Epps hires a crew of carpenters to help him build a house on his plantation. Among them is a white carpenter from Canada named Bass, who is a staunch abolitionist. After Northup overhears Bass communicating his anti-slavery views to Epps, he cautiously shares the story of his kidnapping. Bass is horrified and agrees to help Northup mail a letter his friends in New York. 

Bass returns to the plantation and tells Northup that he has not received a response to the letter. He promises that he will personally get in touch with Northup’s relations in New York and urges Northup not to lose hope of obtaining his rightful freedom.

After receiving a brutal whipping for oversleeping, Northup begins a typical day of exhausting, pained labor. The normalcy of his day is broken, however, by the sight of two strange men crossing the field toward him.

Chapter 21 explains what transpired in New York while Northup awaited a response. Northup’s letters were forwarded to his wife, who shared them with the lawyer Henry B. Northup (former owner of Mintus, Solomon’s father). Henry B. Northup spent several months putting together a case to prove his client’s status as a free man, contacting several government officials before journeying to retrieve