voice a husky
whisper. "Bill Sikes, totin' a gun in his han', a free nigger whut dey
called Pete, an' two wimin. Furst like, bein' Ah wus right busy, Ah
didn't take no heed ov dere faces, fer dey wus all muffled 'round like;
but dey hed fer ter unwrap dem veils fore dey cud eat--tho' de Lord
knows dey didn't no one ov 'em eat much. De bigger one was a quadroon,
maybe 'bout forty years ol', an' de odder she wan't much more'n a gal;
an' dar wan't nuthin' ov de nigger 'bout her, 'cept it mought be de
hair, an' de eyes--dem was sure black 'nough. Ah just nat'larly felt
mighty sorry fer her, fer she done cried all de time, an' cudn't eat
nuthin'."

"You learned who they were? how they came there?"

"Course Ah did. Sikes he 'splained all 'bout 'em ter Massa Shrunk, an'
Ah heerd whut he sed. Ah wus a waitin' on 'em. Seems like, dey hed
run off frum de Beaucaire plantation, sumwhar down ribber on de
Missouri side, 'cause ol' Beaucaire hed died, an' dey wus goin' fer ter
be sold down soufe. De free nigger he wus helpin' fer ter git 'em away
in his boat. De way I heerd 'em tell, dey got snagged in de dark, an'
den drifted ashore at de lower pine. Wanderin' 'round, dey stumbled on
Sikes, an', soon as he heard de story, he just hitched up, an' drove
over whar we were. Took him 'bout three hours, Ah reckon, an' 'long de
road one ov his hosses wint lame."

"And--and what then?" I asked breathlessly, glancing about to assure
myself no one had appeared on deck, as she paused. "They got away?"

"'Cept fer de free nigger, de rest ov 'em started cross kintry fer
Beardstown, sah. De nigger Pete, he didn't go, fer he'd made up his
min' fer ter git bac' hom' ter ol' Missurry de furst chanst he got. We
all ov us helped fer ter put 'em in de wagon, hid undeh a lot o' truck,
an' den Sikes he done drove 'em out thro' de bluffs. Ah done walked
wif de gal, an' she tol' mor' 'bout herself, an' whar she cum frum; an'
dat wus her name, sah."

"Her name? What name?"

"Rene Beaucaire; de quadroon woman, she wus her mother."

I could scarcely voice my surprise, the quick throbbing of my heart
threatening to choke me.

"She claimed that name? She actually told you she was Rene Beaucaire?"

"She sure did. Why? Wan't thet her name?"

"I do not know," I confessed. "I had supposed I had met such a person,
but if what you tell me is true, I was mistaken. Everything has become
confused. Perhaps I shall understand better, if y