Unnamed Men Who Hunt Architect

When in Absalom! Sutpen realizes that the French architect has run away, he sends word to General Compson "and some others" in town; these "others" are the "guests" who are invited to witness or take part in the "race" to recapture the runaway, as if it were an entertainment (177, 178, 206). Compson brings champagne, "and some of the others brought whiskey" (178). They are wealthy enough to ride horses. In Sutpen's mind, these men will expect him to track the man with dogs (178). The narrative does not provide access to their thoughts; presumably many are the same men who come to Sutpen's Hundred to hunt game animals, but their apparent familiarity with the ritual of hunting a person may imply their previous experience of pursuing runaway slaves - although no scene of chasing a runaway slave appears in the novel. When the pursuit carries over into a second day, three of the original group don't come back, but "the ones that returned brought others, so there were more of them now than when the race started" (206).