"Mitchell?" questioned Miz Thomas. "Well, suh, he's out in them woods yonder choppin' wood for the fire."
Hammond nodded. "Whereabout?"
"North yonder . . . by the creek."
"All right," said Hammond. "We'll find him."
We turned to go, but then Miz Thomas said, "That Mitchell, he done somethin'? He in trouble?"
"We just want to talk to him, Edna," Hammond assured her. Still, though, as we rode away, I saw Miz Thomas frown, and young as I was, I knew she was worried. She was worried because my brothers had come. My brothers had come asking about Mitchell, and my brothers were white.
Which character’s reactions best reflect the post–Civil War historical context of this excerpt?