[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
.Baron's car, with the gray coup6 some distance behind it, hadalready passed the junction of a road leading east through Montemorelos."That means they're more than thirty miles ahead of us," Phillips said, "andstill on the main highway.Can you close up a little?""I can try." Ken bore down hard with his right foot almost before the carmoved into high gear."I wonder how far behind they think we are?" he added.But at the Montemorelos junction they learned that the two cars werePage 28 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlmaintaining their lead-had even bettered it slightly.The police officerthere, appearing suddenly out of what appeared to be a tiny grocery, reportedthat both cars had just passed through the town of Linares, thirty-three milesbeyond.Ken made Linares in twenty-five minutes, along a road often bordered by theorange groves Phillips had referred to that morning.A corpulent little man ina tight-fitting uniform, awaiting them at Linares, shrugged his shoulders whenPhillips first questioned him.He had not yet been informed, he said, that thetwo cars had been sighted at the next check point in Villagran, thirty milessouth.But the momentary excitement which this announcement aroused died downan instant later when the officer's radio crackled into action.The Villagrancheck point had just sighted the cars, still traveling south."On our way," Phillips muttered.He attempted a68 THE MYSTERY OF THE GREEN FLAMEgrin."This highway goes the full distance to the Guatemala border.Maybe itwould have been smarter just to take a plane down there and set up our checkpoints in Guatemala,"The news at the Villagran station was a repetition of the earlier bulletins.Eighteen miles beyond, at the town of Tomaseno, set in the midst of cornfieldsand fields of towering sugar cane, the news was the same.Twenty-four milesstill farther, at the junction of a road leading off to the little village ofSanta Engracia, there was again little change.Ken had lessened slightly thedistance between himself and the two cars ahead, but Baron's car and the graycoup6 were still nearly twenty-five miles in the lead."They've just passed the check point at the northern boundary of CiudadVictoria," Phillips said, as Ken got the convertible underway again."Victoriais a sizable city, and there are two roads leading out of it, besides thehighway.So we may hear something interesting there.I'm getting a littletired of this monotonous 'Still on the highway heading south, senor.'""You don't think the hide-out may be in some large town?" Sandy asked, as thesmooth road slid away beneath them.It was nearly five o'clock now, and theshadows were lengthening.They were beginning to see farmers plodding homewardafter a long day in the fields, their tools slung over their shoulders andtheir burros ambling at their heels."We don't think so," Phillips agreed, "because the Mexican police have alreadypretty well explored that possibility.Any foreign establishment is easy tospot in a Mexican town.No, we assume it must be in the country somewhere." Hestretched cramped muscles restlessly."And I wish we could get a lead on itwhile it'sINTO THE QUARBY 69still light.Prowling around some of these rugged hills in the dark is not myidea of fun.""But if Victoria is a big city, they might be stopping there overnight, ifthey've still got a long way to go," Sandy pointed out.Phillips shrugged."That's possible, I suppose.But I should think they'd beeager to get Baron to the hideout as soon as possible."Traffic thickened for the last few miles before they reached Victoria, andKen's time for the twenty-four miles from the Santa Engracia junction wasclose to half an hour.All three of them felt a sense of letdown when thereport given to them at the northern boundary of the city was a replica ofeverything they had heard before.The cars had left Victoria by the mainhighway, still bound steadily south.The only different note lay in the speedof the cars ahead.They were now only a little more than fifteen miles infront."Loafing around waiting for dark?" Phillips speculated, as they got underwayonce more."Or maybe just held up by this city traffic," Ken pointed out, stopping for ared light at a busy intersection.Phillips agreed."Sorry you're rushing right through this place," he added,with an attempt to revive his guidebook manner of the early-morning hours,Page 29 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlwhich now seemed so long ago."It's not much to look at if you're in a hurry,but there are some pretty spots around here, and that river we crossed justbefore we entered the town has some wonderful fishing
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]