Summary

When Chapter 18 begins, Rill is worried about sleeping upstairs with the other girls for the first time. She knows that the workers do not lock the door, and the girls say that Mr. Riggs comes in at night and takes whoever he wants. Once everyone is asleep, Rill sneaks outside to find Silas by the fence. He has cut a hole in the gate for Rill to escape. But she tells Silas that she needs to wait until Fern comes back so they can escape together. When Rill sneaks back into the house, she nearly makes it back to the room before Mr. Riggs grabs her. He holds her tight and presses his hand against her mouth so she can barely breathe. Then, a new worker calls out to Mr. Riggs, asking what he is doing upstairs at such an hour. It is...