"There you are," Giordino said in a humorous tone. "Another triumph for medical science by the great Giordino." Pitt wasn't fooled for a second by the outward display of exaggerated vanity. Giordino's comic dialogue was forever used to camouflage his genuine concern for Pitt. Giordino stood up, running his eyes over Pitt's body, and shook his head in mild wonder. "With all those bandages on your nose, chest and leg, you're beginning to look like a spare tire out of a nineteen thirties, Depression-era comic strip."

"You're right." Pitt took a few steps to relieve the increasing stiffness in his leg. "I feel more like a bumper tire on a tugboat."

"Here comes Zac," Giordino said, pointing. Pitt twisted and looked in the direction of Giordino's extended finger.

The black Mercedes was approaching down a dirt trail from the mountains, pulling a cloud of brown dust behind its rear bumper. A quarter of a mile away it swung onto the paved coastal road, dropping the dust cloud, and soon Pitt could hear the steady purr of the diesel engine above the beat from the surf below. The car rolled to a stop beside the truck and Zacynthus and Zeno unreeled from the front seat. They were followed by Darius, who made no attempt to disguise a painful limp. Zacynthus was dressed in old faded army fatigues, and his eyes were tired and bloodshot. He gave the impression of a man who had spent a dismal and sleepless night. Pitt grinned sympathetically at him.

"Well Zac, how did it go? See anything interesting?"

Zacynthus didn't seem to hear him. He wearily pulled his pipe from a pocket, filled the bowl and lit it. Then he sank slowly to the ground, stretching out and leaning on one elbow.

"The bastards, the dirty cunning bastards," he swore bitterly. "We spent the whole night straining our eyes and sneaking around trees and boulders, with mosquitos attacking us at every turn. And what did we find?" He took a deep breath to answer his own question, but Pitt beat him to it.

"You found nothing, you saw nothing and you heard nothing."

Zacynthus managed a faint smile. "Does it show that much?"

"It shows," Pitt replied briefly.

"This whole business is exceedingly exasperating." Zacynthus accented his words by pounding his fist into the soft earth.

"Exceedingly exasperating?" Pitt echoed. "Is that the best you can do?"