Teams of slaves take hold of the giant oars and use them to brace against the side of the dock and guide the big, flat-bodied boat away from the pier and out into the flow of the Red River. Descending the hill to the docks, Captain Tim and the Black Hat who had joined his company stop their horses and gaze out at the slave barge, their eyes shaded by the brims of the hats. Huxley stands there, wanting to look away for fear that they will recognize him even at this distance, but he keeps watching them, wondering what they are going to do. Raise an alarm? Order the boat to return to the dock so the Black Hat could inspect its cargo? A hand on his shoulder. The slave master pushes him toward the big box in the center of the barge, along with Jay, Don, and Rigo. “Might behoove you to get the fuck indoors. Those gentlemen seem to be taking a special interest in you.” The slave master shuffles them along, trying to get them into the cabins, but trying not to look like he is hiding anything.
