The Ballad of Black Tom

At the Victoria Society, Tommy tells Buckeye about the Sleeping King. Buckeye recalls hearing a similar story from two brothers from Fiji who worked with him on the construction of the Panama Canal. He jokingly asks Tommy if he plans on going to Fiji, but Tommy, as if in a trance, gets up from the table, leaves the club, and goes to the train station. Tommy does not tell Buckeye about his father’s death, and his friend does not understand his strange behavior. He sits on the platform and plays the conjure song his father taught him, an old blues song, “Don’t you mind people grinning in your face.” The song seems to have a positive effect on Tommy; he feels the presence of his mother and father, and he actually plays the song well for hours: “For the first time in Tommy’s life, he didn’t play for the money” (70). This change in priorities shows that Tommy is slowly leaving his old identity as a hustler behind. At the end of the chapter we get the first hint that Tommy is beginning to gain his own magic powers. He sits on the train and the air seems to hum around him, as if he is humming or the resonance from his guitar playing is lingering in the air.

Suydam has his party in his library, which is now a sumptuous banquet hall. Tommy notes that the guests represent many different races, languages, and nationalities and that they are most likely criminals. He keeps his distance, not wanting to associate with them.

Suydam begins his speech about the Sleeping King who will destroy their enemies, and the crowd stomps and cheers. Tommy sees the dark sea through the windows and realizes that Suydam has moved the library Outside. At this point, Tommy’s feelings are mixed. Even though he has pledged his allegiance to Suydam, Tommy lacks faith in the proposed new world. As long as there are humans on earth, he thinks, they will repeat the mistakes of the past. He throws down his guitar, smashing it to pieces. To Suydam’s horror, Tommy opens the library doors and walks through.