Summary

Chapter 16 begins as William realizes that his flute is the only object that still connects him to Frye. He thinks of his mother, Tilly. She was small, and she loved to sing and play the tambourine. She fell in love with another enslaved man named Isaiah. William was born, and Master Righter was getting more and more filled with rage. Isaiah wished to escape because Righter had too much debt, and he was likely to sell some slaves. Isaiah whispers this to Tilly in Gullah one night. Tilly knows she cannot escape with a baby. She tells Isaiah that he can escape while they sing at the praise house. She will sing loudly enough to cover his escape.

During the escape, only Ol’ Abraham knows what is happening, and he, too, creates more noise. Isaiah escapes. The overseer says that it was Tilly...