struggle because I will not let you be in harm's way."
"I already am."
"That was a mistake."
"I already am."
"All right already.We'll go down together if we go down."
"I will keep you up."
"Who ARE you ?"
"Believe in me."

The next day Gustavo and Nate paddled out across the lake and followed their same path to look at the river and while there was 5 feet of oily water in the river now there were as many logs as some metropolis bumper to bumper nightmare traffic jam.

#23 Fernando

Fernado hid in the forest behind his parents home behind a hunter's blind at a salt lick where animal's used to come for their ration of salt and minerals- and then be shot by Fernando's father. It was deep in the forest.

He sat at his camp site rolling around in his hand three beautiful Cabochon emeralds that Gustavo had stolen when no one was looking and had given Fernando strict orders not to show them to anybody. Gustavo took the emeralds, petty thievery considering the bounty at stake,to avenge his father's name, to somehow recuperate the pound of flesh Benecio had cut from his easy going padre over the years with his razor sharp machete of abuse. His intention had been to give the stones as a gift to his father after they were finished mining and he knew he could trust Fernando more than himself not to flash them to a pretty woman or wager them in a card game.

From these stones Fernando suddenly knew he had to somehow create a plan that would trump what he had heard at Gringo Chili,but what that plan could be was beyond the comprehension of his already hard-pressed mind. He could not alone, trail behind Benecio and what sounded like a small army and yet, he could not wait too long in fear that Benecio would arrive first.Could he go back to Lago Agrio and just kill Benecio or had Benecio laid a trap for him already. Perhaps come to Francisco de Orellana. The only cheering news he had heard was on HCJV radio that authorities were thinking about blowing up the massive logjams on the Quijos and Coca rivers which would free the water to go down the Napo River but he knew even without the news report that it might be many weeks or months before the Napo was navigable because of submerged logs which would would break propellors,transmissions, and especially bash in the bows of wood boats like his.

Still seated, he clutched the stones tighly and began to rock forward and backward in anguish.Feeling the full weight of his responsibility made him cry out.What would Gustavo do ?