He slept heavily, waking only to eat, to stretch his legs once when they landed to refuel and show their papers to a new set of officials, and, finally, when Segador shook him and told him to put on his parachute.
"We're near the border," Segador said. He had a map and a heavy black pencil in his left hand. "Can you put it on?"
Hall had worn similar chutes while flying with the R.A.F. over France. He waved Snub Nose away with a derisive gesture. "Back to your nursery, chico," he said to the sergeant. "I was wearing chutes when you were in diapers."
"I'm sorry," Snub Nose said, deliberately misunderstanding, "we can't give you a diaper, señor. Just make believe you're wearing a diaper if you have to jump."
Hall looked out of the window. The late afternoon sun was beginning to wane.
"Look," Segador said, making a mark on the map. "We are here now. I'd planned on crossing our own borders just after dark. But we had a strong tail wind all the way. We're ahead of time."
"Good."
"It's not so good, Mateo. Most of the army is loyal, but for the last two months Gamburdo has been bringing the Germans back into the army."
"Germans?"
"We call them the Germans. I mean the sons of the estancieros and the señoritos who became officers under Segura while he had his Reichswehr experts running the army. Tabio kicked them out, but he neglected to shoot them. The bastards are everywhere now. We have to assume that they know I left the country in a Douglas bomber. You might have been recognized in Havana or in Caracas by Falangist agents. The Germans are also able to put two and two together."