Chapter 9 Summary

The steamship Sultana is like a plush hotel afloat. Flashy's cover story is that he is a former blackbirder now trading slaves on the river. Randolph is chained in the midst of six supposed slaves, all Crixus employees. Flashy, going by the name of James K. Prescott, does his best to look like Simon Legree. The slaves are stowed in steerage on the main deck, while Flashy enjoys a stateroom on the "Texas" (third) deck. He is to deliver the coffle to Caleb Cape in Cincinnati and thereafter be free. On the first night, despite Crixus' pleadings, Rudolph protests the food they are given and later demands of the slave overseer straw for bedding. Flashy is summoned, after a rich meal and the services of an energetic prostitute, to deal with the overseer. Flashy insists that Rudolph for both their sakes play his...