The answer to this question can be found in chapter 17 ("The Flight") of Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. Dr. Flint and his wife are absolutely furious when they find out that Linda has escaped. As a result, they do three different things. First, they search Linda's grandmother's house "from top to bottom." Of course, Dr. Flint thinks that Linda is hiding there. Linda is smart enough to know not to take that particular action at first. (The irony is that, after Linda spends some time hiding in Betty's house, she does move to her tiny "loophole retreat" in her grandmother's attic which has already been searched and, therefore, is safe.) Next, the Flints take out an advertisement for a runaway slave which is "posted on every corner." This ad offers a "$300 REWARD" for Linda's return to the Flints. Finally, when this fails to bring Linda back to them, they put Linda's brother and Linda's children in jail. Of course, Linda learns of this from her space "above the stairs" at Betty's house and is never returned to the Flint plantation.
No comments:
Post a Comment