The men looked at one another.
“There’s houses of a certain kind. There’s one round the bend; that’s the nearest. But if I were you I wouldn’t go any farther. There’s a good deal of reckless shooting in these woods, miss, and the people ain’t very hospitable except with bullets.”
“You aren’t afraid!” said Elizabeth.
“No, but that’s different.” The speaker scratched his head seeking a reason for the difference. “You see they know we ain’t spyin’ on ’em, and ain’t likely to give any information against ’em. You see there ain’t no women goes in here but a nurse sometimes, and she ain’t afraid of nothing.”
“Are there women living in there?”
“Oh, yes.”
“If you call them women,” said a second voice. “There’s an old one in the first house.”
“I’ll walk that far,” said Elizabeth. “You’ll be working right here, will you?”
“Yes, miss.”
She knew that the men did not begin to work as long as she was in sight. Suddenly one of them ran after her.