Robert said, in English, “Welcome back to the land of the living, champ.”
Robert and the girl knelt on either side of him. The girl cooed at him, wet hair brushing his shoulder. She still held the knife but put down the bundles. She was tall enough she could have reached Robert if she chose to lunge at him.
He’s going to live he must . . . I will make him live.
“If we move him to my camioneta, yonder; I have pure water to wash the cut and a bandage to stop the bleeding.”
She drew back; she stood; she stared at him through slit eyes. She said at last, "We have to go, we are on our way to the border." A gesture with the back of her hand showed the way north.
Just then they noticed a group of campesinos coming towards them from the north, and the girl looked Robert in the eye for one brief instant, understanding they did not want to be in this tableau when the campesinos crossed their path. She handed him the knife. He tossed it over the railing into the river. The girl needed no further prompting: Robert showed her how they would hoist the boy, who shook his head as if to clear it, and support him between them.
With Robert bearing most of the weight, they pulled him up on wobbly legs and each draped an arm around his neck. Each grabbing a bundle as they turned, they guided the boy down the bridge to the caravan. Robert was puffing when they reached the cottonwood and rested the boy against the side of the caravan while he opened the door; the girl seemed for the moment drained. Robert hoisted the boy into the caravan and sat him in the passenger side captain’s chair. The campesinos, five men of three generations, were close enough Robert could hear conversation. The girl stood at the bottom of the steps.
“Come,” Robert said.
The girl, her face reflecting a difficult decision, hesitated.
Robert, who noticed for the first time she was barefoot, motioned towards the campesinos, who were almost upon them.
“Come,” he said, and left no doubt that she must do as he said.
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Bread to the Wise--Book I of The Libertine Page 42