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places. So stay behind me. I will guide you. Rely on me." |
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Another murmur. In the darkness a child asked, "Que dice?" |
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A woman answered, "That we must follow him carefully." |
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Another woman said tremulously, "But it is so dark." |
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The coyote heard and said, "Trust in God." |
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He turned and vanished down the steep bank to the water. Several men followed and splashed noisily. In a flash of light from the north Karmann saw that they were all in water to their waists and the current was swift, surging and bubbling around them. He slid down the slope and into the water at the river's edge. It felt cold, colder even than the rain. |
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Behind him a woman uttered a cry and protested that she could never make it, and that her son would surely drown if he tried. Karmann had no reason to doubt it. In better weather, there were apprentice coyotes who specialized in helping migrants across the river. Some would even carry the old, the young, and the helpless. For a price. |
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But there were no such helpers tonight. There was only the wind and the rain and the river snatching at his legs as Karmann drove himself forward. |
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There was increasing confusion behind him, but he did not turn. He wanted only to reach the American shore. |
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In midriver, the water reached to his breastbone, rising as the current grew stronger. The footing was slippery. |
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Suddenly, over the rush of the water, Karmann heard another sound. It was the noise of a low-flying helicopter. |
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The men ahead scattered, some pushing on, others turning back. A cone of blue-white light exploded the night. Rain swirled in the brilliance, driven by the commingled storm and the powerful downdraft of the aircraft's rotor. The machine hovered fifty feet over the river. A stentorian, amplified voice spoke in Spanish: "ATENCIÓN, ATENCIÓN! Do not attempt to go on. Do not cross the river. If you do, you will be arrested and returned to the Mexican police. ATENCIÓN! ATENCIÓN! . . . " |
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