The Garies and Their Friends

The servants at Mrs. Bird’s home in Warmouth are unhappy that she has brought a Black child to live there. A maid, Betsey, and the gardener, Alfred, refuse to eat with him, although another maid, Eliza, protests. They assume that Mrs. Bird has brought him there to do chores. The gardener tells Charlie to shine his shoes. Mrs. Bird is annoyed when she returns home and sees him shining the gardener’s shoes. She chastises the staff and pointedly eats breakfast with Charlie. Then, Mrs. Bird and Charlie go to see Mrs. Bird’s friend Mr. Whately. Mrs. Bird asks Mr. Whately for his help in getting Charlie enrolled in the local academy, which is more academically rigorous than the public school. He says that it is doubtful that it will be allowed, but he agrees to ask.

Esther Ellis tells Mrs. Garie that Lizzy Stevens is dedicated to befriending Clarence and Emily Garie even though Mrs. Stevens forbids it. That evening, Mrs. Stevens tells her husband that she plans to take Lizzy out of school because of her proximity to the Garie children there. Mr. Stevens says that instead, she should get the other mothers to say that they will take their children out of the school if the Garie children are not expelled. The next day, Mrs. Stevens goes to Mrs. Kinney and then Mrs. Roth. She tells them that their children are going to school with Black children and tells them about her plan to get the Garies expelled. Then, she goes to see Miss Jordan, the teacher. Miss Jordan was unaware that Mrs. Garie is Black, and she is shocked when Mrs. Stevens tells her that the Garie children are biracial. Reluctantly, Miss Jordan agrees to expel Clarence and Emily from school that day.

Mr. Stevens tells his wife that his aunt Tabitha has died. Aunt Tabitha’s agent will be sending along some of the letters she wanted Mr. Stevens to have because he is not going to the funeral since he has a murder case to work on. Mr. Stevens is defending an Irishman named McCloskey who killed another man in a drunken bar fight. Stevens meets with McCloskey and tells him that a man named Whitticar saw him with the weapon used in the murder. Stevens says that McCloskey will have to raise $300-400 to buy off the witness. Later that day, Mr. Stevens reads Aunt Tabitha’s letters, which seem to upset him.

Later, Mr. Morton comes in. They discuss a scheme to instigate a mob to attack Black people on Tenth Street to drive them out and lower property values, buy the property, and then sell the property at higher prices once they have “re-establish[ed] order and quiet” (166). Then, Mr. Stevens asks Mr. Morton if he knows any of Mr. Garie’s relatives. Mr. Morton tells Mr. Stevens about Mr. Garie’s estranged aunt who married “an exceedingly low fellow from the North” (167). This upsets Mr. Stevens for some reason.

Mr. Stevens returns home. He learns that his daughter kissed Clarence Garie. She is reprimanded.

Mr. Stevens goes to see Whitticar. They agree that Mr. Stevens will pay $200 for Whitticar to leave town and not testify against McCloskey. Mr. Stevens also agrees to help Whitticar run for alderman, thinking to himself that if Whitticar wins the office, he will have an alderman over whom he has leverage through blackmail.

A few weeks later, Mr. Stevens meets with McCloskey, who he has been using to enact and organize the mob violence against Black people on Tenth Street after the murder charges were dismissed when Whitticar did not testify. Mr. Stevens tells McCloskey that he needs him to kill Mr. Garie for him or else Mr. Stevens will get Whitticar to testify and have the murder charges reinstated. McCloskey has no choice but to agree.

Mr. Stevens goes to a used clothing store run by Kinch’s father while Kinch is minding the shop. He buys some used clothing. While changing into the new clothes, he accidentally drops a piece of paper upon which he had written his targets for the mob. Then, Mr. Stevens goes to Whitticar’s bar, where he finds the half-drunk mob waiting for him, although McCloskey has gone home, being too drunk. He cannot find his list and decides to call off the action for that evening. Walking home, he is beaten up by some thugs who mistake him for a member of a rival gang due to the used jacket he is wearing. They put tar on his face. Then, he runs into Mr. Morton with some of his friends. Mistaking him for a Black man, they force him to jump into water and smear lime on his face. Finally, Mr. Stevens is able to make himself known to Mr. Morton, who walks him home. Mrs. Stevens can only get some of the tar off Mr. Steven’s “swollen face” (193).