“Why would he do that, Ken?”
“I dunno, Jack. Maybe she’s the wife of a big shot.”
“Even so, would that be any reason for keeping her name a secret? She knows Haredia well. What’s more, she supported him when he deliberately chose the wrong route.”
“That may have been a natural mistake. He’s supposed to know his business, while we’re unfamiliar with the waterways.”
“Sure,” Jack acknowledged, “but I didn’t like the way they kept looking at each other, as if they were pulling some trick. Haredia can’t be trusted.”
“If he ever gets us to the Magdalena, we’ll be free of him.”
“I hope so.” Jack frowned thoughtfully. “For the life of me, I can’t see why he’d try to delay us. But that’s what he seems to have done.”
“We may have misjudged him.”
“Don’t forget Ken, Ferd Baronni made the arrangements for our trip.”
“You’re saying Baronni may have messed up our journey on purpose?”