"Ah's bin a slave-nigger fer forty-five years, but just de same, Ah ain't never bin mean ter no woman.

Yas, sah, yer don't neither one ob yer eber need ter ask Sam no mor'-- he's a goin' thro' wid yer all ter de end--he sure am, Ma'm." Silence descended upon us, and I slipped the pistol back into my pocket.

Rene rested her cheek on her hand and gazed straight ahead into the night.

Her head seemed to droop, and I realized that her eyes saw nothing except those scenes pictured by her thoughts.

Sam busied himself about his work, muttering occasionally under his breath, and shaking his head as though struggling with some problem, but the few words I caught were disconnected, yielding me no knowledge of what he was trying to solve.