Chapter 4 The Alligator

Chapter 4
The Alligator


Richard woke up and it was morning time. The sun was up and it was a hot day.
“I better get moving,” he said. Richard finally arrived at Panama after 43 days. Everyone there was speaking Spanish.
“How am I ever gonna find someone who speaks English?” Richard asked himself.
“Hello there,” a man said. “How are you today?”
“I’m doing okay,” Richard said. “I’m just trying to find someone in charge of the canal.”
“Well then you found him,” the man said. “I’m John Stevens and this is my friend Colonel William Gorgas. I will be the Chief Engineer and William is the Sanitation Officer. He will get rid of all the mosquitoes that cause yellow fever.”
“Nice to meet you,” Richard said shaking William’s hand. A month later they started on the canal. Richard found a path in between sharp rocks and put buoy on each side showing what path the boats have to take so they don’t hit the rocks. He started to leave to see what he had to do next and something grabbed his foot. Richard looked back and an alligator was biting his foot. Richard screamed at the top of his lungs.
“Someone help me!” he screamed. The alligator pulled him into the water. Richard got on its back and started twirling it around. The alligator bit his hand and dragged him under water. Richard tried to punch the alligator but it did nothing. The alligator wrapped Richard up and twirled him so fast he began to get dizzy. It was hard for him to survive because he couldn’t breathe and he was dizzy. Richard looked up and saw a bunch of people in a boat. One man leaned over and shot his gun attempting to shoot the gator. Richard saw blood and thought that the man shot the alligator; but the gator kept on fighting. Richard looked at himself and saw that the blood was coming from his back. He started to yell and yell. Luckily he was under water because he screamed loud. He heard another gun shot. When he saw blood he checked himself. When he turned back around he saw the alligator sinking to the bottom. Richard swam back to the top and got in the boat. He collapsed on the hard wooden floor.
“Sorry about your back mate,” the man with the gun said.
“Hey I’m not dead, the gator is,” Richard said. John Stevens was on the boat.
“You’re a tough man, Rich,” John said. “Everyone else who got attacked by a gator didn’t come back up.”
“You’ve got a long breath too,” William Gorgas said.
“Which spots hurt?” John asked.
“My foot, hand, and back,” Richard said. “The alligator grabbed my foot and pulled me in the water. Then, he bit my hand and pulled me under water. Then! Someone shot my back!” The man who shot Richard grinned looking embarrassed.
“Well, we’ve got to get you some rest, you’re injured,” John said.

Chapter 3 The Dream

Chapter 3
The Dream


The next morning Richard decided to head out. He thanked Aladino for being so kind and giving him delicious food. Richard started to walk away when Aladino stopped him.
“Richard! You’re not gonna walk the whole way are you?”
“It’s not an option; my wagon got destroyed.” Along with all my stuff.”
“Take my wagon; I don’t use it.” Richard looked at him.
“Are you sure?” Richard asked.
“I’m sure.” Aladino showed Richard where the wagon was and he gave him some food, blankets, and pillows.
After eighteen hours of traveling Richard parked his wagon on the side of the dirt road. He ate one of the tacos that Aladino gave him for a late dinner; then he went to bed. That night Richard had a dream; but it wasn’t an ordinary dream. It was a flash back of when he was a kid. It was twelve years earlier when Richard was twelve years old in the year of 1892. He was playing with all of his friends. They were playing football in the road. Richard got the ball and started to run. One of his friends tackled him and Richard smacked his head. There was a car coming and it didn’t see Richard. He tried to get out of the way before he got hit. The car was getting closer and closer. Just as it was about to run over Richard, a random ten year old girl that he didn’t even know jumped in front of the car and got hit. Richard got up forgetting that he even hit his head. The girl was lying on the ground barely able to open her eyes.



“You saved my life,” Richard said.
“There was nothing else to do,” she said. Richard helped her to her feet.
“What’s your name?” he asked.
“Rachel.”

Chapter 2 The Chase

Chapter 2
The Chase


The next morning Richard got in his wagon getting ready to go.
"Don't forget to write to me every day Richard," Rachel said.
" I won't," Richard said.
"You promise?"
"I promise." Richard was wearing his nice blue overalls with a green, plaid, long sleeve shirt. As he started to leave in his wagon, Rachel stopped him.
"You better promise me, right now, right here, that you will never wear those nice clothes that you're wearing right now while you're building the canal.
"You've got my word." Finally, Richard left their apartment and Rachel became a small little dot.
Five hours later Richard stopped for a lunch break. His wagon went three miles per hour and he planned to travel eighteen hours a day. It should take 41 days of traveling. "Thirteen more hours of traveling for today ," Richard thought to himself. When he finished one of the sandwiches Rachel packed for him, he went back on the road.
As Richard was driving a guy in a car pulled up next to him.
"Hey Mr." the guy yelled. "This is 1904!"
"I beg your pardon," Richard replied.
"Cars were invented nineteen years ago!" The man in the car turned to his right side and leaned down as if he were picking something up. When he got back to sitting upward, he had a shot gun in his hand. Richard quickly drove away from the car. The man shot and hit the bag of sandwiches Rachel made. They fell on the ground behind the wagon and the car ran them over.
"What did I ever do to you!" Richard shouted.
"No! It's what you didn't do!" the man shouted back.
"What in the world are you talking about?!"
"You didn't upgrade!" Richard didn't reply this time because now he was completely confused.
"You have a wagon!" the man shouted. "Everyone else has a car! The man drove up right next to Richard. He had the sights aimed right on him. Right before the man could pull the trigger, Richard jumped out of the wagon and on to the hard dirt road. A second after that, Richard heard the gun shot. The bullet hit the front wheel of the wagon and the wagon flipped, crashed, and everything was destroyed. Richard stood to his feet and stumbled on every step he made. When he reached the wagon all his stuff was destroyed. He tripped over one of the wheels, hit his face, and saw only blackness.
Richard woke after many days and saw a man hovering over him with a taco. The man had a mustache with a cowboy hat. His skin color was in between white and black.
"Ole' senor," The man said with an accent. "Taco?" Without answering, Richard snatched the taco and gobbled it down.
"Where am I?" Richard asked.
"You are in Mexico, my home."
"How did I get all the way to Mexico?" Richard asked.
"Well," Aladino said. "I was in Pennsylvania visiting relatives, and when I started on my way back home, I saw you lying on the side of the road. So I brought you to Mexico to help you out."
"Well, thank-you, luckily this is where I was heading. I'm heading to Panama."
"Let me guess," the man said. "You are helping with the canal?" Richard nodded his head.
"Hey do you have a name?" Richard asked.
"Si, my name is Aladino. What's yours?"
"Richard."
Aladino started to laugh his head off.
"I don't see what's so funny," Richard said.
"That's what your mother named you! Richard! Out of all the names in the world that's your name! Let's name our son Aladino, no let's name him Richard," Aladino said sarcastically. He started to laugh some more. Richard cracked a smile too. He couldn't help laughing even though his name didn't sound funny.

The Panama Canal

Introduction

The building of the Panama Canal is a real event that went on in the early nineteen hundreds. Richard Coleman is a fictional character in this story. He and his wife (Rachel) live in New York City and Richard is out of work. He hears about the building of the Panama Canal. Richard decides to go to make some money.

Chapter 1
The news


It was a sunny day in New York City. The sky was blue, and there were no clouds. Richard and Rachel decided to go to Central Park to have a picnic. The grass was greener than ever, and they found a nice shady spot under a big tree. The newspaper for today was in the lunch box. It was 1904 and Richard read the news and had a great idea.
“Americans are going to Panama to build a canal,” he read. “Workers will get 29-59 cents an hour.” Richard stared at Rachel with wide eyes.
“I don’t know what to say,” she said. “I mean… that’s good money but… I… how long would you be gone?”
“It doesn’t say,” Richard replied.
“Well… what’s the purpose of this canal anyway?"
“The paper says that it starts at the Atlantic Ocean, crosses through Panama, and ends at the Pacific,” he answered. “So, I would assume it’s for travelers to cross through without having to go all the way around South America. “Look,” Richard showed Rachel a map on the newspaper. “Panama is the last country under Mexico; it is right over South America. Sailors always have to go around all of South America to get to the west side of North America. Now they’ll be able to cut right through Panama. Because…"
“Okay I get it!” Rachel yelled. Tears were filling her eyes. “Panama is touching South America and six other countries are above making a line ending with Guatemala which touches North America.
“Rachel, why are you acting like this?” Richard asked.
“The newspaper says Panama is 2,218 miles away from New York!” she yelled. “Having you that far away for a couple of years… it’s just… I can’t even think of it!”
“I know how you feel,” Richard said. “But, we’ll make a lot of money.” It’s a great idea for sailors. Richard sat there waiting anxiously for Rachel’s answer.
“I guess we should go home and get you all packed up to leave tomorrow.” When they got home they packed up and Richard would leave the next morning.

Taken Captive in the Revolutionary War

My name is Devon Parker. A lot of people pronounce my name like Devin; but my real name is pronounced Devawn. I am ninety years old and I fought in the Revolutionary War. My mother was real worried that her baby was fighting in the war. She said there was no need for shooting people. She wanted to live in peace. I wanted to serve my country. If I had to join the army to do it, then I was willing.

I remember my first battle ever...I was eighteen years old. It was a cold December night. Hail and snow were falling from the sky. The ground was covered with snow. All I could hear were gunshots blasting and men screaming. My eyes hurt from all the cannon explosions. The British were closing in on us and I had nowhere to run. One of my men was tugging on my arm trying to say something. I couldn’t really hear him because my left ear was deaf from all the gunshots and explosions. All of a sudden, my hearing came back to me. “Devon!” the man screamed. “Get down!” Bam! A musket shot hit me right on the chest. The force of bullet pushed me back five feet and there I was, lying on the ground half awake and half unconscious. There it goes again; my left ear was deaf. It was hard to stay awake. I struggled and struggled but my eyes kept on closing. Hovering over me was a big Redcoat. He was approximately three hundred pounds and six foot eleven. I think the battle was over. I couldn’t hear anything out of my good ear. All I knew was that I was being carried by a big fat man. I saw the British captain. He ordered the man who was carrying me to place me in the carriage. Once I hit that seat, I was finally asleep. I woke up the next morning behind bars. I was taken captive at the British base. It was cold and damp in the jail cell. No mattress, I had to sleep on the hard cement floor. Slop was for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Boy if I weren’t in jail I would hate that food; but since I was in jail, it was like eating fried beans with sausage. Sausage and beans were especially good when my mother cooked them. It was the best meal in the world. Here comes one of the Redcoats. He gave me my everyday meal. No silverware; I just picked it up with my hands and gobbled it down. I wonder how much trouble I would be in at home if I did that. It was a long night. I couldn’t sleep. I wasn’t used to sleeping this way. At least at my camp they gave you a blanket and pillow. I guess that’s because I wasn’t in jail. There was a lot on my mind. First, I thought about that man who told me to get down. That gunshot still really hurts. I forgot to tell the Redcoats about it. It probably wouldn’t do any good. They shot me. Why heal me? Second, I thought about my family. What are they doing right now? Either they think I’m dead or okay. I hope they think I’m okay. I don’t want them to worry. Third, I thought about how I was going to get out of this place. Maybe I would be in here for life. That would be a bummer. Fourth, I thought of how I was gonna sleep. Maybe if I were to stop thinking. When I finally fell asleep, I had a dream, a weird dream. I had some sort of automatic weapon. It shot like thirty bullets in five seconds. I knew that could never be invented but dreams are dreams. They are very odd and they don’t make sense at all. Anyway, the bars were open to my cell and I walked out. Redcoats were everywhere; but they just let me walk out. My army was at the exit door helping me escape. They asked what type of gun I had. “I don’t have a clue,” I told them. We walked about a mile and I saw my family in army uniforms. I asked them a question, then I woke up. I don’t remember what my question was. For awhile I thought that dream meant something. A couple years later, though, I was still in jail. My dream had not yet come true. Either God put that dream in my head or I just thought that dream up all by myself.

I remember the day a miracle happened. The Redcoats served me rice and corn every day. It was the weirdest thing but that food was delicious. More years and years passed and I didn’t even know how old I was. I think I was seventy but I’m not sure. I had a big fuzzy beard. It was gray and so was my long hair. I swear that I was a caveman.

Finally, my dream came true. Well not exactly. I didn’t have the gun. The general opened the bars.

“Your army has made a deal with us. They will let all their prisoners go if
we let our prisoners go,” he said.

“You agreed?” I asked.

“Yes I did.”

I couldn’t believe it. I thought my dream was just a dream; but it came true. I walked out the door and there was my army. They were escorting me back to my hometown. Like I said, right now I am ninety years old and I have a nice home and dog.

The End

Chapter 9 "A Court Meeting"

The next morning George woke up to the smell of bacon.

"Good morning, Ma'am," George said.

"Good morning," she responded, politely.

"What are you cooking?" George asked.

"I'm cooking bacon, do you want some?"

"Yes please!" George sat down at the table and ate his bacon.

"No one is allowed to see you," she said. "I heard what happened to your house and your friend." I'm so sorry."

George just stared out into the distance. "What's your name?" he asked.

"My name is Ann Parker." You can call me Ann." "You probably don't want to do this, but it's for your own good." "Last night I made arrangements for you to be in a court meeting today." Ann said.
"What did I do?!" George asked.

"Nothing," Ann said. "It's about making you free!"

"Then why did you think I didn't want to do it?" George asked.

"Never mind, just forget what I said."

Two hours later George and Ann were sitting at the court table with their lawyer sitting next to them. George admired his suit thinking he was looking pretty handsome. The judge ordered everyone to stand up and recite the Ten Commandments. At the end of the Ten Commandments, George was a little confused why God replaced "don't" with "thou shall not". He thought it would be a lot easier saying "don't". For George, two hours of the court meeting seemed ten hours. He was bored to death. It was about time when the judge received the paper from the jury. George was almost asleep and then Ann told him what that paper was. It was the decision made by the jury, if George was free, or not.
"This is the decision made by the jury," the judge said. "Mr. George Tucker... is free!" George sat in his chair shocked. Surprisingly, the whole room was full of excitement and cheering. George slapped himself making sure it wasn't a dream. But it was true. Finally, George... was free.

The End

 
Acknowledgments

I would like to thank my editor, Sandy Nichols, for taking the time to help correct my story and help me post it. I couldn’t have done it without her. She also corrected the rest of my stories and helped me post them too.
I would also like to thank all my readers by giving me supportive comments and reading all my stories.

About the Author

Paul Nichols is an eleven year old kid whose dream is to be a famous author. He has written a lot of super hero books but this is his best yet. Paul is home schooled but once he finishes with high school he hopes to go to college and learn more about writing. I wrote my book after school. It took me two months to write the whole book. I took my time to make it interesting. I am a Christian and I go to church every Sunday. For fun I like to play baseball in a little league. Every Monday I go bowling with my three brothers and my dad.

Follow Me

I have written other short fictional stories that you can find and read at my blog: “Paul’sbooksforkids.blogspot.com
You won’t be disappointed!

Chapter 8 "The New House"

Since Mack and George were up north, they started to look for a house to buy. Mack said George could live with him once they found a house. One day Mack came home from work and smiled at George. They lived in a little log hut that Mack made. It only had one room. “I found a house for fifty dollars,” he said. “It’s expensive, but we can afford it.”

“That’s great news!” George exclaimed jumping up and down.

“It is a two-story house with two bedrooms upstairs, and a living room, kitchen, and a dining room downstairs,” Mack said.

Two weeks later Mack and George started to settle into their new home. Someone knocked on the door. They looked out and saw a sheriff.

“Hi," Mack said. “How may I help you?”

“Let me get straight to the point,” the sheriff said. “This kid cannot sit around in this house all day. He has to work in the fields.”

“Why?” Mack asked, frustrated.

“He’s black.”

“What does that have to do with anything?!” Mack asked. His face was getting cherry red.

“Well, it doesn’t make any sense but it's because he’s black.”

“No, let me stop you right there!” Mack demanded. “Just because he was born with a different skin color, doesn’t mean he has no rights.”

“Sir, he’s supposed to be in slavery,” the sheriff said.

“Are you kidding me?” Mack asked. “What do you think the Civil War was for?”

“Sir, if you would just calm down.”

Slam! Mack slammed the door shut. George came downstairs.

“What did that guy want?”

Mack shrugged. "He was just some sales guy,” Mack lied. Right after Mack said that, a huge mob started to circle around the house with torches. Crash! The same sheriff threw a torch through the window and the house started to burn. Everyone else threw their torches on and in the house and it started to burn up real fast. Fire separated Mack and George and they couldn’t get to each other. George could get out through the window but Mack was trapped.

“George! Get out through the window and save yourself!” Mack ordered.

“I can’t leave you!” George screamed.

“Go now before it’s too late!”

“Thanks for everything, Mack, you’ve been the best friend I ever had,” George said. “I’ll miss you, Mack.” Mack was too sad to say anything. George jumped out of the window and saw the house fall. George lived on the street for a couple of weeks. One day as he walked through the town, a lady lured him into her house. George went inside.