Chapter 4 begins by telling the reader more
about how grueling a time thatis having while working in the tavern. Mrs. Cutler is a cruel
task master and Lyddie is afraid of her and disappointing her as well.
The first few nights Lyddie was fearful that she would not wake up
early enough in her windowless room and slept on the hearth all night, so as to be sure to be
the first up in the morning.
That's rough. Lyddie must
be the first up to light the fires, and I am sure that she is one of the last to go to bed.
Then on top of that, she isn't even sleeping in a bed. She's sleeping on a hearth.
Lyddie's attention to detail and hard working ethic earn her the respect of Triphena.
Soon into the chapter, Triphena tells Lyddie a story about two frogs that fell into a pail of
milk. One of the frogs "drowned right off." The other frog kept kicking and kicking
until the milk turned to butter, and the frog could easily float on it. Triphena's story is
meant to point out that Lyddie is like that frog. She'll keep kicking and working until
something good happens.
Autumn eventually comes and with the darkening days
comes Lyddie's darkening mood. She begins to really miss her family. Charlie does come for a
brief visit, but it does little to lighten her overall mood. In order to combat the depression,
Lyddie throws herself into her work.
It's during this time that Lyddie
overhears conversations about runaway slaves and the reward money that is offered for turning
them in. The money offered is significant and Lyddie daydreams a bit of what she would do with
it.
Would they really give you a hundred dollars for
turning in a runaway slave? Surely, with that much money, she could pay off her father's debts
and go back home.
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