Roots: The Saga of an American Family Chapters 106-110 Summary

Let's go back in time several months.
Massa Murray tells Tom that he's been hired to work on "decorative window grills" for Edwin Holt, a local plantation owner (106.2).
While he's there, he sees a pretty girl working in the house and says hello. She does the same. He doesn't see her again that day, but can't stop obsessing about her.
The Holt family is blown away by Tom's craftsmanship when he installs the grills. He can't think of anything but his crush, though.
And he finally sees her, about three windows in. Her name is Irene; her father was an Indian and her mother was a runaway slave.
They start hanging out a bunch. Tom has reservations—he doesn't like how glowingly she talks about her owners—but dude is so head over heels that it's not even funny.
One day, Tom and Irene are talking indirectly about marriage when she claims that she can convince Massa and Missis Holt to sell her whenever she wants.
And with that, they're pretty much engaged.

Missis Holt rushes over as soon as she hears Irene collapse. After being prodded, Irene says that she's been trying to "resist her regular pursuit" by a few white friends of the family (107.2).
That night, Massa and Missis Holt decide that Irene should be sold immediately to Massa Murray. Clever girl.
The wedding is held at the Murray plantation. In the weeks following, Tom is in a better mood than he probably ever has been in his life.
At his smithy, Tom has been hearing rumblings about a white man from up North named Abraham Lincoln who's talking about freeing the slaves. There are even rumors of war.
Irene gets in the family's good graces by weaving them a bunch of clothes. Soon after, those graces get even better when Irene reveals that she's pregnant.
She also helps Matilda trick Li'l Kizzy into falling in love with a dude named Amos. Those are skills.
Meanwhile, the town is abuzz with talk of some crazy new inventions. There's this thing-a-ma-bob called a telegraph, and another called a railroad. Curious.

Chicken George is horrified by the sight of the "barren" Lea farm (108.1). As he rides through the fields, he sees Miss Malizy, but she looks so old and tired he hardly recognizes her.
Miss Malizy tells him that the family was sold and, sadly, Kizzy has died. In fact, so have Sister Sarah and Missis Lea too.
Impulsively, George rushes towards the house, shouting for Massa Lea. When Massa Lea sees him, he's so excited that he tries to hug George, which is way out of character for him.
Massa Lea uncorks a bottle of booze and shares it with George. After some prodding, Massa Lea reveals that he sold the family, though he clearly doesn't want to give George his freedom.
George starts actively getting Massa Lea drunk, playing along with the old man's reminiscing. Before long, however, Massa Lea gets so drunk that he passes out.
As soon as he does, George tears apart his room looking for the "strongbox" where Massa Lea keeps his documents (108.96).
He grabs a paper that looks like the one he remembers and rushes off on his horse.

Irene has never met Chicken George, but she knows it's him approaching in the distance just based on his "flowing green scarf and [...] black derby" (109.1).
The whole family gathers and George relays what he saw on the Lea farm. He also tells them a bit about his experiences gamecocking in jolly old England.
By the way, the paper Chicken George grabbed only grants him his freedom, not the rest of the family. That's such a bummer.
Because Chicken George is now free, people start treating him differently around town, especially white folks.
One day, Tom and Chicken George roll into town to buy some animal feed. They end up in a shop owned by "a former county sheriff named J.D. Cates" (109.69).
Cates demands that Tom get him some water, and Tom has no choice to comply. Chicken George shows off his freedom papers when Cates tries that nonsense on him, however.
Irritated but smiling, Cates mumbles something about the law and says that he's going to be visiting the Murray farm later.
After dinner that night, Massa Murray tells George that Cates explained certain legal regulations to him. Basically, free blacks are only allowed to remain in North Carolina for sixty days before they will be re-enslaved.
Massa Murray offers to buy George (oh, what a nice guy) and George considers it for a second, but Matilda smacks the idea down. Someone in this family deserves to be free.
Like a cowboy riding off into the sunset, Chicken George is forced to leave his family once again.

It's now November of 1860. Irene has given birth to her and Tom's first daughter, Maria, and she's now pregnant again.
Tensions between the North and the South are rising, especially because that Lincoln guy might actually have a chance of becoming president. Imagine that.
Based on the talk he's hearing around the shop, Tom is concerned that a war might actually break out. There's one bright side, however: this war could result in slaves' freedom.
In the beginning of 1861, a group of Southern states break apart from the United States and form "a Confederacy [...] headed by their own president" (110.30).
While many local aristocrats are opposed to the war, Massa Murray included, North Carolina joins the Confederacy soon after.
Then, on April 12, 1861, the family sees a massive commotion in town. Tom sneaks off to see what's happening.
He learns that there was a battle between Northerners and Southerners at "Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor" (110.32). To make a long story short, the Civil War has begun.