Preparations for Escape
- Linda has now lived in the crawlspace for seven years, and her mobility is seriously starting to suffer.
- Linda tells the story of her friend Fanny, who ran away from the auction-block months ago. She has been staying in her mother Aggie’s hut.
- Aggie’s hut is owned by Aunt Martha, and is on her land, so Linda and Fanny are both in hiding pretty close to one another.
- One day, Linda’s friend Peter tells her that there's a hiding place in a boat with her name on it.
- Linda is afraid to leave her son Benny behind where Dr. Flint can get him. (Wait, wasn't Benny supposed to be going North with Uncle Phillip?) But eventually she agrees to go.
- And then, a fugitive slave is brutally murdered, and Aunt Martha freaks out. She begs Linda not to run away.
- Linda agrees. She tells Peter to take Fanny, instead.
- The next day, Aunt Martha has just let Linda into the storeroom to stretch her legs, when a black maid named Jenny walks in.
- Linda quickly hides, but she's convinced that Jenny has seen her and is going to rat her out.
- She asks Peter if the offer still stands. It does.
- Before Linda leaves, she meets with Benny and tells him that she loves him.