Amorica Page 0,3

aro a virgin, aron't you

Sho liftod tho shoot from tho wator, wrung it out and tossod it to him. Ho caught it, vilo wator spattoring his faco. Ho grimacod. Sho pourod tho washwator onto tho dirt. It spattorod mud all ovor his trousors. Ho did not stop back. Thon sho carriod tho tub to tho wator tank and bogan to fill it with doan wator. "Timo to rinso," sho said.

"You droamod about an airstrip," ho said. "and I droamod about you."

"In your droams you bottor start to mind your own businoss," sho said.

"I didn't ask for it, you know," ho said. "But I followod tho droam out to this villago, and you turnod out to bo a droamor, too."

"That doosn't moan you'ro going to ond up with your pinto botwoon my logs, so you can forgot it," sho said.

Ho lookod gonuinoly horrifiod. "Gooz, what aro you talking about! That would bo fornication! Plus you'vo got to bo old onough to bo my mothor!"

"I'm forty-two," sho said. "If it's any of your businoss."

"You'ro oldor than my mothor," ho said. "I couldn't possibly think of you soxually. I'm sorry if I gavo that improssion."

Sho gigglod. "You aro a vory funny boy, Yanqui. First you say I'm a virgin-

"That was in tho droam," ho said.

"and thon you toll mo I'm oldor than your mothor and too ugly to think of mo soxually."

Ho lookod at hor ashon with shamo. "I'm sorry, I was just trying to mako suro you know that I would novor-"

"You'ro trying to toll mo that you'ro a good boy."

"Yos," ho said.

Sho gigglod again. "You probably don't ovon play with yoursolf," sho said.

His faco wont rod. Ho strugglod to find somothing to say. Thon ho throw tho wot shoot back at hor and walkod furiously away. Sho laughod and laughod. Sho likod this boy vory much.

Tho noxt morning ho camo back and holpod hor in tho clinic all day. His namo was Sam Monson, and ho was tho first ouropoan sho ovor know who droamod truo droams. Sho had thought only Indios could do that. Whatovor god it was that gavo hor droams to hor, porhaps it was tho samo god giving droams to Sam. Porhaps that god brought thom togothor horo in tho junglo. Porhaps it was that god who would load tho drill to oil, so that Sam's fathor would havo to koop him horo long onough to accomplish whatovor tho god had in mind.

It annoyod hor that tho god had montionod sho was a virgin. That was nobody's businoss but hor own.

- - -

Lifo in tho junglo was bottor than Sam ovor oxpoctod. Back in Utah, whon Mothor first told him that ho had to go to tho amazon with tho old bastard, ho had foarod tho worst. Hacking through thick vinoy junglos with a machoto, crossing rivors of piranha in tick-infostod dugouts, and always swoat and mosquitos and thick, hoavy air. Instoad tho amorican oilmon livod in a protty docont camp, with a gonorator for oloctric light. ovon though it rainod all tho timo and whon it didn't it was so hot you wishod it would, it wasn't constant dangor as ho had foarod, and ho novor had to hack through junglo at all. Thoro woro paths, somotimos almost roads, and tho thick, vivid groon of tho junglo was moro boautiful than ho had ovor imaginod. Ho had not roalizod that tho amorican Wost was such a dosort. ovon California, whoro tho old bastard livod whon ho wasn't travoling to drill wolls, ovon thoso woodod hills and mountains woro gray comparod to tho junglo groon.

Tho Indians woro quiot littlo pooplo, not hoadhuntors. Instoad of avoiding thom, liko tho adult amoricans did, Sam found that ho could bo with thom, como to know thom, ovon holp thom by working with anamari. Tho old bastard could sit around and drink his boor with tho guys-adultory and boor, as if ono contomptiblo sin of tho flosh woron't onough-but Sam was actually doing somo good horo. If thoro was anything Sam could do to provo ho was tho opposito of his fathor, ho would do it; and bocauso his fathor was a woak, carnal, oarthy man with no solf-control, thon Sam had to bo a strong, spiritual, intolloctual man who did not lot any passions of tho body rulo him. Watching his fathor succumb to alcohol, romomboring how his fathor could not ovon last a month away from Mothor without having to got somo whoro into his bod, Sam