hen rode with
him to the airport. There was another wait while the radio engineers
arrived, bringing the loud-speaker equipment.

Rick supervised the placement of the amplifier in the rear seat. The
inverter was placed on the floor, and wedged into place with scrap
lumber. The automobile batteries were put into the luggage compartment
behind the rear seat and were also wedged in place.

Wires were run from the amplifier through the rear-seat windows, which
were opened just enough to take the thin cables. The leads were then
brought out to the plane's struts. Two large loud-speakers were attached
to the struts. At first there was some difficulty in figuring out a
secure attachment, but the chief engineer, a resourceful type, managed
to find a pair of U bolts somewhere in the hangars. They did the job
nicely.

The chief engineer connected up, then hung the microphone between the
two front seats. He threw a switch and the inverter started up with a
whine. At the throw of a second switch, the loud-speakers broke into a
hum. The engineer tapped on the microphone, and the tap, greatly
amplified, reverberated across the airstrip.

"It works!" Rick exclaimed, delighted.

"_Como no?_" the engineer said with a smile. He spoke to Montoya in
Spanish. The officer translated. "There is one more thing. He has rigged
a cable with a switch box so you can operate the controls from the front
seat. When the cable is attached, you will be ready. I will go call my
uncle."

Rick and Scotty watched as the engineer got busy, hooking the
remote-switch cable into the amplifier.

"Room for only two," Rick pointed out. "Want to toss for it?"

Scotty shook his head. "It was your idea. I'll stay on the ground. Take
the governor and talk those troops into submission."

"Maybe," Rick said. "We'll see. I think it depends on whether or not
they know the real story. If they have any idea there are diamonds
around, they won't be interested in anything else."

"Guevara wouldn't dare to let them in on it," was Scotty's opinion.
"I'll bet they're just following orders, with no idea what's behind all
this. Most of them probably think there really is a national security
conference going on."

Rick thought Scotty was probably right. Time would tell. He waited until
the engineer signaled that the job was done, then climbed into the
pilot's seat. He checked the plane over. Plenty of gas. Everything
seemed okay. He tried the loud-speaker switches, the