"I like it like this. Very natural." He raised the bucket. "I suppose I better do what we came here to do."
"I suppose. Just be careful. Even a drop of the water-"
"I know. Samantha explained it to me."
"Yes. It's very dangerous. Poor little Annie. She should be Rebecca's age now, instead of an adorable toddler. It's all my fault."
While Miss Brigham spoke, Hector knelt beside the fountain. He stared at the surface for a few moments, as they all did, especially the first time they looked into the water. "Holy shit," he said. "That's me."
"Yes, it shows you all your previous states. I detest looking in that water, seeing all those awful pimples-"
"That's great," he mumbled. He dipped the bucket into the water. After a few seconds he pulled it back. Hector stared into the water of the bucket. "Goddamn. When I get this back to the mainland I'll be able to buy my own island."
"Excuse me?" Miss Brigham said. "Back to the mainland?"
Hector got to his feet. He put a hand on her arm. "Well, sure, I thought I'd take some with Samantha and I. In case of emergencies."
She shook her head. "No, no, no, the water can never go off the island. Reverend Crane made that very clear. If anyone else were ever to know our secret, they would overrun our peaceful little island."
"Reverend Crane is dead in case you hadn't noticed," he said. When Hector smiled at her, she gasped. The shadows in the cave had twisted his face into that of a devil-his true face. That answered her question about why the Lord had sent him. He was a test of her faith. "Come on, honey, we'll make a fortune with this stuff. You can live like a queen. Gold, silver, diamonds, whatever you want."
"I'm sorry, Mr. Delgado, but that is not possible. We cannot take even the slightest drop of water from the fountain to the mainland. I will not allow it."
"Molly, please, think about it. This stuff can do a lot of good. You know how many people on the mainland die every single day because of old age, because of disease? We can save them." He shook her arm. "You'd be doing God's work."
"God put the fountain here for a reason. He gave its secrets to Reverend Crane to protect them. I have been entrusted with those secrets. I must do my duty. I could never betray the reverend. He gave me everything-"
"We tried this the easy way. I guess we have to do it the hard way."