In Chapter 9, the focus shifts from the plantation school to the county jail as Grant and Miss Emma, for the first time, are able to talk to the captive Jefferson. In Chapter 10, we find Grant and Miss Emma going through the by-now familiar ritual at the courthouse: The deputy searches Miss Emma's basket of food and examines the contents of Grant's pockets, then leads them past the other inmates to Jefferson's cell. As before, Jefferson is sullen and unresponsive, and Miss Emma leaves in tears, asking the deputy to distribute the leftover food among the other inmates.
The next time Grant stops by to pick up Miss Emma, she insists that she is too sick to travel. Ignoring his protests, Tante Lou and Miss Emma persuade Grant to visit Jefferson alone; they then send him on his way with a bag that — in Grant's opinion — contains enough food to feed everyone at the jail.
