|
|
|
|
|
|
everyone to be silent and not to move. Now he could see that the lights were from an automobile, quite far away, driving across the track the Mexicans were following. Flickering shadows betrayed the wire fence that lay between them and the slowly moving car. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
"Patrulla frontera," the coyote said in a hushed voice. "Be still, damn you." |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Karmann realized that the Border Patrol car was on the far side of the river, probably on a road parallel to a high, treeless bank. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The headlights vanished to the east. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Someone asked fearfully, "Is the water deep?" |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
"Rodillas, no más." To the knees, no more, the coyote explained irritably. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The line began to move again. Somewhere behind, a child complained and whimpered. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Another hundred meters, and the coyote stopped the group once more. They stood on the crest of the bank on the Mexican side. The distant, silent flashes of lightning seemed much nearer. They reflected briefly on the surface of the river, which swirled and rippled as it rushed to the southeast, toward the city of Brownsville and the Gulf of Mexico. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
"Now listen," the coyote said. "Escuchame." |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A circle of men formed around him. The women in the group were excluded, relegated to the outer circumference of the circle. It didn't matter, Karmann realized. If the water was deep as it appeared to be, the women had almost no chance of making it safely across the river. Those with children had none at all. They would be caught by the Americans and sent back. Some might even drown because they had chosen to make their attempt in a rainstorm. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
"The river is rising," said the coyote. "We can't wait around. We have to run for it right away. A prisa. Me entienden?" |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A murmur of agreement made the rounds. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
"The water is shallow," he lied. "But there may be deep |
|
|
|
|
|