Lua approached the bar owner. Jack saw her motion toward him, saying the word “estrangeiro” a couple of times. It sounded like the Spanish word for foreigner. The bar owner looked Jack over and nodded. Lua came back.

            “We can go on back. But we can’t linger too long without paying or he’ll get suspicious. He says in the fourth door on the right he has a new girl – a virgin. They’re going to auction her off tonight. He thought you might be interested in that.” Jack gave her a questioning look. Lua shrugged. “They think all foreigners are rich. The auctions for virgins bring the best prices. Only men with money in their pocket can afford it.”

            Lua headed down the hall and Jack followed, slapping at a mosquito that landed on his cheek. Most of the doors were ajar for ventilation in the humid evening. Jack could see in each room as they passed. Bare bulbs hung from the ceilings. Girls sat on their beds on stained sheets wrapped only in dingy towels. They watched with guarded eyes as Lua and Jack walked down the corridor.

In one room, a girl sprawled face down on the bed, eyes closed, her sheet in disarray exposing a thin foam mattress. A half glass of water sat on the floor next to her. She was dressed only in panties with a towel around her shoulders, her sweaty, damp hair stuck to her face. Jack shook his head. She couldn’t be more than fourteen. Maybe Harry was right after all. Maybe we are just animals.

            “Probably malaria,” Lua whispered. “Or worse … if a girl gets pregnant, she’s forced to submit to an abortion. They use crochet needles or whatever’s handy. The girls don’t always survive.”

            The fourth door on the right was shut tight. Lua knocked and cracked it open. The light was off and it was dark inside. Lua asked if they could come in. No one answered.

She opened the door and turned on the light. In the far corner, a young girl sat on the bed with her legs tucked against her body, arms wrapped around her knees and her face down, crying softly. She glanced up and Jack took a step back. It was the same girl the miner grabbed in the street. With her baby-soft tan skin, full lips and round eyes, she didn’t look more than eleven or twelve.

            The girl recognized Lua, sat forward and wiped the tears off her cheek with the back of her hand. “Help me, Aunty. They’re going to sell me tonight.”

            Lua sat on the edge of the bed and motioned for Jack to do the same. The girl pulled back into her corner.

“Who is he?”

            “Don’t worry, child. He won’t hurt you. He’s with me.”

The girl pleaded. “I came to work in a luncheonette, Aunty.” Tears brimmed in her eyes. “A woman in Belem said she could get me a good job out here. She got jobs for other girls and said she’d come with us to help us get settled.” The tears rolled down her cheeks and she rubbed them off her face. “She did come, but just for one stop. After the boat left Belem, she said we’d been sold to the brothels in Rio Preto.” She blinked back tears that welled up again. “She said we should just accept it. If we resist they’ll leave us in the jungle to starve … or kill us.” She wiped her nose with the back of her hand.

            Lua translated her story for Jack. The girl tilted her head at the sound of a different language.

            “Is he a foreigner?” she said.

            Lua nodded. “Americano.”

            “Can he help me?”

            There were voices outside the door. The bar owner swung the door wider.

            “There she is. The attraction for tonight.” He nodded toward Jack. “But you may have some competition. Looks like the estrangeiro is already settling in.”

            Three miners stood peering in at the girl. She shrunk back.

            “No matter,” one miner said. “We just got paid. We can hold our own.”

            The owner angled his chin back towards the bar area. “Time to get out. We have to get the girl ready.”

            “One moment more and we’ll go,” Lua said.

            The owner and miners walked back up the hall to the bar. As soon as they were out of earshot, the girl leaned forward. Lua translated.