Cette ville agricole de 20.000 habitants se trouve ? environ une heure au sud de San Jose, ? quelques miles de la route principale entre Los Banos et Gilroy, si cela aide. Son homonyme a ?t? un pionnier ?leveur du 19?me si?cle. Il a ?t? dit ? l'?poque du colonel WW Hollister qu'il a r?ussi l? o? d'autres ont ?chou? parce que ?il se tenait pr?s de ses brebis." Je ne sais pas ce que cela signifie, mais je fais comme le son de celui-ci. Trois grandes lignes de faille couper sous la ville. Chaque jour, ils servent un couple de tremblements de terre, habituellement mineures.

"No. Should I? It is not a name that exactly trips off the tongue."

So I knew exactly what was in store for me as well.

I hoped that this was true. Igor opened a hatch and pitched our luggage in. Then climbed a ladder to the cab above. The engine rumbled to life and belched a fetid black cloud over us. Through watery eyes I saw his hand appear in the open door where it made a single gesture of invitation before vanishing from sight. We climbed after him, settled onto the scratched and patched seat, stared out of the filthy front window as gears ground somewhere below us. The thing lurched and vibrated, then rumbled forward onto the road.

"I don't believe you," he said. "Jim diGriz does not give in that easily. I am going to be busy the next few days. So I think that we will wait for next week's delivery to pick up the bonds." I fell back and gasped dryly, which made him smile.