Blood on the River: James Town, 1607

Samuel Collier isn't sure whether he is lucky or doomed when he is pulled from the orphanage to become page to Captain John Smith on a journey to the New World. He is eager to see the gold that "washes up on the shore with each tide," but his master's open hostility toward his superiors in the Virginia Company is bound to cause trouble. "They're sending nothing but gentlemen!" Smith says. "By God, who will build the houses? Who will grow the crops?" Author's note. Sources.