Spanish? Where did I learn Spanish? Kesley wondered.
He heard van Alen's ironic chuckle. "How are you doing, Kesley?"
"I'm caught. They're sitting on me."
A pause. Then: "Too bad, Dale." Van Alen's deep voice sounded distant and troubled now. "I'm going to have to—"
His voice broke off abruptly. After a moment of silence, Kesley heard footsteps pounding rapidly away through the forest. Van Alen running away? Why?
One of the bandits fired. The forest was illuminated briefly by the flash of gunpowder, and Kesley thought he heard something like a grunt of pain, followed by a frantic threshing in the underbrush.
"I got him," a voice said.
"What of the other one?"
"We have him here."
"Muy bien! Don Miguel will be glad to see him."