A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court Chapter 34 Summary

The Yankee and the King Sold as Slaves

  • The king brings up the subject of agriculture, but bombs on the delivery, and ends up sounding like a crazy person and raising the suspicions of the other party guests.
  • The party responds by attacking, and Hank the Yank and Arthur flee and hide themselves in a tree.
  • The mob arrives and one of their pursuers begins climbing the tree; Arthur knocks him down, but now their position is revealed.
  • Arthur fights off the mob members as they climb the tree. They respond first by throwing stones, then by building a bonfire under the tree.
  • The Yankee and Arthur jump down and begin fighting their pursuers, but ultimate get rescued by a nobleman on horseback. Huzzah.
  • Oh wait—cancel the huzzahs. The nobleman leads them to the band of shackled slaves the Yankee encountered on the way to the fountain, and the duo find themselves manacled and placed with the other slaves.
  • They protest that they are free men, but have no proof… making them slaves according to Arthur's own laws.
  • Arthur tries to reveal his true identity, but the Yankee swiftly silences him, thinking their captors will believe them mad and remembering the zany mayhem that ensued last time that happened (you know, at the beginning of the chapter).
  • They are sold at a slave auction and led away in a procession of fellow slaves.