Containing Love-Letters, &c.
- Squire Allworthy tells Tom to leave the house immediately—Squire Allworthy will send Tom's stuff after him.
- Tom walks off without really knowing where he is going.
- He gets far enough away from the house that he can go into hysterics in peace.
- He starts tearing at his hair and throwing his stuff around.
- Finally, he collects himself, gets up, and starts thinking seriously.
- Tom decides that it wouldn't be fair to pull Sophia into this awful situation.
- But he wants to send her a farewell letter.
- In it, he explains that it will be better for her if she forgets that he ever existed.
- Tom suddenly realizes that, among those things that he tore out of his pockets in his grief was a pocket-book with the 500 pounds that Squire Allworthy gave him before kicking him out.
- He goes back to the brook where he was weeping to try and find it.
- He meets Black George, who helps him look for it.
- That is, he pretends to help Tom look—Black George actually keeps Tom's pocket-book of money as soon as he finds it.
- But Black George does agree to pass on Tom's letter to Sophia's maid, Mrs. Honour.
- When Black George meets Mrs. Honour, he finds that she is also carrying a letter from Sophia to Tom.
- Sophia tells Tom to avoid her father, since she would hate to see Tom getting injured on her behalf.
- Tom reads the letter over and over again.
- Then, Tom heads off to a town about 5 miles away, where Squire Allworthy can send his stuff.