“No one around here,” I said. “Maybe some one else has seen him. Have you asked?”
The officer spat in the dust. “They said he was here. Not five minutes ago,” he said, fiddling with his revolver butt.
“Well, a lot can happen in five minutes,” I said. “Maybe he was in a hurry. Who was he anyway?”
But the officer had lost interest in me and went over to the thin, elderly Mexican. I shoved Myra into the car and got in myself. I wanted to put a lot of space between me and likely trouble.
Myra had got her breath back. “Why didn’t you tell him?” she demanded. “You’re riot scared of him, are you?”
“It’s not a matter of being scared,” I said starting the engine and throwing in the clutch.
“I’ve been around in this country long enough never to interfere with anyone. It’s paid me pretty well up to now, and I’m seeing that it continues to do so.”
I sent the car snarling towards Orizaba.
Myra began to laugh. “Did you see that fat boy’s face when I did the snake trick?”
“I did,” I said grimly. “And I heard what he said about the hornet.”