Elijah of Buxton

Elijah heads to the stable alone, prepping his rocks for the bear-fighting dog. He knocks the dog unconscious with a perfect throw. Inside the stable, Elijah smells a strange odor he can’t quite place. When his eyes adjust to the dim light, he sees the Preacher standing at the stable’s far end. The Preacher is not moving; before Elijah can figure out what’s wrong, he sees “dark bundles or sacks up ’gainst the lefthand side of the stable” (293).

When the “sacks” move, he thinks they are ghosts. Then one of the shapes speaks, wondering if Elijah is a “haint.” Elijah sees that the five shapes are chained slaves: a woman with a baby girl; a man, Kamau, who is the baby’s father; two more men; and a boy a bit younger than Elijah. The woman tells Elijah that Kamau and the others are “full-blood Africans” (302). Kamau’s English is minimal, and the other men and the boy don’t speak English. Elijah brings water to the woman, who gives some to the baby. Elijah must give water to the others himself because of the chains on their wrists.

Elijah brings out the pistol and explains his mission, but the woman tells him the Preacher is dead.