A Crying Shame (197 page)

Your children know their real history?” Karl asked.

Some of them. The pull of the swamp drew them back to us. We told them to return, and not to come back.”

Jon thought for a moment. They really believed he was so hard-hearted he would kill them.
Are the . . . ah ... mental defectives gone? Dead, I mean?”

Yes,” a white woman said.
Some of our sons among them.”

Well,” Jon said.
This is a rather sticky situation, to say the least.”

Stic—uh,” a young Link said. He pointed to a club on the ground.

That's very good,” Karl said.
How many of the others have some use of the English language?”

All of them that are left,” Mike said.
As you can see, none of them here are pure in bloodline. From what I can gather, the purity was first diluted about two hundred years ago. I know that from bits of pottery and jewelry I found over the years.”

You are a very good actor, Mike,” Jon said.
I must admit that.”