The Water Dancer: Chapter 21 Summary & Analysis

The Underground has given a sense of purpose to Hiram’s life. In the evening on the second day of the convention, Hiram sees Moses sitting on a rock. She greets him, and he goes to join her. Moses says she often goes back to her home in Maryland through her work as an Underground agent, and vows to one day go back there to live openly and freely. Usually she works alone, but she has a particular job where she needs “a man who runs at least as well as he writes.” Surprised, Hiram mentions some of the stories he has heard about Moses and her powers, and she laughs.

Moses then says she keeps her methods secret, and that the rumors about her powers don’t originate with her. She adds that the only name she answers to is Harriet. Hiram brings up Conduction, but Harriet brushes it off, asking if he is ready to take the job with her. Hiram confirms that he is, and Harriet says it will begin “soon enough.” The next morning, Hiram wakes to the sound of “commotion.” Otha is in a state of extreme distress. Hiram finds him wailing into Raymond’s shoulder, hardly able to stay standing. He announces that Bland is dead, and Lydia is back in the “coffin.” Raymond and some other men take Otha away, trying to calm him.

Hiram finds a nearby satchel with newspaper articles containing the story of what happened, along with a letter from an Indiana-based Underground agent confirming the sad news. Hiram takes the papers back to Raymond, who is now sitting near Harriet and Corrine. Hiram rests for a while, and when he wakes up Otha is sitting by him in the tent. Hiram expresses his sincere apologies, and with great sadness Otha says that Bland was his “brother.” Although Otha’s heart has repeatedly been broken by being separated from his family, he thinks it’s important to always remain open to love.

Otha says that he has noticed Hiram struggling to gain control over his Conduction and wants to tell him a story that he hopes might help. He says that he met Lydia while he was in the depths of despair following Lambert’s death. A few days before the wedding, Otha found Lydia in a great deal of pain. The headman had tried to have sex with her, and after she resisted, he whipped her brutally. Otha vowed to kill the headman, but Lydia refused to let him. She told him that they couldn’t lose sight of their hopes for the future, could not let themselves die like this. In saying this, Lydia saved him. Otha stands up and resolutely repeats, “My Lydia will be free.”