“Then how did this White devil find out where you were?”

Joe’s eyes grew wide at the question. Then he grinned at Denmark. “You show them the way.”

“I did not,” said Denmark. “I wore that memory net you made me, nobody find anything about you from me!”

“He no look in your head, my net make it empty in there. This devil follow your feet till he come in right behind you.”

“How do you know that?”

“I know what I know,” said Gullah Joe, for about the thousandth time since Denmark had known him. “I see him come in.”

“You’re lying,” said Denmark. “If you seed him come in you would have told me.”

“I feel him. I feel him hot eyes looking. I feel them charm dance, I feel them charm shake.”

“Then why didn’t you stop him?”

Gullah Joe grinned. “Be maybe I think he no find name-string. Be maybe I think circle keep him out.”

“Be maybe you full of shit,” said Denmark. “You didn’t know he was here till the net started popping. He probably followed you inside the circle.”

Gullah Joe thought about that. “Better us find him body.”

“So you ain’t going to admit he took you by surprise,” said Denmark testily. “You got to keep pretending you see all, you know all.”

“I no see all,” said Gullah Joe. “I see more than you.”

“Sometimes.”

“You see so good? Then you go out and use you eyes and you mouth and you ears, you find out where they be this empty White man body without no soul.”

Denmark laughed bitterly. “That be every White man I know of.”

Gullah Joe ignored his remark. “You find him, and then we make him soul go back in him.”

“You can do that?”

Gullah Joe shrugged. “Maybe.”

“So what if it doesn’t work?”

“Then he body die,” said Gullah Joe. “Body him not last long time it got no soul in.”

“What the hell did you just say?” asked Denmark. “All these slaves, they be dying without their souls?”

“Black people still got they soul!” said Joe impatiently. “Only White man put him soul out like this. Soul no come home, he body, she think she dead, she be rotting.”

“So if he don’t find his way home, his body’s going to die?”

“No, she don’t die, him body. That body rot, she turn to bone, she turn to dust, but she still be alive cause that soul, she can’t find that body no more, she never go home.”

“So he’s walking around dead already,” said Denmark. “All right then, why look for him?”

“Body rotting alive, that too slow. He do mischief.” Gullah Joe grinned and held up a huge knife. “Better us get him out of here.”

“How, by killing his body?”

“Kill?” Gullah Joe laughed. “We got to bring him body here, put she inside the circle. Soul go back in body, then he leave my house.”

“Won’t that make him stronger, to have body and soul together again?” asked Denmark. “You want him out wandering around, knowing what we got going here?”