not
far away. He and Scotty hiked over and found the young captain alone in
his office.

Montoya listened to their story, and his face became stern. "There are
two possibilities," he said finally. "Either Guevara is mounting a big
revolution, or he is interested only in the diamonds. If it is the
diamonds, then he probably will keep the troops near the mountain, and
the city may not be bothered at all."

"How can we find out?" Rick asked. "Except by waiting to see if troops
show up here."

Montoya stared through the window at the tiny harbor of Calor. The boys
waited while he thought it over.

Finally the captain swiveled around and faced them. "We can find out, if
you will take a chance. I do not think it is much of a chance, really,
but it may be. Let us think of things from Guevara's point of view. He
knows that you know of these diamonds. He also knows, because he is
intelligent, that you surely realize the danger of talking about them.
So, what would he do with you if he caught you? Perhaps detain you for a
while, but no more. He knows that harm to foreigners would bring down
trouble he could not handle. We would have Venezuela, Colombia, Great
Britain, and the United States in here. The first three might bring in
troops on the pretext of restoring order, but actually to back up their
claims to the island. The United States would bring great pressure on
all three to do something."

"It makes sense," Rick agreed. "So you don't think we're in any great
danger from Guevara?"

"No. If you had been at the hotel, he would have kept you there, I
think. But you were not, so we must see if he is prepared to follow you.
My own opinion is that he wants to be let alone to mine diamonds, while
he has time. It does not take an invasion of Calor to do this."

"What do you want us to do?" Scotty asked.

"Simply take a ride to the hotel, or as far as you can go. See what the
situation really is. If I, or my men, should try this it would surely
mean shooting. But you are _extranjeros_,--foreigners. You can get away
with it."

"You hope," Rick said.

Montoya's teeth flashed in the first smile they had seen on his face.
"Indeed," he agreed. "I hope."

CHAPTER XIV

Night Patrol

The jeep rolled out of Calor on the highway back to the Hot Springs
Hotel. Scotty drove, while Rick relaxed in the seat beside him. They had
taken time for a sandwich and coffee, because they were not sure when
they might eat again.