The Marrow of Tradition

Mr. Delamere visits Major Carteret to assert Sandy’s innocence. His protests fall on deaf ears. He tells Major Carteret that it is embarrassing when white men, “heirs of civilization” (138), debase themselves by “howling like red Indians around a human being […] roasting at the stake” (138). When Mr. Delamere expresses once again that he would as soon believe that his own grandson committed the crime, Major Carteret tells him about Tom’s expulsion from the Clarendon Club. Mr. Delamere accepts this news and sets out to find the true killer so that Major Carteret will publish a special issue of the paper clearing Sandy of his crimes.

Mr. Ellis is increasingly aware that he may have been incorrect in his identification of Sandy. Although he has the usual Southern prejudices, he comes from a Quaker family that never enslaved people, and he opposes lynching. As he thinks back to the previous night, he realizes that the man he saw the night before was the same he had seen at the cakewalk. He realizes that this man’s dancing and speech “were not Sandy’s at all, nor any negro’s” (142). However, he is afraid that if he denounces Tom, Clara will hold it against him. He runs into Mr. Delamere, who asks him outright if he knows the identity of the murderer. He resists answering, but guessing the truth, Mr. Delamere asks him to accompany him home.

In Tom’s room, Mr. Delamere finds the cork Tom used to blacken his face, as well as gold from Mrs. Ochiltree’s chest. He returns to Major Carteret to share the news. Major Carteret is at a loss: White Americans have used this incident to assert their moral superiority, and if the true identity of the murderer is revealed, they will lose the moral high ground. He urges Mr. Delamere to consider “the family honor” (149). They come to an agreement, however, and as people gather around the Morning Chronicle office, Carteret announces that the crime was not committed by Sandy but by an unknown man who fled the scene. Mr. Delamere swears under oath that his servant was with him but is disgusted with the lie. The next morning, Sandy is cleared of the crime, and those who would have lynched him the day before now cheer him. The same day, Mr. Delamere changes his will to leave $3,000 to Sandy and his estate to Dr. Miller. When he dies a few days later, Belmont fails to produce the updated will.