She looked back into the sunlight and as I waited for an answer I saw that tears began to run down her cheek. ‘What could have happened,’ I thought. It must have been something terrible. I felt awful, like I wanted to shrink to a size so small that I wouldn’t be noticed and walk away. One of the Salyer guards began ringing a big bell that made a sharp pitch over the land. Every servant got up from where they were sitting with their bowls in their hands and went over and dropped them back into the wheelbarrow and then they separated into groups. Di was standing over by the first cabin, loading some dip into his mouth. “Where do we go?” I asked him. “Little Salyer, go find Hank. Big guy, you’re with me.” Di led Saul over to a group of gathered Beardsley workers. Saul turned and waved at me; I waved back, then I scurried off to find Hank. Hank was standing in front of a big group of workers as well. There were a little over twenty in the group, including Verne and the black haired Beardsley in the cabin beside me. All of the workers were holding long, empty sacks. I saw that a whip was curled near Hank’s waist. “What do you want, Little Salyer?”
