Sixo turns, then, to the woman and they clutch each other and whisper. She is lit now with someglowing, some shining that comes from inside her. Before when she knelt on creek pebbles withPaul D, she was nothing, a shape in the dark breathing lightly. Sixo is about to crawl out to lookfor the knives he buried. He hears something. He hears nothing. Forget the knives. Now. The threeof them climb up the bank and schoolteacher, his pupils and four other whitemen move towardthem. With lamps. Sixo pushes the Thirty-Mile Woman and she runs further on in the creekbed.

　　Paul D and Sixo run the other way toward the woods. Both are surrounded and tied.

　　The air gets sweet then. Perfumed by the things honeybees love. Tied like a mule, Paul D feelshow dewy and inviting the grass is. He is thinking about that and where Paul A might be whenSixo turns and grabs the mouth of the nearest pointing rifle. He begins to sing. Two others shovePaul D and tie him to a tree. Schoolteacher is saying, "Alive. Alive. I want him alive." Sixo swingsand cracks the ribs of one, but with bound hands cannot get the weapon in position to use it in anyother way. All the whitemen have to do is wait. For his song, perhaps, to end? Five guns aretrained on him while they listen. Paul D cannot see them when they step away from lamplight.

　　Finally one of them hits Sixo in the head with his rifle, and when he comes to, a hickory fire is infront of him and he is tied at the waist to a tree. Schoolteacher has changed his mind: "This onewill never be suitable." The song must have convinced him.

　　The fire keeps failing and the whitemen are put out with themselves at not being prepared for thisemergency. They came to capture, not kill. What they can manage is only enough for cooking hominy. Dry faggots are scarce and the grass is slick with dew.

　　By the light of the hominy fire Sixo straightens. He is through with his song. He laughs. A ripplingsound like Sethe's sons make when they tumble in hay or splash in rainwater. His feet are cooking;the cloth of his trousers smokes. He laughs. Something is funny. Paul D guesses what it is whenSixo interrupts his laughter to call out, "Seven-O! Seven-O!"Smoky, stubborn fire. They shoot him to shut him up. Have to. Shackled, walking through theperfumed things honeybees love, Paul D hears the m............