Thomas J. Scott (3)–Ten Broeck’s Jarret Summary
Thomas J. Scott (3)
Scott has difficulty working after Darley’s victory. Jarret does not notice. He is focused on the horse. Scott, however, keeps thinking about what he has overheard between Dr. Warfield, Ten Broeck, and Willa Viley. He reflects on Ten Broeck and how difficult it is to read the man, who looks like a “classics professor” but is a former riverboat gambler with a checkered past and a West Point scandal.
Scott recalls what he heard after dinner. Ten Broeck and Viley offer to buy Darley. Dr. Warfield declines, but Viley reminds the doctor of his age and fragile health. Dr. Warfield remarks that Harry actually owns the horse, but Viley and Ten Broeck note that such an arrangement goes against the rules of the Kentucky Association. If word got out, the doctor’s reputation could be ruined, and severe, even violent, consequences might result. Tan Broeck and Viley offer $2,500 for the horse and another $2,500 if he wins the Post Stakes. Scott catches a glimpse of Mary Barr listening to the conversation.
Warfield’s Jarret (6)
Mary Barr comes to Jarret in the stable the next morning to warn him that Ten Broeck wants to buy Darley. Jarret cannot believe it at first, but Mary Barr explains the situation and the rules of the track. Jarrett goes to Harry, who controls himself and tells his son that they have no choice. Jarret is angry at the thought of losing Darley and does not understand his father’s apparent calm. Harry, however, is realistic, and he knows that he has no legal right to the horse, the winnings, or even his own son.
Jarret finds comfort in Darley, who is now so well-trained that he responds to Jarret’s every command. Jarret suspects that Scott knows about the deal, and his anger rises again. He begins to consider what Scott said about riding off to freedom on a fast horse, and he recalls the one time he was thrown. His feelings of disorientation and pain are similar now. Yet he does not know how he could practically ride Darley across the river to freedom.
Scott, also agitated, decides to quit for the day. Jarret goes to Harry to tell him he will spend the night at the stable. He cannot sleep. Then Mary Barr arrives, startling both Darley and Jarret. She has guessed that Jarret is thinking about running away, and she has come to warn him against it. The river is eighty miles away. Jarret suggests that she write him a pass, but Mary Barr is focused on the danger. Jarret tells her he “might as well be dead . . . if this is how living gone be.” That afternoon, Mary Barr creates a diversion, and Jarrett and Darley start out on their journey north.
Mary Barr Clay
Back at home, Marry Barr sneaks up to her room. She is dirty and exhausted and worried. But she does not fool her father, who comes up to speak with her. Clay quickly figures out what has happened and decides that they must act to save Jarret. Darley is a fine horse and will be noticed wherever he goes. Clay insists that his daughter come with him to help rectify what she has done and because she is the only one who may be able to convince Jarret to return.
The two set out to the turnpike, where they stop to wait in a place Jarret is likely to cross. Then Ten Broeck arrives. He has learned about Jarret’s plan and Mary Barr’s involvement. Clay tries to downplay their presence, but...
(This entire section contains 1248 words.)
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Ten Broeck suggests that since they both have the same motive, they should join forces. Ten Broeck reveals that he intends to buy Jarret so that the boy can continue to train Darley. Clay ascertains that Ten Broeck will not mistreat the boy, and when he is satisfied, he convinces Mary Barr that cooperating with Ten Broeck is the best thing to do. He also convinces Ten Broeck that he and his daughter should be the ones to talk to Jarret. Ten Broeck agrees and leaves.
Theo (4)
Theo is at the Smithsonian Museum Support Center, where Jeremy Raines, a conservationist, meets him to examine the horse painting. Theo watches Raines’s method and takes notes, for he is preparing another article. Raines finds the name “Lexington” and thinks it refers to the city.
Jess enters the lab and notes that the painting is similar to the ones she has been examining. She wonders if, under the dirt, the horse in this painting also has four white feet.
At Raines’s suggestion, Jess takes Theo to her lab for a tour. She shows him the horse’s skeleton, noting that she will rearticulate it according to the paintings. She also lets Theo see the reproductions she’s been examining, and he asks if he can come with her on Saturday to see one of the originals. The two grab coffee and discuss their pasts, travel, and families.
When Theo and Jess return to Raines’s lab, they notice that the horse does indeed have four white feet. Raines has also discovered the artist’s name: Thomas J. Scott. He tells Theo and Jess about Troye and Scott, and Theo has an inspiration for his PhD thesis. Jess adds that “Lexington” is not the name of the city but of the horse.
Ten Broeck’s Jarret
Ten Broeck and Jarret are traveling to Natchez, Mississippi. Darley had won his second race, and Harry refused to share the winnings with the horse’s new owners. Instead, Harry has sent the money with Jarret.
On board ship, Jarret learns that Darley has been renamed Lexington. Ten Broeck tells him about William Johnson, a Black barber and successful businessman in Natchez. When Jarret and Ten Broeck go to the barbershop, Johnson suggests a tailor for new clothes for Jarret. He also expresses surprise that Ten Broeck has arranged for Pryor to train Lexington. Someone mentions that Pryor does not like to share the limelight, and Jarret does not like the sound of that.
Ten Broeck explains that the Fatherland, where Jarret and Lexington will stay, is owned by Bingaman, who does not live there but in New Orleans. He tells Jarret to ride out in the morning and to simply do his work and pay attention to the horse.
The messenger Ben rides with Jarret the next day, and they avoid the Forks, where enslaved people are kept in pens and there is a danger of being kidnapped. Jarret is surprised by the size of the Fatherland. Pryor dismisses Jarret and takes Lexington. The horse protests, and Jarret calms him, but Pryor sends the boy away. Jarret asks Ben to take a message to Johnson for Ten Broeck and then is assigned to help Gem in the smithy. He works and learns what life is like for the enslaved people at the Fatherland. Stable hand Henry updates Jarret on Lexington, and Jarret settles into a routine, still yearning for his horse. No word comes from Ten Broeck, and Jarret is sent into the fields to pick cotton and punished by the overseer for his slowness.
Jarret discovers worship at the Fatherland and appreciates Uncle Jack’s preaching about Job. He also develops an understanding about what his father and others have suffered and about the endurance of the enslaved people. He feels spiritually renewed even in this horrible situation. He is growing up.
