CHAPTER 1

It was the month of February. A late afternoon sun shone into the living room of a house in Kentucky. Two men sat at
a table drinking wine. One was obviously a gentleman, well-dressed and dignified. The other was a short, fat man,
with rough, commonplace features, dressed in brightly-coloured clothes which fitted him badly.

They seemed to be arguing about some bargain, trying to reach some sort of agreement. “Tom is an excellent fellow,
Haley”, Shelby, the well-dressed gentleman, was saying. “You could trust him anywhere. Why, last autumn I sent him
to Cincinnati to complete some work for me and bring back five hundred dollars, and he came back, having done all
that I wanted. You should let him cover the whole balance of the debt—and you would, Haley, if you had any
conscience”.

“Well, I have just as much consicence as any man in business can have,” laughed Haley, “and I am ready to help my
friends. But I would lose too much in this bargain. Don't you have a little boy or girl you can sell, in addition to Tom?”

“None that I can spare,” said Haley, in an unhappy voice. “l don't like parting with any of my servants, and would not
do it now, but for hard necessity.”

At that moment the door apened, and a little Negro boy, four or five years old, ran into the room. He was a handsome
child, with large, dark, expressive eyes, and a round dimpled face framed by silky, black curls.

“Hello, Harry!” said Shelby, throwing a bunch of grapes towards him, “Pick that up now.”

The boy ran after the prize while his master laughed.

“Come here, Harry, and show this gentleman how you can dance and sing.”

The boy at once began a wild, energetic Negro dance, singing all the time in a lovely, clear voice, his dance in perfect
tune to the music. Both the watching men laughed delightedly. Suddenly Haley clapped his hand on Shelby's shoulder
and exclaimed, “Tell you what! Sell me this little chap and Tom, and l will settle the whole business of the debt.”

Mr. Shelby's reply was interrupted by the entrance of a young quadroon woman of about 25 years. One could see at a
glance that she was the little boy's mother. She had the same beautiful eyes and silky, black hair. She was slender, and
dressed neatly and modestly.

“Well, Eliza?” said her master, as she stopped and looked hesitantly at him.

“I was looking for Harry, please sir,” She said and the boy ran to her.

“Well, take him away, then” said Mr. Shelby, impatiently, and Eliza left hurriedly, holding her son close to her.

As soon as she had left, Haley turned to Shelby.

“Well, you will let me have the boy, won't you?” he demanded.

“What on earth can you want with the child?” asked Shelby.

“Well, I have a friend in this trade,” smiled Haley. ‘He wants to buy up handsome boys to sell in the market. They are
sold as attendants and waiters, to rich folks. It rasises their prestige to have smart, handsome boys open the door to
visitors, wait on them and so on. And this little imp is such a comical, musical chap that he's just the person for it.”

“I'd rather not sell him,” said Mr. Shelby thoughtfully. “The fact is, sir, I would hate to take the boy away from his

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mother.”

“Good God! These creatures are not like white people who expect to keep their wives and children. They get over
things like partings and sufferings very quickly. Properly brought up, they learn not to expect anything from life, but
to take life as it comes.”

“Then, I am afraid I have not brought them up properly,” said Mr Shelby.

“I suppose not. You Kentucky people spoil your niggers. But, in the long run, it is not being kind to them. After all,
they could be sold to anyone at any time and if they are treated too kindly, they suffer more when they have to change
masters.”

There was a moment's pause after Haley had finished speaking. Then he turned to Mr. Shelby and said, “Well, what
do you say?”

Mr. Shelby, however, was too troubled in mind to give a definite answer.

“Come this evening between six and seven, and you shall have my answer,” he said. Haley agreed, and left the house.

Mr. Shelby sat on in the room, thinking. He was a fairly rich and successful businessman, but recently he had lost a
good deal of money. He owed a lot of money to Haley. Since he was unable to pay the man back in cash, he was
forced to sell his much-loved slave, Tom, to save his family and property.

Now Eliza had overheard part of the conversation between her master and the slave-trader Haley. She thought she
had heard the trader make an offer for her boy. The thought made her look troubled and worried when she entered her
mistress's room to help her dress.

“Why, Eliza child! What is the matter with you?” asked Mrs. Shelby.

“Oh, mistress, mistress,” cried Eliza, “there's a trader in the room with Mr. Shelby. Do you think Master would sell
my little boy to him?”

“Sell him! No, you foolish child!” replied her mistress, laughing. “You know your master never does business with
traders here. He has no intention of selling any of his servants. Why, you silly girl, who do you think would want to
buy your Harry? Really, Eliza, you are getting too proud of the little fellow. The moment a man enters the house you
think he's come to buy your son. Come now. Put up my hair in that new style you learnt the other day.”

Eliza was greatly comforted by the cheerful, confident words of Mrs. Shelby and was soon laughing at her earlier
fears.

Mrs. Shelby was an extremely good and religious woman, intelligent and efficient. But she knew only the general
kindliness of her husband, and was completely unaware of his recent gambles and losses. She really believed that
Eliza was worrying needlessly, about things that could never happen. In fact, she dismissed the matter from her mind
and busied herself with preparations for an evening visit.

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