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As though the thought had drawn attention to hi slowly through thethe rain would cover the sound of his breath, loud and rasping in his ears

Closer Da closer He fumbled at his belt, but he had lost the dirk, soot one knee up under his chin, braced hirass above him swept suddenly away, and he leaped to his feet, just in time to avoid the spear that sliced into the water where he’d lain

The spear quivered in front of him, six inches froaped at hiro closed his mouth, blinked at him, and spoke in tones of deepest accusation

"You ain’t no possuer,hand down his chest, assuring himself that his heart was still inside it "Sorry"

PHILLIP WYLIE LOOKED a great deal different at ho-catching in loose breeks and a far, paint, powder, or patches, he was still elegantly slender, but looked quite normal, and reasonably coh hisopen, and he did insist on breaking into Jamie’s account with questions and expostulations

"Lillywhite? Randall Lillywhite? But what can he--"

"Concentrate,ye now, and I’ll tell yeup your Russians like a set of Christo and tend to the lared at Ja under the cover of the forest, half-naked, soaking wet, and covered with blood-streaked hed, cleared his throat, and repeated it, ht; there’s not much time"

Wylie’s lips coh his nose He looked round at his slaves, as though counting the stout sticks One or two had cane-knives at their belts Wylie nodded,the telltale crunching of the shell-road, they s?" He heard Jaroup

"Not pigs," Wylie replied "Russian boars For sport" He spoke rather proudly, swishing his own stick through the thick grass "Everyone says that of all game, the Russian boar is the fiercest and most wily opponent I propose to release them in the woods on my property and allow them to breed"

"Ye mean to hunt them?" Jamie sounded er saw Wylie’s shoulders stiffen under his damp smock at the question The rain had slackened, but was still co down

"No," he said "Not yet Have you?"

"Yes," Jamie said, but wisely didn’t aht a gli away

"They’ve given up looking for me or the whisky, and sent theirthe rain off "What say ye, Wylie? There’s no time to lose The Russians are in the main shed, on the wharf"

Once decided, Wylie was no ditherer

"Stor his slaves to follow, and headed for the landing at a trot The whole party swerved onto the shell-road, thundering toward the wharf with a noise like an avalanche That ought to give Lillywhite and Anstruther pause in theirarround, and was in consequence slower than the rest He saw a startled face peer out between the sheds, and quickly withdraw

Jahland cries Wylie jerked, startled, but then joined in, bellowing "Get out of it, you bastards!" Thus encouraged, the Negroes all began shouting and bellowing, waving their sticks with enthusias of an anticlix to arrive on the wharf and find no one there save the captive Russians, who narrowlyPhillip Wylie when he imprudently shoved open the door to their prison without announcing himself

A brief search of the Russian boat and the surrounding marsh turned up no trace of Lillywhite and Anstruther

"Most like they swi frole of the sandbars, and fingered his spear "We go hunt theer, evidently still eager to try his luck

"They didn’t swiestured at the tiny beach near the landing, an empty stretch of oyster shells "They’ve taken an to give orders for unloading and penning the Russian boars Chemodurow and his family had already been taken off to the plantation house, with the girls alternating between aer, who had retrieved his shirt and shoes, but whose breeches were still plastered to his body