?"

"He could claim her and bring her before the United States Court,"
replied Mr. Percival; "but I doubt whether he _would_ do it. To claim
such a girl as _that_ for a slave, would excite general sympathy
and indignation, and put too much ammunition into the hands of us
Abolitionists. Besides, no court in the Free States could help
deciding that, if he sent her to Nassau, she became free. If he should
discover her whereabouts, I shouldn't wonder if attempts were made to
kidnap her; for men of his character are very unscrupulous, and there
are plenty of caitiffs in Boston ready to do any bidding of their
Southern masters. If she were conveyed to the South, though the courts
_ought_ to decide she was free, it is doubtful whether they _would_ do
it; for, like Achilles, they scorn the idea that laws were made for
such as they."

"If I were certain that Mr. Fitzgerald knew of her being here, or
that he even suspected it," said Mrs. Delano, "I would at once
take measures to settle the question by private purchase; but the
presumption is that he and the sister suppose Flora to be dead, and
her escape cannot be made known without betraying the cause of it.
Flora has a great dread of disturbing her sister's happiness, and she
thinks that, now she is away, all will go well. Another difficulty is,
that, while the unfortunate lady believes herself to be his lawful
wife, she is really his slave, and if she should offend him in any way
he could sell her. It troubles me that I cannot discover any mode of
ascertaining whether he deserts her or not. He keeps her hidden in the
woods in that lonely island, where her existence is unknown, except to
a few of his negro slaves. The only white friends she seems to have in
the world are her music teacher and French teacher in New Orleans. Mr.
Fitzgerald has impressed it upon their minds that the creditors of her
father will prosecute him, and challenge him, if they discover that he
first conveyed the girls away and then bought them at reduced prices.
Therefore, if I should send an agent to New Orleans at any time to
obtain tidings of the sister, those cautious friends would doubtless
consider it a trap of the creditors, and would be very secretive."

"It is a tangled skein to unravel," rejoined Mr. Percival. "I do
not see how anything can be done for the sister, under present
circumstances."

"I feel undecided what course to pursue with regard to my adopted
daughter," said Mrs. Delano. "E