Woods Runner

“Prisoners of the British,” which precedes this chapter, explains that over 10,000 prisoners “died of intentional neglect”; their bodies were often “tossed overboard into the harbor” (131).

Samuel and Abner surveil the sugar mill where Samuel’s father is being kept. They formulate a plan: They will approach with a bundle they’ll claim is food for a prisoner and, when the guard is distracted, Samuel will hit him over the head with a brick. They wait until nightfall and the plan goes as expected, except that when they use the guard’s keys to open the door, there are 30-40 men waiting with his father. They all take off in different directions. Samuel’s father is gaunt and near starvation. The three of them retrieve Samuel’s mother and then return to the planned meeting point with Matthew, but the boat is not there yet. They worry, but the boat arrives, and Matthew explains he hit some wind that slowed him down. They settle Samuel’s father into the cabin of the boat and give him some food, for which he is very grateful. Samuel tells them of their new daughter, Annie, whom they immediately accept into their family.