Martin re-folded the letter. He sniffed it briefly hoping it still carried her essence. It didn’t of course and he hoped that no one had seen him do it. He walked to the map of Havana that was spread out on a table and noted the location of the British consulate. While it wasn’t extremely close to where he and his brigade would be attacking, it was close enough to be in a danger zone. Of course, when the battle began, everyone and everything in Havana would be in danger. But then, she might be with Custer when the attack happened. Surely the Spanish would try to protect the President of the United States. Another thought intruded and it sickened him. Would they kill Custer and everyone around him, including Sarah, Ruta, and the other nurses, rather than see him liberated.
* * *
Lieutenant Junior Grade Paul Prentice leaned against the railing of the Orion and stared at the Cuban shoreline through Janson’s telescope. It was only a few miles away and the details stood out boldly in the early evening light. The ground sloped gently up from the beach. It was just as he recalled it. Better, he could see no sign of Spanish military activity.
Captain Janson moved alongside him. “You’re not thinking of going back, are you?”
“I hope not, at least not as a spy or scout. I don’t think there’s too much more I can add to the information the navy already has.”
Each night for the past week, Prentice had been rowed to shore in a fishing boat. There he had met with Cuban rebels and scouted both the terrain and the Spanish fortifications. The land, he decided, contained no serious obstacles and could easily be handled, even in the dark, by well trained and highly disciplined by U.S. Army soldiers and Marines.
He had also concluded that the rumors about the Spanish defenses were correct. The larger of the two forts, known as La Cabana, was poorly defended. With Cuban help, he had even penetrated the fortifications and been able to give the large numbers of cannon a quick examination. Some of the guns were as ancient as had been rumored. They were at least two centuries old and were badly rusted. A quick check of primer holes showed them clogged with rust. He reported to the navy that he would pray for anyone who tried to use them.
This information both pleased and dismayed the higher-ups. If the guns were that bad, how could they be turned and used against the Spanish? The answer was simple-most of them couldn’t. The American force would have to land a number of their own and that included the weapons from smaller ships like the Orion. Janson was highly displeased with that piece of news, but recognized that it was necessary.
“You don’t have to go in with them,” Janson said with a hint of sadness. He had gotten fond of the younger officer and often thought of him as the son he’d never had.
“Yes I do,” Prentice said. “I know the land and I know the people the Marines will be dealing with. Working with a stranger might lead to confusion and that would be tragic to say the least.”
Janson sniffed his reluctant agreement. “That and the fact that it will be a hell of an adventure to tell your grandchildren, provided, of course, that you don’t get yourself killed during this grand adventure.”
Prentice shook his head and then wondered if Janson could see the gesture in the fading light. Even though the Spanish were well aware that many ships were off shore, the Orion was showing no lights as darkness fell.
“I have no plans to get killed.”
“Nobody ever does, Paul. But somehow it just happens during war, and usually when you least expect it.”
Prentice decided to change the subject. It was getting too close to his own fears. He was no hero and had very mixed emotions about the so-called grand adventure he was about to go on. True, he had volunteered to go ashore and meet with the rebels, but only because he had dealt with some of them on a casual basis while at Mount Haney and because he spoke passable Spanish.
“When will the cargo be coming aboard?” he asked.
Janson laughed at the idea of calling a hundred Marines cargo. “I understand it’ll be tomorrow night. All of which means they’ll be jammed on board with us for at least a day. Well, I had more soldiers stuffed in the Aurora the first trip over. Of course, the Aurora was a larger ship. No matter, the Marines will endure it.”
Prentice tried to visualize the more than two thousand Marines and Negro cavalrymen, their equipment, ammunition, and enough food to last them a week on board about fifty ships of varying size. Fortunately, the ships involved had all been on a far out blockade for a couple of weeks. The Spanish were used to their presence and they had made no threatening gestures against the Spanish fortifications at the entrance to Havana’s harbor.
Thanks to his efforts at patrolling and spying, the brass now knew that the enemy defenses were as decayed as the Spanish Empire they represented. Would this make the invasion easier? Lord, he hoped so.
* * *
“I’m hungry,” said one of the smallest boys. His name was Gilberto and he was not quite twelve years old. That was, if he knew his correct age in the first place. “We’re going to starve to death, aren’t we?”
“Not if I can help it,” said Manuel Garcia, the erstwhile leader of the small group that was now one person smaller. Of course, he had no idea how to prevent such a fate. If the city wasn’t soon liberated by the Americans and their Cuban allies, they would indeed weaken and, while they wouldn’t likely die, their weaknesses would make it easier for the Spanish authorities to catch them.
After fleeing the bombardment and running into Havana, they had hidden in a number of basements, abandoned buildings and sheds, and even slept out in the open. For food, they had scavenged through trash and stolen from homes and shops whenever possible. The last few nights, however, had been a horror. After running for their lives, they had finally found a secure place to hide while the Spanish Army looked for them. They were in a mausoleum in a large cemetery near the Cathedral of San Cristobal. A couple of the coffins had broken open and they shared the space with grinning skeletons. Manuel had calmed the other boys by turning the skulls so that they looked away. He hoped he wasn’t committing a sacrilege.
Tico was the smallest and youngest one, and also the most innocent and most desperate. A couple of nights earlier, they had been grubbing through the trash behind a large house when the door had suddenly opened. A priest they knew as the crazy Roman monsignor who was trying to organize soldiers to die for Spain and Christ stood in the doorway. The light behind him was blinding. The others had fled, but Tico had been transfixed and the priest had grabbed him.
“What are you doing, my son,” they’d heard the priest say in a calming voice.
When Tico explained that he was hungry, they heard the priest tell the boy to wait by the door. Amazed, they watched as the priest disappeared inside and then come back with two loafs of bread. “Take these and share with your companions. Do it just like Jesus did with the loaves and fishes. All of you come back tomorrow and there will be more food.”
That night they gorged themselves on the bread and didn’t even complain that it was a little stale. The next night they went to the back door of what they now realized was the cathedral rectory. On the stoop by the door were two more loaves of bread and a jug of something. They were about to start forward and claim their prize when Manuel told them to wait. It was just too quiet.
“What if there are soldiers around and what if it is a trap,” he said.
“But I’m hungry,” said Tico. “And besides, it was a priest who gave us the food, wasn’t it? A priest wouldn’t lie, would he?”
“Be patient. Let’s look around first. We’ve got to make sure this is safe. We don’t want to hang, do we?”
Even as he said it, Manuel knew he’d be lucky to spot any soldiers. It was dark and here were just too many places for them to hide. But then he smelled burning tobacco along with the stench of human sweat. There were men close by and almost all of the men in Havana were soldiers. He was about to tell the boys to return to their latest hideout in a basement when he realized that Tico had ignored his orders and was walking cautiously up to the irresistible food.