For several months, Douglass was at "the beck and call of about seventy-five men," continually running errands for them. He might have stayed longer had it not been for a fight he had with his fellow white workers. The white carpenters were worried that free black men and slaves might become so proficient that they might eventually take their jobs away. One day, Douglass' fellow white apprentices started heckling and striking him. Because Douglass had promised himself after the Covey incident that he would fight back if physically mistreated, he struck back, and the ensuing fight nearly turned into a mob scene. Douglass was badly beaten and feared being lynched. In the end, however, he managed to escape.
Returning to Hugh Auld, he found his master and mistress surprisingly very kind to him. After taking care of his wounds, Auld took him down to Gardner to lodge a complaint. None of the white workers would testify on his behalf, though, and the words of black workers meant nothing.
Master Hugh didn't let him work with Gardner again; instead, he sent Douglass to work in the shipyard where he was foreman. Douglass took up the task of caulking (waterproofing boats) and soon became a skilled worker. In time, he started earning wages equal to the most skilled caulkers. All of his salary went to Hugh Auld, though, and this injustice made him more determined than ever to escape.
