The grass here was tall and studded with brilliant flowers and shrubs that had cropped up since the brush was thinned. By keeping almost flat on their stomachs, the boys remained completely hidden. Most of the discussion was in Portuguese, with a sprinkling of dialect, so between them Biff and Kamuka were able to understand most of what was said.
“I come for money, Senhor,” Luiz told Serbot. “Like Urubu said you would give me if I delay safari.”
“You will get your money later,” promised Serbot. “You can’t spend it here in the jungle anyway. If you even showed it, Brewster and Whitman would wonder where it came from.”
Luiz started to babble an objection, only to have Urubu interrupt him.
“You have only done half your job, Luiz,” Urubu reminded him. “You gave our safari time to catch up with yours. Now you must see that we have time to get ahead.”
“For that,” injected Luiz, “I should be paid double.”
“You will be,” agreed Serbot, “if you can tell us where Brewster intends to go, so we can get there ahead of him.”
Biff saw Luiz’s teeth gleam in a knowing smile. The small guide spoke in dialect to Urubu, who made a prompt reply. Kamuka understood the talk and whispered to Biff:
“Luiz says he can tell them what they want to know. He asks Urubu if he can trust them. Urubu says yes.”
By then, Luiz had turned to Serbot. Biff’s heart sank as he heard Luiz triumphantly announce: