“You were sold because you looked at a book?” “Yes’m.” She took a shaky breath and turned away. “Mammy wasn’t allowed to come see me, not even to say goodbye. I’ve often wondered what that day was like for her. A white man in a wagon come the next morning. He had two men and a woman chained in the back already. I’ll never forget the look of despair on their faces. I screamed and fought when the overseer dragged me from the barn toward the wagon. Master Hall stood on the steps of the porch watching, that same troubled look on his face. I called for him to let me stay with Mammy, promising I’d
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