In Chapter 8, on her way to the sawmill along Decatur Road, Scarlett runs into Big Sam, who used
to work at Tara and who is hiding since he had killed a Yankee soldier. She promises to help him escape. Scarlett
is attacked by two men who try to mug her and Big
Sam helps her escape. Safe at Melanie’s place, Scarlett is shocked to learn that both Ashley and Frank are with the Klan, meeting nightly at the old Sullivan plantation, and that the Yankee Soldiers are looking for them. Rhett Butler brings Ashley and other men back home. They all pretend to be drunk and to have been at Belle Watling’s house. When the soldiers leave Melanie’s place, Rhett confesses
to Scarlett that Ashley has actually been injured at the Sullivan Plantation and that Frank has been shot dead.