"No," she answered; "I know nottin' about dat; only dey did not come down here, or we should have heard de horses' feet. "Three men passed by on horseback," I observed, "and the rest may have been on foot." "Oh, no," she cried, "dey all got horses; dey take de horses, and de guns, and de gunpowder, wherever dey go. Dey took all ole master's horses after dey murdered dem all. Oh, I wish I knew who it were dat murder de baby, I would tear his heart out." And a look of fury came into her eyes, that could not well be feigned. "Dat Nat Turner is de head of it all," she continued. "He tinks himself a prophet; but I tink him a devil; for who but a devil would murder poor innocent babes and young children?" Here our conversation paused for a moment or two; and then Bessy inquired the names of the other four women who were with her brown companion. She repeated them severally, and at the mention of one of them, I could see that Bessy's countenance fell. "Why, how came you with _her_, Minerva?" she inquired. "I have heard she is a very bad woman." "Ah, well, dat's true," answered the girl; "she _is_ a bad woman, Miss Bessy, and beat her own children, and get drunk, and all dat; but then she was master's slave, and she is so nearly white dat all de niggers hate her, and Nat Turner once said he would kill her if she didn't mind. Dat was when she break her husband's head wid de stone bottle--so we could not refuse to take her wid us, for dey would kill her, certain sure." This seemed a very reasonable account of the matter; but we had no time to consider much farther, for while she was speaking, another mulatto woman, considerably older, whose approach I had not remarked, suddenly appeared in the brake before us, and Bessy started up with a look of pleasure, exclaiming-- "Ah, Jenny, is that you? I am very glad to see you." "Ah, Miss Bessy, Miss Bessy!" cried the woman, taking her in her great fat arms, and giving her a kiss, while the tears ran over her cheeks. "Thank God you have, escaped! I thought that noble gentleman would take care of you. And when I went over the house--that terrible house--and all the corpusses lying about, and the poor boys with their brains dashed out, and that McGrubber at the top flight of the stairs, all hacked and hewed with the axes, and found your room empty, though the door was all broken to pieces, I did hope you had got away. Yet my heart failed me to think what would become of the dear child." "This is the cook at Beavors, Richard," said Bessy; "she was dear aunt Bab's cook too." "Oh, I remember I have seen her," I replied, "the day we went over and took possession of the house in Mr. Stringer's absence. Jenny, I am very glad to see you here. But did anything happen to make you quit the house after you had stayed so long?"