Daniel and Roy were at the Wright’s loading dock moving flour barrels when they heard the commotion at the station.
Looking up, Daniel watched for a moment then told Roy he’d be back and, pulling on the jacket he’d removed once he’d warmed from his work, he went over to the depot.
“Some nigger attacked a woman over in Sumner!” a man was telling the people in the station. His language made several of them step back and move away, but the other white men there stepped forward and demanded more details.
“Sheriff said there’s an escaped convict loose, name of Jesse Hunter. Must have been him,” he explained, excited and obviously feeling important.
“Station master said they wired Bronson for the dogs,” he continued, and several of the men began talking all at once.
Daniel edged towards the door of the station, his heart pounding. His aunts and sister all worked in Sumner; it couldn’t be one of them, could it? Better get on home and find out.
“You go on, boy,” a large man called to him.
Daniel recognized the man, a yard boss from one of the turpentine camps in Otter Creek. He was known as Boots, because of his fondness for kicking workers in their backsides when they moved too slowly.
“Go on, git,” the man called out in a cheerful voice. “Go tell all your nigger friends. We’ll give you a head start.”
Raucous laughter followed Daniel out the door as he went back to the Wright’s. He told Roy the news and they slipped off the side of the loading dock and headed home the back way, into the woods.