Author: dhsully
Company: US Army

Escape

Miguel and Jose started out before daylight the next morning. They carried their heavy travel bags a short way into the swamp, then decided they were too heavy and hid them. Miguel pulled a hatchet and a coil of rope from his bag, as he would need those items to make a raft.
They slogged their way through the muck and mire of the swamp until they came to the bank of a creek. They eyed the stream, about fifteen feet wide. The water was like tea, darkened by the decaying leaves.
"It doesn't look too wide," said Jose. "Maybe it's shallow enough to wade across."
"We can swim it…" Miguel stopped in mid-sentence. A big alligator moved on the opposite bank, then slid into the creek. Jose gasped and stepped back as the reptile disappeared into the murky water.
Miguel laid his hand on Jose's shoulder. "Don't be afraid," he said. "It's only an alligator, and there are many of them in Florida. I heard some people on the ship talking about them and they said that they won't hurt you if you don't bother them.
"All the same," he said, “we better not cross here. We'd better follow along the bank until we find a way to cross. Sooner or later there's bound to be a spot shallow enough to wade across."
Miguel didn't like it. He had heard there were alligators in Florida, but never expected to see one. He was beginning to have thoughts about turning back to Turnbull's colony. He probably would have turned back already had it not been for Jose. When they left before dawn, Miguel had already changed his mind after going a short way. Stowing away on a ship was beginning to look more and more like a hare-brained idea.
But Jose refused to turn back. "I'm going by myself if you don't go."
"It's still early," Miguel argued. "Maybe they haven't missed us yet."
"Ha. I'll bet they're probably looking for us right now."
Miguel tried to argue, but couldn't persuade Jose to turn back. He did not want to abandon his friend, and reluctantly agreed to continue.
"Wait," said Jose. "We don't have to look for a better spot. I'll kill that alligator so we can cross." With that, Jose made a growling sound and showed his teeth.
Oh no. He's going into one of his loony moods. I sure don't need that now.
"How do you think you'll kill that alligator?
"I'll just jump in there with my knife and stab it to death."
"It might kill you, and then what would I do? And what if there is more than one? Let's go and look for a good place to cross, and we'll both make it."
"I guess you're right," said Jose, "but let's rest a while before we start." He sat down on a fallen log. Miguel started to sit down next to his companion when he noticed a movement under the log where Jose was seated. He gasped. It was a huge snake. He opened his mouth to warn Jose, but it was too late.
The snake struck and Jose cried out in pain. He jumped up as the snake slithered into the creek. He rolled up his trousers to reveal two puncture wounds on the back of his leg, just below the knee. The area of the bite mark was already darkening and beginning to swell.
Miguel was horrified. "My God! We'd better hurry back to the colony for help."
Amazingly, Jose was calm. "They say that if you are bitten by a snake, you are supposed to keep quiet so that the poison will work slow…and maybe weaken. I better stay here, while you go back for help."
The normally slow-witted Jose was keeping his wits under a terrifying situation. Miguel could think of no alternative to Jose's suggestion.. "Alright," he said. "We've only been gone about three hours. If I hurry there's plenty of time."
Jose nodded, then lapsed into mumbling. He began to giggle at some secret joke, and seemed unaware of Miguel leaving.
There were no appreciable landmarks to follow, but Miguel had a good sense of direction, and set out confidently. It was only mid-morning and the sun was still low, so there would be plenty of time to get help, and to get Jose back before dark.
It was stupid of me to have such an idea to begin with, and it was stupid of me to listen to Jose and refuse to turn back when we had a chance. Maybe they wouldn't yet have missed us. How could we expect to survive in a wilderness that we knew nothing about?
On top of that we had no weapons or food. They'll probably punish me, but I'll just have to take it. They'll punish poor Jose, too, if he survives the snake bite. 
The thought of Jose waiting and in danger of dying made Miguel speed up his pace. It was only mid-morning, but already hot and humid.
Turnbull told us that the climate here was about the same as in Minorca. He lied. It never got this hot and muggy.
He looked up at the Spanish moss hanging from the tree branches, giving the swamp a gloomy look. He wished he were back in Minorca where they had no alligators to worry about. In all my fifteen years of growing up in Minorca and roaming the island, I never saw creatures like alligators.
Miguel left the swamp and reached dry land. He should reach the settlement soon. From the corner of his eye he saw a group of several men to his left. One of the men yelled. Miguel heard the sharp crack of a pistol and felt a sting on his upper right arm. He stopped and raised his arms in surrender.
As the men approached, he could see that none of them were Minorcans, Italians, or any other group that came on the ships. There were two men who appeared to be British and one African. He later learned the two whites were overseers, a short, stocky, blonde-bearded man named McCormick, and a slim but sinewy man named Grey. The tall, angular African was a driver called Corporal Silas. Grey carried a pistol, which he reloaded and stuck in his belt. One of the men spoke some Spanish and asked where the other escapee was hiding. Miguel,  like most Minorcans, spoke Catalan.  He figured that his English was as good or better than the man's Spanish, so he answered in English, and explained what happened. The men took him to Clay.
"I'll send one of the corporals with you tomorrow morning," said Clay. In the meantime, join the group you're assigned to and go to work. I'll leave word with Carver, your overseer, to mete out the punishment that he sees fit." He paused. "And he'll send you to my office after work tonight to sign your new indenture agreement."
"But there's still time to go get Jose and be back before sundown," Miguel protested . "He may die before morning."
"Serve him right," said Silas. "We ought to let him rot in the swamp."
Clay nodded. "Tomorrow morning is the earliest I'll send anybody. I'll not risk any of my people being in the swamp with them snakes and gators after dark."
Miguel's arm was only grazed by the bullet, and the wound had already stopped bleeding. But it was still painful, and he reached up with his left hand to feel for bleeding.
Clay snorted. "A little scratch. Now get to work."
~~*~~