Haley, frustrated by Eliza's escape, goes back to the inn, where he chances to meet his old partner, Tom Loker, accompanied by a man named Marks. Over drinks, Loker and Marks commiserate with Haley and agree that slave women's attachment to their children can be inconvenient. Haley and Loker, getting drunk, begin to argue, and Marks urges them to get back to business. He and Loker are slave-catchers; they propose to catch Eliza and Harry, give the boy to Haley, and take Eliza to New Orleans to sell (they can bribe an official to certify that Marks is her legal owner). Haley gives them $50, to be repaid if they profit as they hope from Eliza.
Meanwhile, Sam and Andy return to the Shelbys and report Eliza's escape, at which both Mr. and Mrs. Shelby are gratified. Sam and Andy then go to the kitchen, where Chloe feeds them and Sam retells the story.
In Chapter 9, the scene is the Ohio home of a state senator, Bird, and his family. The senator has come home from Columbus for a night, and his wife asks him about a law making it illegal to shelter or help a runaway slave. He admits that he voted for the law, but she tells him she will break it at her first opportunity. Their servant calls Mrs. Bird into the kitchen where he and his wife are tending to Eliza and little Harry. The senator watches while his wife and the servants make the fugitives comfortable; he then suggests some articles of clothing that they might give to Eliza. Eliza tells her story, which reduces everyone present to tears. In private, the senator tells his wife that he must take Eliza and the child to the house of a man named John Van Trompe, in a secluded woods some miles from town, where she will be safe from the searchers who are sure to come after her. They start at midnight and arrive at Van Trompe's house after a rough, muddy drive. The man says he can handle Eliza's pursuers if they appear. Senator Bird leaves to catch the stage for Columbus.
