I cannot follow the negro's jargon through the long account he gave of the events of those few hours. The substance was as follows:--The party of Nat Turner, after having advanced towards Jerusalem, and having been met by a severe fire from a party of white men on the road, retreated in good order through the by-paths of the wood, known to few but themselves. When they came to the meeting of the two paths I have mentioned, they found they had been outflanked by a party of horse in pursuit. They saw well enough, he said, a smoke rising up in the wood, though they could not tell whether the fire had been lighted by their own people or by an enemy. Knowing, however, that smoke would attract the attention of the white men, they determined to leave it on their left, and to take shelter amongst the bushes in the thicker part of the wood, being certain that they could not outstrip their pursuers before they came to the open ground. Signals were agreed upon; Nat Turner, who, according to his account, was perfectly calm and confident, laid himself down at the foot of the tree where I had found him, and the rest concealed themselves in the thick bushes. There they lay till after I came up. Nelson stoutly denied having seen any woman in the whole course of their retreat. Nothing could make him swerve from this assertion. When, remembering the two tracks I had seen, the one to the right, the other to the left, at the thick laurel-brake, I asked if his party had not divided into two. This he denied, stating that they had pursued one undeviating course, and had merely scattered themselves round their leader, when they found a sure place of concealment. At length, I put the questions to him straightforwardly, whether he knew Miss Bessy Davenport? whether he had seen her during the preceding day? He answered he had known her ever since she was a child, and positively asserted that they had seen nothing of her. "We hunted for her at Mr. Stringer's," he said, "for we had heard that she was there; and Will wanted to kill her, though Nat did not. But we could not find her, and we never saw her at all." After the pause of a moment or two, during which I and my companion remained silent, the man looked up in my face, saying,-- "I dare say, if you want to find her, master, some of old Miss Bab's servants can help you. Depend upon it, they know all about it." Here was both a renewal of hope, and some clue to guide me; but the light was faint, and the clue somewhat frail. CHAPTER XXIX.