They hardly knew what to do
with themselves until bed time came. They spent an hour in talking
over their plans, then went into the house and played checkers, and
were glad indeed when the hour for retiring arrived. They made a show
of going to bed, but they removed nothing but their boots, which they
slammed down on the floor with more noise than usual. They heard the
clock in the kitchen strike every hour, and when it struck twelve
they began to bestir themselves.
Bob's room being located on the first floor, in one of the wings of
the house, it was a matter of no difficulty for him and his companion
to leave it without arousing any of the family. All they had to do
was to open one of the windows, drop to the ground, pull on their
boots and be off; and this they did in about the same time that it
takes to tell it. They picked up their meal bags as they passed along
the fence, and in half an hour more were inside General Gordon's
fence, and moving cautiously along the lane that led toward the negro
quarters. A few steps brought them into the midst of the cabins,
which were as dark and silent as though they had been deserted. Some
of them were deserted, while others were occupied by the field hands.
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