“I’d say it’s a hell of a lot easier for a woman to do what she wants today than fifty years ago.”

“But she has to work twice as hard and be ten times as good at what she does.”

“It’s better than not being allowed to try.”

“And when she fails,” Lindquist continues, pulling into the long drive from the road, “God help her.”

We bring the cat along in the back seat, because Lindquist doesn’t like to leave it alone all day, at that age. What age? I ask, and she answers, after a moment’s thought, Nineteen.

Well, color me impressed. I didn’t even know cats could live that long. Lindquist says that’s because Sandy’s a survivor. Mallory found her on the beach one day, the day Lindquist met him, as a matter of fact. She stowed away on the flight to Australia.

“No kidding?” I look to the feline with renewed admiration. “You mean she survived the crash and everything? The weeks stranded on the island?”

“Lucky for her, the place was lousy with rats. They used to mine those islands for guano, back in the previous century, and naturally all the guano ships were overrun with rats. She must’ve gained five pounds.”

We’ve reached the airfield cafeteria, where I’m to wait while she takes a planeload of tourists and locals back to Oahu. I observe how she’s in competition with her own stepson, and she says not really. Some people like to fly, some people like to sail.

“Count me among the second clan,” I tell her, as I settle myself at the lunch counter with a cup of coffee.

“You’ll be all right? I should be back in a couple of hours.”

“I’ll be just fine.”

She looks to the cat before she leaves. “Keep an eye on her for me, will you? Don’t let her get into any trouble.”

Though I tried and tried that autumn of 1944, I could not get Velázquez to tell me anything more about Sam Mallory. He said he had promised Mallory never to reveal what he had done in Spain, and he—Velázquez—had already broken that vow for my sake, which was unconscionable and must not be repeated. You have a way of disarming me, he said to me, but now I am on my guard.