According to Jerry's narrative, "none of de Tarl'ton niggers ebber been selled afoah," but when "Marse Jeems" goes broke he is forced to auction off all his property. He and Jerry work together, however, to rig the auction so that Jerry will be able to buy his wife, Malviny, with the little money he has. In this version of the "old plantation," even a slave auction is an occasion to show how generous and kind masters were, and how grateful were their slaves.