Their expedition had grown to seven —Jed, Jenny, Artillio, and four additional Choco´— by the time they reached the village of Narangitti. Having made a living guiding, taking care of others in a wilderness, Jed felt rather foolish hiring Artillio's amigos to carry his and Jenny's pack.

He had said "yes" to Arty's request that the two nearly naked Indians be put on the payroll, for a couple of reasons. The first being that $2 a day, each, was a cheap way to buy support from the people that had guarded Castle de Oro from outsiders for centuries. The second reason was a curiosity to see where, or how, the Choco´would carry the money they earned. This turned out to be a variation on a style of banking employed by busty barmaids the world over.

When it became necessary to chop a way through impossibly thick jungle vegetation, Jed was glad Arty had suggested the extra manpower. Their progress was measured in feet per minute. This was even slower than breaking trail with snowshoes. The point man position was rotated every five minutes, for swinging a machete high enough to allow the giant gringo passage, was strenuous work for the less than five foot tall Indians.

It was hard for Jed only to watch. He insisted on taking back the packs. Then he wished he hadn't. The rigid frames kept catching on hanging vines, projecting spears of cut bamboo. Added to the discomfort of heat and humidity was the ever-present need to watch for snakes -the most dangerous, the bushmaster, a pit viper reported to grow to eleven feet long.

All in all, following their guides through this maze was the closest thing to hell ever experienced by Jed. It amazed him that Jenny accepted the conditions without complaint. He asked her how this was possible. Proving once again that she was bright, perceptive, she told him that he wasn't used to following; it frustrated him not to be in charge.

He watched awhile with interest at the size of some of the "trees" that could be felled with a few swipes of the long blade of the, sword-like, machetes. Other species, it appeared, that could have dulled a chainsaw, were avoided. And once he felt he knew what to avoid, Jed asked to be included in the point man rotation.

Jenny translated this request to Arty. He translated, in turn, in Choco´, to the others. And after a moment of stunned silence, they broke into a giggle.

"What gives with these guys?" Jed wanted to know.

"They are saying they have never heard of a gringo working with his hands before."