Mary found a spot in the orchard about two rows over where she could keep eyes and ears on the men as Mr. Wright walked slowly up to see them. He, too, had taken his time after Mary had found him, and now, he sauntered slowly into the orchard from the field he had been in previously. Shouldn’t the runaway men have moved on before this? Mary had to know what would happen now.

William had been with Tom when Mary brought him the news of the catchers. William had turned to Tom and said, “Remember, go to our friends in Philadelphia. I will try to direct these men toward Harrisburg.” Tom had set out to find the other three on the property, and William had begun his slow trek to meet the catchers.

Mary had a basket with her and made as though she were picking apples. But she only moved occasionally, focused more on what Mr. Wright would say.

“Gentlemen?” Mr. Wright said as he came to a stop.

“You William Wright?”

“I am. And may I know who is asking?”

The man dismounted from his horse. The other started to do the same.

“Benjamin Custis. This here’s my brother, Arthur.”

“A pleasure, gentlemen. Are you of the Custis family? Virginia?”

The dark-haired one, the talkative guy, chuckled and said, “They’re kin.”

“This is quite an honor, then. Such an important family in our founding.”

“I’m sure we all rejoice similarly in our liberty,” said Benjamin.

William fell silent and looked at the men. Mary peered through leaves, silently praying that no harm would come to him. The men had shotguns in their packs, pistols on their hips.

“Where’s the servant girl from?” Arthur said.

“Are you looking for a girl?” said William.

Benjamin shifted his weight and looked more serious. “We’re looking for four runaways. Men. We have reason to believe that they’re here.”

“Oh?” said Mr. Wright. “What reason?”

“That’s not important,” said Arthur.

Mr. Wright shrugged. “If you would like to tie up your horses near the house, we can get them some feed, give you some breakfast, and talk about who you are looking for.” He then turned and started for the house without waiting to see whether they would follow.

Mary watched cautiously, saw the men look at each other, then grab their horses’ reigns and start to follow.

Then she heard Mr. Wright’s voice, again. “Come on, Mary,” he called. “You can sit in with us.”

Mary blushed. Her hiding place had not worked very well. She hurried back to the house and arrived well ahead of Mr. Wright. She arrived to find Mrs. Wright finishing up scrambled eggs and strips of bacon set alongside the week’s biscuits. Dishes were already piled up from others who had eaten and gone. Mary thought to help but realized it was too late to do much before the men would arrive.

Sure enough, a few moments later, she heard the whinny of a horse, looked out the window, and saw the Custis brothers tying their horses to a post near the barn, then heading toward the house.

“Mr. Wright told me to join them for breakfast,” Mary said suddenly to Mrs. Wright.

Mrs. Wright merely shrugged and said, “I’ll make you a plate.”

The door opened, and the three men shuffled in. Mr. Wright indicated to the table and said, “Sit down, please.”

The men looked around, and Mary thought they seemed cautious, uncomfortable. But they did as directed and sat on a bench across the table from Mary, and Mr. Wright joined them at the head of the table. Mrs. Wright put plates of food in front of the men, went back to the kitchen counter, and grabbed plates for Mr. Wright and Mary.

“All right, gentlemen,” said Mr. Wright, “you were looking for four men.”

“Yes, sir,” said Benjamin. “They left our plantation.”

“Were they under contract?” Mr. Wright said.

“No,” said Benjamin.

“They’re our property,” Arthur said, butting in.

“I see,” said Mr. Wright. “So you were holding them in bondage.”

“They are our property, yes,” said Benjamin. “We have legal title to them, and we have reason to believe they are here.”

Mr. Wright shrugged. “Many people from the South have come through here over the years. Usually on their way to Harrisburg or points further north. I cannot say I remember all names and faces. I am curious, though, why you think you can own people. Are you not God-fearing?”

“Of course, we are God-fearing,” said Benjamin.

“They’re led by a man named Tom. Tall,” said Arthur, “strong. He talks for them mostly.”

Benjamin gave him a look, and Arthur looked back at his plate.

“It is because we are God-fearing that we keep servants. Slavery and servants have been in existence since the beginning of mankind.”

Mary looked from man to man. They seemed not to see her at all, as though she weren’t in the room and didn’t exist.

“And you believe God wants it that way?”

“Yes and no,” said Benjamin. “He has it that way so that His people, the superior races, can school the lesser races. Maybe in time the lesser races will rise sufficiently that He permits their release.”

“You believe that God thinks some of His people are less than others?” Mr. Wright said after swallowing a bit of egg.

“I think the Bible is clear on that,” said Benjamin. “Look at Job. He had slaves, lost them during his trial, then had them all restored and more when he passed his trial.”

“He had servants, yes,” said Mr. Wright.

“What’s the difference?” said Arthur.

“And Paul gives instructions to servants on how to behave for their masters,” said Benjamin. “Why would these men of God do such things if God did not sanction their conduct?”

“Ah,” said Mr. Wright. “I am not sure that God does sanction their conduct.”

“What?” said Benjamin.

“The Hebrew scholars use the writings and the stories to debate the morality of the characters and writers. There are many things that we do not agree with . . . the Hebrew scholars and I, that is . . . but some very learned men do not believe that everything the old prophets wrote was meant to be followed or imitated.”

Mary put her fork down, her eggs half finished, the bacon barely touched.

“How do you explain the curse of Ham? How do you explain Jesus saying that a servant who knows the will of his master and does not do it shall be beaten with many stripes?”

Mr. Wright smiled wryly. “I suppose, then, Mr. Custis, that you regularly take your offerings to the tabernacle to be burned, that you have several wives and perhaps a few concubines, that you have stoned to death any person in your county who has been unfaithful to a spouse.”

“Jesus fulfilled the law,” said Arthur. “Some things were supposed to stop.”

Mr. Wright shook his head and speared another chunk of egg. “When the Lord spoke of servants not doing their masters’ will, He used a practice of the day as a spiritual metaphor and indicated that the spiritual punishment of God would be far more severe than the punishment of a master. And I hold that one of those abominations is slavery.”

Benjamin shook his head. “Well, I see that we must agree that we interpret the Bible very differently. But see here. We do not mistreat our servants. We house them, clothe them, feed them. Yes, they work hard, but they are rewarded for their labors with all the necessities of life and more. Our servants are happy and content. They profess their love for us and have said they prefer our home and land to anything you radicals up north would offer.”

Mr. Wright nodded. “Indeed. Is that what Tom said to you?”

“Now see here,” said Arthur sharply. “There are ingrates everywhere. Just look at Satan. He was the son of the morning. But he couldn’t be happy with his lot.”

“Even among horses, some are rowdy and rebellious,” said Benjamin.

Mr. Wright looked over at Mary. “Mary, do you think of yourself as a horse?”

Mary looked back at him and touched her fork but left it on her plate. “No, sir.”

“Does a horse read?” said Mr. Wright.

“No, sir.”

“Do you?”

“Yes, sir. Mrs. Wright taught me.”

“Can a horse do math?” said Mr. Wright.

“I reckon no,” said Mary.

“Do you?”

“Yes, sir. Mrs. Wright taught me.”

“Come now,” said Benjamin. “Perhaps the horse could read and do math if we taught him and if he could speak.”

Mr. Wright shook his head. “This girl can do everything intellectually that you and I can do and she can explain it to us. And you would have me believe that the beasts of the field are roughly equal to her? No, sir. She is made in the image of God, as are you and I, and the beasts are not.”

Benjamin rubbed his face, finished his last bite of food, and put his fork down. “Mr. Wright, I appreciate this conversation and your hospitality. We do not agree on these points and I believe we are following the dictates of God and our consciences while you believe you are following yours. We do both agree on the greatness of our country. And our Constitution does guarantee the rights we have to our property, and those men are our property. We’d be much obliged if you would fetch them now.”

Mr. Wright set his fork down and gave Benjamin a half smile. “Mr. Custis, we do agree on the greatness of our country, though we in this house believe it will only fulfill its promise when it repents of its original sin. You are correct in saying that the Constitution guarantees you rights to your property, and though I hate it, it does say that those four men are property. I am obliged to allow you to search my property, in accordance with our Constitution. I am not obliged to assist you.”

Benjamin sat in stunned silence for several long moments. He looked from Mr. Wright at the end of the table to Mrs. Wright working in the kitchen to Mary at the table. He seemed to be calculating something in his mind.

“I can search your property, but you will not help me nor fetch them,” he muttered.

Now, he shook his head. He looked at the table shaking his head, then he suddenly pounded the table, “Why, damn you, old man! Those men were here, and you’ve sat here filling my morning with talk and my belly with food, and all the while, they were out on the lam and they are gone now! Damn you to hell! You’ve stolen from me!”

“From us!” Arthur bellowed.

Both men jumped up and started for the door.

“Go in peace,” Mr. Wright called after them.

“The Lord do unto you as you have done unto us!” Benjamin called back.

Mary heard the jangling of stirrups and the cries of the men urging their horses to move.

She looked over at Mr. Wright and smiled at him. He shrugged his shoulders and winked at her.

***

After reading Chapter 5.2, teachers, parents, or learners may want to dive into more historical sources by visiting the Chapter 5.2 resource page. Resources for all chapters can be found at the book’s resources page. Or keep reading by going to American Crucible.