[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
.“And there is the lamp at the kitchen door.”“I left one,” said Rogerio, doing his best to contain the apprehension he felt.“Very good,” said Saint-Germain as Rogerio got into the Voisin; the engine rumbled to life and warmed up quickly.Saint-Germain released the hand-brake, eased the clutch into first gear, and drove out of the courtyard onto the Avenida de las Lagrimas.When he reached the first cross-street, he turned on the headlights and turned south toward the main road out of the city.“Do you think the military will believe you have gone to Montalia?” Rogerio asked when they were safely beyond the limits of Cádiz.“I hope so.I’m doing my best to make that the logical conclusion,” said Saint-Germain as he turned onto the road leading to the main highway to Sevilla, Madrid, and Burgos.“And you think they will be satisfied?” Rogerio could not contain his uneasiness.“They may or may not be; that doesn’t concern me just now.” He looked at his wristwatch.“We should be at Sevilla shortly after dawn.A pity we can’t go through Córdoba, but that would be reckless.”“You intend to go to Mérida from Sevilla, and then on to Madrid,” said Rogerio, repeating what they had decided two days ago.“Yes.At Sevilla, you can take over driving; I’ll get into the boot for the duration of daylight.” He gestured to show that this was acceptable to him.“I still worry about what could happen—it is so hot during the day, and the boot is an oven,” Rogerio remarked.“I’ll lie on my chest of native earth, and we have rigged those two air-screens.I shouldn’t be too uncomfortable.” He sounded more convinced than he was.“If we have to break our journey, we should do it in Toledo; we don’t want to spend any more time in Madrid than we must.There is too much military activity around Madrid.”“We’re agreed on that,” said Rogerio.They went on for another ten kilometers in silence as the eastern horizon began to glow; in half-an-hour the sun was rising.Saint-Germain pointed out a sign indicating five kilometers to Sevilla.“I’m going to pull over and get in the boot.”“A good idea,” Rogerio seconded.“Once we reach the city, someone might notice and wonder why such a well-dressed man wants to ride there.”“You’re worried, old friend; not that I can fault you—I am, too,” said Saint-Germain as he pulled out into a small lay-by where a single lorry was parked.He pulled the brake on and put the gears in neutral.“Are you ready?”“I think so,” said Rogerio, opening his door and going around to the rear of the auto; he opened the boot and waited for Saint-Germain to get in.“If you become too hot, you know the signal.”“I do,” said Saint-Germain as he ducked his head and climbed into the boot, atop the large chest of his native earth.He took the inner latch and pulled the lid closed.Rogerio waited a moment, then went to the driver’s side, got in, and put the Voisin in gear as he released the brake.Soon he was barreling down the road into Sevilla, his faded-blue eyes narrowed against the brilliant morning sun; he kept unobvious watch on everything around him.He passed more autos and horse-drawn carts as he entered the city where the first activities of morning made the streets crawl.Four times he passed armed soldiers in lorries, and he felt a twinge of apprehension; he drove steadily on, and, to his surprise, he was able to motor out of Sevilla without being stopped.An hour later, he purchased fuel at the village of Huelva, then went on toward Mérida, where he saw half-a-dozen lorries filled with armed soldiers drawn up at the side of the road; they watched all the vehicles passing, as if searching for a particular auto or person.He did not stop for siesta, pressing steadily on while many autos and lorries pulled off the road; with the highway all but empty he was able to increase his speed to one hundred kilometers per hour, making a great deal of progress by the time traffic again picked up as the day waned.At sundown, they were four hundred kilometers from Cádiz and Rogerio was beginning to feel tired.He pulled off the highway near Mijadas and went to open the boot.“Ah.At last,” said Saint-Germain as he climbed out; he brushed his clothes, smoothing out the wrinkles he found.“It was not as bad as I feared it might be.”“Are you … uncomfortable?” Rogerio asked.“If you mean, am I hot, the answer is yes.But I am not baked.I have certainly endured worse.The air-vents helped a great deal.It was certainly preferable to riding in direct sun.” He gave Rogerio a steady gaze.“I am grateful to you for your concern.”Rogerio put down the lid of the boot and locked it, then handed the key to Saint-Germain.“We’ll need more petrol soon.We have only one full spare container left.”“Then I will look for a station; they usually have pumps at the post offices, and a few of the general stores,” said Saint-Germain.“Has there been any difficulty?”“I haven’t been stopped,” said Rogerio.“But I have seen soldiers in lorries and autos on the road.More than I expected to see,” he added.“Not a good sign,” said Saint-Germain.“We’ll need to be more alert.” He got into the Voisin and looked at the fuel gauge.“We can always use that extra petrol we’re carrying, but I would prefer not to do that until we’re beyond Burgos.In fact, I’d like to fill up our extra containers again.”“I understand,” said Rogerio, getting into the passenger seat.“If you want to rest, go ahead; I’m quite refreshed.” Saint-Germain put the auto into gear and rolled onto the highway.“Thank goodness España doesn’t fold its tents once the sun goes down, as so many northern countries do; it’s still too hot to sleep.” He managed a quick, wry smile.“We should be able to purchase fuel in Talavera de la Reina, which is up ahead.”“My thought as well,” said Rogerio, leaning as far back as the seat permitted.“I may rest my eyes a bit.”“A fine idea,” said Saint-Germain cordially as he switched on the headlights and drove eastward into the dusk, keeping a good speed until the outskirts of Talavera de la Reina, when he came upon a barricade across the highway manned by soldiers [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]