In chapter 5, Mistress Cutler goes to Boston to sell maple sugar, and Lyddie decides to go home to see her family. She stops at the mill to see Charlie and finds out that he is at school. That upsets her, and she resents the family that has taken Charlie in. When she arrives at her family's farm, there is a strange man inside the house. He is the first black person Lyddie has ever seen.

In chapter 6, Lyddie learns that the stranger's name is Ezekial Abernathy and that he is a runaway slave. He tells her his story, and she realizes that they are alike in their desire for freedom. As she is leaving, she impulsively gives him the calf money she has been saving. After she returns to the tavern, Lyddie has to face new challenges when she is fired. She decides to go to the town of Lowell to get a job in a factory.