Roots: The Saga of an American Family Chapters 91-95 Summary

George has come back to the farm and the mood is tense. There's been another slave revolt, leading Massa Lea to run off in a huff, and Missis Lea to lock herself in the house.
Kizzy is terrified of something happening to George because he's not where he's supposed to be, so she begs him to go back. George doesn't take her seriously but agrees anyway.
Kizzy's fears are justified when Massa Lea shows up at the coop with a shotgun—he heard that George had been wandering around. He rides off before doing something crazy, however.
That night, George ruminates on the fact that Massa Lea is his father. He has no idea how to feel about it, and no one to discuss it with.
Suddenly, George is struck with a hazy memory from when he was a baby of Massa Lea forcing himself on Kizzy. His mother "had never suspected" he remembered this (91.19).
Despite the travel ban, George decides to visit one of lady-friends named Charity. She freaks out when he arrives and sends him back home.
As the tension lessens over the next few months, George comes up with a clever new training regimen, building up the birds' wing strength to give them a competitive advantage.
One day, as he inspects the birds, Massa Lea casually mentions that Charity is dating another guy. What the what? How does he even know that?
Instead of worrying about that part, George becomes furious at Charity. He decides to set his sights on a "tasty-looking field girl" who works for Massa Jewett (91.54).

Uncle Mingo pitches Massa Lea an idea. He wants George to have a few birds to place into "hackfights," which are small money fights where Massa Lea made most of his money.
Massa Lea decides to give George a trial run. Based on George's ecstatic reaction, you'd have thought he won the lottery.
Cue a Rocky-style training montage. Uncle Mingo tells George that Massa Lea will give him a small percentage of the money should he win.
His first hackfight comes a few months later. Despite his excitement, George's first bird gets trounced. After a quick pep-talk, he guides the second to an easy victory, however.
Although he's bummed about his loss, George walks away with two bucks. Kizzy is super excited when she sees that.
After George pulls out a string of hackfight victories, earning some respect from Massa Lea, he becomes known by a new name: "Chicken George" (92.64).
At a major cockfight, a wealthy cockfighter named Mr. Jewett offers Massa Lea four thousand dollars for George, which is an insane sum. Lea is staggered by the offer, but refuses.
A few days later, Massa Lea tells Uncle Mingo that he can stay behind for the next cockfight, and Mingo finally realizes that he's been training his replacement.

Massa Lea and Chicken George are having a stilted conversation while they ride in the buggy. Massa Lea talks about his rough upbringing and tense relationship with his still-poor family.
As things seem to go with them, the subject strays to women. Out of nowhere, Massa Lea tells George that he will write him a "'travelin' pass'" so he can visit his lady-friends without fear of punishment (93.57).
Chicken George, flabbergasted, reveals that there's one girl he has his eye on named Matilda. She's super religious, so there's no dirty business, but he just can't stop thinking about marrying her.
Massa Lea thinks for a second, and then tells George that he will buy Matilda from her owner so that she and George's children can work the fields.
Dehumanizing logic aside, George is excited "beyond words," which is a first for him (93.88).

Chicken George and Matilda's wedding is held in "August of 1827" (94.1). As soon as the day begins, George starts drinking to ease his nerves.
He's pretty toasted by the time they exchange vows, and makes a minor fool of himself, but consider that broom jumped and that knot tied.
He even stumbles as he brings her inside his hut, but any disappointment on Matilda's part evaporates as soon as she sees the wedding present he made for her: an "eight-day-winding grandfather clock" (94.16).

Chicken George has to head back to work the next morning, so Matilda stays behind and meets the gang. We learn that her "first massa" was a preacher, which is why she's so religious (95.9).
Two months later, she's pregnant. Kizzy is so excited about the news that she immediately tells Matilda the family story of Kunta.
The child is born in the spring of 1828 and they name him Virgil. Chicken George takes his turn telling the family tale as soon as he's born.
Although Chicken George's always travelling (and getting up to no good, it seems) he always comes home with enthusiasm and plenty of gifts.
Matilda has some "doubts and disappointments" about her husband, but she loves him a lot (95.58). Kizzy is unafraid to call him out for acting wild, however.
George is at a big cockfight tournament when his next son is born. Matilda names him Ashford.