Story: Colonel Williams, Ch. 7, pt. I

Chapter 7 – The Trip to Market

Market day came. Colonel Williams, Roderick, and Alejandro all boarded the cart for the ride into town. All the arrangements for Jayson’s arrival had been made. José had been instructed to let Jayson know where they were should he arrive before they returned.
One the ride into town, they worked out the details of their plan. The three of them would try to stay together in the crowd. Alejandro would look for a familiar face, and once he spotted one of the men, Williams and Roderick would approach the man. Despite the low probability of success, all three were confident that they would find one of the two men whom they sought.
They arrived at the slave market about an hour before the auction was to begin. Even at that early hour, the market already bustled with activity. Men from all over the region had come, even more than usual. The cacophony of the various voices all talking—and yelling—at one another as they packed into the courtyard assaulted Williams’ senses. The closest analogy to what he was seeing now was the battlefield in the midst of battle. The organized chaos of the crowd presented a formidable obstacle to their plan.
As they slowly advanced into the crowd, they found it difficult to keep together. Every man there fought to maintain his position; no one wanted to give enough room for one person to get through, much less three. Position mattered at these auctions, for the closer to the front and to the middle a bidder was, the more likely it was that a bid would be recognized.
In the midst of the loud noise, Williams shouted to the others, “If we get split apart, keep an eye on each other. If you lose the other two, head back to the main entrance.”
Roderick nodded, but Alejandro, who only knew a week’s worth of English, did not understand. Williams had to repeat the instructions in Spanish. They continued forward slowly, pushing between people as Alejandro glanced at the faces.
Suddenly, he exclaimed, “¡Allá está el hombre!” He pointed in a direction off to their left and a little ahead of them. The man was also fighting his way forward through the crowd.
“Where? Which one?” Williams asked in Spanish.
“The one headed towards the front,” Alejandro replied. “Wait! I have lost him.”
The man had walked behind a group of taller men who had been reticent to break up their clique. He was now out of sight of Alejandro, and only Alejandro had managed a good look at the man’s face.
“Did you see which way he went?” Williams asked.
“Yes, I think so. This way,” Alejandro replied. He led them to the left of their previous course, pushing his way as best he could through the wall of humanity.