condensed master

Will Bonner
"I can arrange for someone to bring one or two for you to look at." Will felt
the tension rising again.
"I am prepared to pay a lot of money for the right one, but I must see a
collection to be able to choose, otherwise I am not interested."
The Goanese hesitated before answering. Everything was going as Blyth had
outlined, but this is where it could fall apart. He had done as he was asked and
could do no more.
"Wait here," and returning to the others they once again engaged in animated
conversation, and the visual interchange started all over again, giving Will the
feeling of a criminal in a police line-up.
Will walked across to the centre of the room aligning himself with the front
door to get a full view of the street and observing that the activity had not
decreased. The continuous flow on the pavement across the entrance of the shop
was suddenly interrupted by the appearance inside the door of a man walking
briskly into the room. He was Hindu, Will recognized him immediately as the
owner of another shop he had frequented on a previous occasion.
Spotting Will, he bounded across to him with outstretched hand. "Hello Sahib,
why are you here and not buying from my beautiful shop?"
Will gave a customary reply, watching him head to the back of the room to
talk to the Goanese. After engaging in conversation, laughter emanated from the
group as the Hindu pointed towards Will.
On his way past Will he stopped briefly. "Don't forget Sahib, if you're not
satisfied here come to my beautiful shop."
The Goanese appeared at his side. "One of my boys will follow you back to
the ship, and we will get back to you tomorrow. Bring enough cash, you may need
a thousand rupees," he said, as they both stepped out into the street. After a short
interchange with one of the boys who Will had seen before entering the shop, the
Goanese disappeared back inside.
Everything so far had gone according to plan. The boy, who was designated
to follow him back to the ship was typical. Dressed in a shirt, shorts and sandals,
he was sticking to him like glue, some twenty or thirty paces behind.
During the 30 minutes walk, Will had time to think about what had transpired.
Away from the tense atmosphere of the shop he could analyze things more
rationally, finally realizing that only two factors had any significance.
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