Hungry and nearly out of options, James follows Norman to the general store in Bluebird Hole. A large white woman sells food one item at a time, and Norman buys a single potato while an older woman nearby churns and briefly meets James's eyes without acknowledging him. James stops Norman from eating the raw potato, explains that it must be cooked, and the two men share it in the woods.

After eating, James and Norman discuss their next move. While they rest, Norman notices James writing in his notebook, and their conversation turns to Emmett's racist songs and the danger of James's situation. Because they need money and still hope to reunite later, James decides Norman should try to sell him to Henderson under a false name. James tells Norman to call him February instead of Jim, using a deliberately absurd explanation because white buyers expect enslaved people to seem foolish, and he gives Norman the notebook for safekeeping.

James and Norman then go south to Henderson's small, filthy sawmill, where enslaved men are doing brutal labor and some are maimed from the work. Henderson comes out to meet them, and James is alarmed because the man looks familiar, though Henderson does not show any sign of recognizing him. Norman poses as a slave owner in financial trouble and offers to sell James, presenting him as a strong worker named February.

Henderson inspects James's hands, asks whether he has cut wood before, and oddly asks how James feels about being sold. James answers submissively to protect the deception. Norman opens with a high price of five hundred dollars, Henderson bargains him down, and they settle at three hundred fifty. Henderson then orders Luke to take James for water and immediately assign him to pit-saw work with Sammy, while Norman leaves with the money and James enters another dangerous captivity with only a plan to meet again later.