"Don't you go to church?" inquired Forrester.
"Not the church these niggers around here go to," she sneered. "I worship in my own way."
Forrester did not venture to question her further on this point, for he had read enough regarding the Voodoo worship to know that they were extremely reticent in describing their ceremonies. The possession of the snakes suggested to Forrester that this woman might even be a priestess of the sect, because he remembered having read that only the priests and priestesses were accustomed to using snakes in their ceremonies. Another thought came to Forrester at this moment, which gave him a decided start. Voodoo worshippers had been known to demand human sacrifices! Was he, after all, actually discovering clues which the detectives had overlooked?
"Well," he went on, again addressing the negress, "if there are ghosts instead of men hanging around that tree, perhaps you can tell me something about what they do. I'm sure this is going to make a most interesting story for my paper."
"I have never seen anything," explained Lucy, "but sometimes when I come home late at night I hear things."
"Such as—" suggested Forrester.
"Oh, groans and sighs—rattling chains—and sometimes the sound of a bell."
This was positive confirmation of Green's story, and Forrester pondered before asking his next question. He remembered Joshua's assertion that he had plainly heard words, so he asked:
"Do you ever hear voices saying anything?"
"Nothing distinctly. Just sighs and groans and sounds like that, as if somebody were in trouble."