Chapter 26 Summary

This chapter begins with an unconventional fugitive slave bulletin, dated December 23. It describes Cora and concludes with the assertion that she has stopped running, that the bounty for her “remains unclaimed,” and that “[s]he was never property” (304).

Cora is forced to lead Ridgeway and Homer to the ghost station after her capture. She divulges its location after the slave catcher holds a pistol to her eye.

The narrative moves back to a sequential recounting of the events of the ambush. Ridgeway drags Cora to his wagon. Cora sees that his hair has gone completely gray, and his skin sallow. His speech has lost its commanding authority.

Cora wonders why she had held Royal off for so long. She adds their relationship to her long list of things in her life that were terminated unexpectedly and brutally. She tells herself that he must have known that she loved him, even if she never said it.

Ridgeway tells Cora that she is going home, but not before she shows him the Underground Railroad. By the time they enter the doleful old house, Homer has changed back into his suit and stovepipe hat.