Competition in Cunning
- Linda decides to write Dr. Flint a letter from New York, in order to convince him that she is living up north.
- She really does her research, asking her friend Peter for a New York newspaper to get the names of New York streets.
- Using the paper, Linda writes two letters, one to Dr. Flint and one to Aunt Martha. She claims that she lives in Boston but often visits New York.
- A sailor friend of Peter’s takes the letters to New York and mails them back to Edenton.
- Dr. Flint falls for the trick. He writes to the mayor of Boston to ask if he has seen anyone who meets Linda’s description.
- Since obviously the mayor of Boston has nothing more important to do than wander the streets looking for an escaped slave.
- Since the trick seems to have worked, Aunt Martha allows Linda out of the crawlspace every once in a while.
- Linda worries that she's going to be permanently crippled from her teeny living quarters.