Whar the hell they've gone, I don't know, an' the girl won't tell.

Leaves me in a deuce ov a fix, fer I can't serve no papers less we find the daughter.

Her name's Eloise; she's the heir et law, an' I ain't got no legal right fer ter take them niggers away till I do.

Looks ter me like they'd skipped out." "Maybe som'body blowed the whole thing." "I dunno who it wud be.

Then whut did they leave thet girl behind fer?
She'd most likely be the furst ter run--thar's Kirby an' Carver, a comin' now, an' they're alone; ain't got no trace ov 'em, I reckon." Where I crouched in the shadows I could gain no glimpse of the approaching figures, but I heard the crunch of their boots on the gravel of the driveway, and a moment later the sound of their feet as they mounted the wooden steps.