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his feet thoroughly and keep off them. Marcus rubbed on more petroleum jelly and stretched out in the sun, but the flies and mosquitoes swarmed about his bare feet, and he was forced to cover them with a mosquito net.

Marcus wanted to have a look at Don Jorge’s son’s injured foot. The boy was called and came running over with only a rag wrapped around his foot. He took it off, and we could see that the swelling had gone down. There were no more signs of infection, and the wound was almost completely healed. The boy’s recovery made Marcus happy and proud.

That evening Don Jorge told us that his neighbours were willing to help build the raft. Tomorrow they would cut some balsa trees and float them down the river to the village. Don Jorge said that the raft would be ready within three or four days, depending on the weather. The balsa logs had to be thoroughly dry before they could be used. It was the end of November, and the rainy season would soon be upon us, but we hoped for a few sunny days to dry the logs. The amount of money – twenty dollars – that Don Jorge and his neighbours were asking for the work was ridiculously low, and we agreed among ourselves that we would give them more than that.

We wanted to buy foodstuffs from Don Jorge – rice, meat, fruits, and vegetables – for our stay in the village. If his wife was willing, we also wanted to hire her to prepare our meals and would pay