Chains Chapter 3 Summary

Monday, May 27, 1776

  • Apparently, slaves are so considered to be property that they are allowed no possessions of their own. Robert takes the girls back to Miss Mary's to gather their blankets and shoes, believing that having these items will help them fetch a better price. They must leave everything else behind, including Ruth's doll and items that belonged to their parents; Isabel, however, cheats on this rule and takes a pocketful of Momma's seeds from a jar
  • They travel to a tavern in Newport where Ruth and Isabel will be auctioned off. The owner's wife, Jenny, takes the sisters to the kitchen and gives them food. She tells them that she was a close friend of Momma's, and Isabel begs Jenny to buy her and Ruth, but Jenny says she cannot. 
  • Isabel and Ruth are sold on the front steps of the tavern to Elihu and Anne Lockton, a merchant and his wife from New York. 
  • At the last minute, Jenny surprises everyone by saying that she will buy the girls. Just to spite Jenny, Madam Lockton asks her husband if they can increase their offer for the girls, then asks if Jenny is able to offer more. 
  • Jenny goes back into the kitchen, and the Locktons take Isabel and Ruth aboard the ship to their new home.