and to make plans to free his slaves. He gave Topsy to Miss Ophelia legally. Then one evening he tried to separate quarreling men. He received a knife in the side and died a short time later. Mrs. St. Clare had no intentions to free the slaves. She ordered Tom sent to the slave market. At auction Tom was sold to a brutal owner named Simon Legree. For weeks, Tom tried to please his harsh master. One day, he helped a sick woman by putting cotton in her basket. For this act, Tom was ordered to flog the woman. When Tom refused, his master flogged Tom till he fainted. A slave named Cassy came to Tom’s aid. Meanwhile, far to the north, George, Eliza, and young harry were slowly making their way through the stations of the underground railway to Canada.Cassy and Emmeline, another slave, were determined to make their escape. Knowing the consequences if they get caught, they trick Legree into thinking they were hiding in the swamp. When Legree sent the dogs and men after them, they sneaked back into the house and hid in the attic. Legree suspected that Tom knew where the women were hiding and decided to beat the truth out of Tom. He had Tom beaten till he could neither speak nor stand. Two days later, George Shelby arrived to buy Tom back, but he was too late. When George threatened to have Legree tried for murder, Legree mocked him. George struck Legree in the face and knocked him down. Still hiding in the attic, Cassy and Emmeline pretended they were ghosts. Frightened Legree drank harder than ever. George Shelby helped them to escape. Later, on the riverboat headed north, the two women found a lady named Madame de Thoux, who said she was George Harris’ sister. With this disclosure, Cassy also learned that Eliza, her daughter who had been sold years before, was the Eliza who had married George and, with him and her child, had escaped safely to Canada. These relatives were reunited in Canada after many years. In ...
