“The automobile,” I said. “Is it still where I left it?”

“The automobile?”

“The motor car.”

“The motor car?”

“The automobile, the motor car, the horse of metal with rubber feet-”

“Ah, the automobile! It is on the path in the clearing to the south.”

“And has anything been taken from it?”

“Your clothing was taken, and the rubber feet were removed.”

I wondered why. “But the other objects in the back seat?”

“They are where they were.”

“And could you gain access to the automobile?”

“I could.”

“And bring me certain articles from the back seat?”

“I could.”

“Then, I think we may have a chance for freedom. You will have many tasks to perform between now and the rising of the sun, but if you work very hard and if luck is with us, I think there is a fair chance that we may succeed.”

“And I will have a woman?”

“You will have a woman.”

“Then, it is worth whatever risks must be taken.”

“It certainly is.”

“And you will be saved, and we will run away, and they will not lead you to the chopping block and sever your head by driving the blade of the ax through your neck.”

I swallowed. “Is that what they had planned?”

“It is how executions are performed here.”

“A sort of neck-Thai party,” I said. But I said it in English because of course it wouldn’t work in Siamese, and in English it made no sense to my little friend. “An old saying of my forefathers,” I explained. “Nothing at all. We need not concern ourselves with it. We have much work ahead of us.”

“Tell me what I must do.”

“Go to the automobile and remove the battery-”

“What is a battery?”