Chapter Five

 

AS ADAM RODE ALONG WITH the two men in the horse cart, he learned the man with the green eyes was called Carlos. They headed west down the main road away from the city center. Hector asked Adam, “You say you was coming with ship from America, yes?”

“Mm-hm. The ship is called the Carolina Gypsy. We’re supposed to be leaving first thing in the morning to head back home.”

“I see. Then it is very important that you finding this Señor Cordova today.”

Adam nodded. “That’s right. Speaking of which, how much longer should it be until we get to the house of this Cordova family?” He looked at his watch and then put it back into his pocket.

Hector spoke to Carlos, and of course Adam had no clue what they were saying other than he did hear the name Cordova mentioned.

Carlos shrugged and gave what looked like a defensive response. Adam hated that he couldn’t understand the conversation.

Hector turned his attention back to Adam. “It not being too much longer now.”

“What were you two talking about?”

“Ah, I just telling Carlos that we needing to hurry to go to the house of Cordova, and you needing to go away in the morning bien temprano—very early, yes?”

Adam nodded. As they rode along, he began to suspect that they weren’t taking him to see any Cordova family, but then he told himself he was probably worrying too much because of what had happened to him the year before. He tried to relax and enjoy the view of the countryside.

At one point they crossed a narrow little stream. Adam wondered if it was part of a bigger river or just a creek. All he knew was that they were a good distance out of the city now.

When he looked at his pocket watch, he saw that it had already been close to an hour since they had left the market. He would think they should be at the house of this family soon if it was two hours away walking, but there didn’t seem to be any houses in sight, and in fact it seemed like they were headed towards some kind of dense forest.

After debating whether or not he should ask Hector about where they were, he finally decided to do it. “Are we lost?”

Hector looked at Carlos, then back at Adam. “Why you saying that, señor?”

“We’re headed into that forest. Unless this Cordova family lives in some kind of hovel in those woods up ahead, then I can’t imagine we’re on our way to any house.”

“This forest—this is only a little one. We going through to the other side right now.”

At that moment Adam knew he was being lied to. He also knew that since he was in the middle of nowhere with these men, he had to be smart and calculate a plan rather than just trying to hop out of the cart.

“You know, fellas, I think I might as well have you take me back to town. I mean, I’ll still pay you and all, but I’m afraid if we keep going I won’t make it back to the ship on time tonight, and that would get me into all kinds of trouble.”

“If you waiting a little more, we being there soon,” said a grinning Hector.

Adam shook his head. “Nah. You know, let’s just turn around and head on back to town. I reckon I’ve changed my mind about trying to find this Señor Cordova, anyway.”

This time Hector didn’t respond to Adam, but to Carlos he said, “¡Apurate!” Then it sounded to Adam like he issued some sort of command.

Carlos snapped the reins, and the horse sped up.

The only thing Adam kept thinking was, Oh Lord, not again. Please don’t let these two dump me in the middle of nowhere out here.

Fortunately, once they had ventured well into the dense forest, Carlos stopped the horse cart, and he and Hector turned around to face Adam.

“What is this?” Adam asked.

“Listen, amigo,” Hector began, “we no having no plans to harm you, but we do needing to borrow you for a little while.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Very soon we arriving to a place—a safe place for you if you are behaving yourself. And all you having to do is sit quiet for a day or two.”

“What?! My crew is supposed to be leaving Havana tomorrow, and I have to be on that ship.”

Carlos made some extended observation to Hector, then appeared to suggest something to his associate.

Hector shook his head. “No es necesario. That will not be necessary, right, amigo?” he asked Adam.

Knowing he couldn’t understand what Carlos had said, Hector decided to translate. “He say we should tying you up so you cannot be escaping.”

Adam would not react.

“I not thinking we need to worrying about you, amigo,” said Hector. “You is not thinking of escaping, yes?”

Adam’s face was like steel. He refused to let these men see what he was feeling. He swore to himself the previous year after he had survived another dangerous set of circumstances that he’d never again show fear to another man, or beg another man for his life. He hated the way he felt that day he had begged Ajax and Lot to not leave him on that island. He knew the only thing that ultimately saved him was Providence. Emmanuel had had many conversations with him about that very thing after he was rescued, and Adam came to realize that his life would go on up until the time God had appointed for him to die—and it would not happen one moment sooner or later.

“You listen good to me,” said Hector. “Listen very good. Carlos, he taking a message back to your barco—your ship—that we is holding you in a secret place, and if they wanting you back they have to give us whatever we telling them.”

“You must be joking!” Adam laughed hard. “You actually think that you’re going to send a message back to our American ship that you are demanding ransom—for me? This was my first time on that ship. I have no skills for them. They won’t pay tuppence for me, you idiot.”

In reality, Adam knew his shipmates on the Gypsy would do whatever might be necessary to try to help any of the men on board that ship if they found themselves in trouble, but he wasn’t about to comfort these two rogues with that kind of knowledge.

Hector looked at Carlos, annoyed, then took a deep breath before he said to Adam. “Ya veremos. We will see.”