Something he said, maybe, or something he didn't say woke me. I sat up like somebody hit me, andyou woke up too and commenced to cry. I rocked you some, but there wasn't much room, so Istepped outside the door to walk you. Up and down I went. Up and down. Everything dark butlamplight in the top window of the house. She must've been up still. I couldn't get out of my headthe thing that woke me up: "While the boys is small." That's what he said and it snapped meawake. They tagged after me the whole day weeding, milking, getting firewood. For now. Fornow.

　　That's when we should have begun to plan. But we didn't. I don't know what we thought — butgetting away was a money thing to us. Buy out. Running was nowhere on our minds. All of us?

　　Some? Where to? How to go? It was Sixo who brought it up, finally, after Paul F. Mrs. Garner soldhim, trying to keep things up. Already she lived two years off his price. But it ran out, I guess, soshe wrote schoolteacher to come take over. Four Sweet Home men and she still believed sheneeded her brother-in-law and two boys 'cause people said she shouldn't be alone out there withnothing but Negroes. So he came with a big hat and spectacles and a coach box full of paper.

　　Talking soft and watching hard. He beat Paul A. Not hard and not long, but it was the first timeanyone had, because Mr. Garner disallowed it. Next time I saw him he had company in theprettiest trees you ever saw. Sixo started watching the sky. He was the only one who crept at nightand Halle said that's how he learned about the train.

　　"That way." Halle was pointing over the stable. "Where he took my ma'am. Sixo say freedom isthat way. A whole train is going and if we can get there, don't need to be no buyout.""Train? What's that?" I asked him.

　　They stopped talking in front of me then. Even Halle. But they whispered among themselves andSixo watched the sky. Not the high part, the low part where it touched the trees. You could tell hismind was gone from Sweet Home.

　　The plan was a good one, but when it came time, I was big with Denver. So we changed it a little.

　　A little. Just enough to butter Halle's face, so Paul D tells me, and make Sixo laugh at last. But Igot you out, baby. And the boys too. When the signal for the train come, you all was the only onesready. I couldn't find Halle or nobody. I didn't know Sixo was burned up and Paul D dressed in acollar you wouldn't believe. Not till later. So I sent you all to the wagon with the woman whowaited in the corn. Ha ha. No notebook for my babies and no measuring string neither. What I hadto get through later I got through because of you. Passed right by ............