John Willard’s attack on Washington is the moment a long-running threat becomes a face-to-face struggle. Washington survives by defending himself, but the encounter does not end the danger: its aftermath makes clear that Willard may still pursue him, and Tanna urges him to leave for London.

Background and Stakes

Washington’s fear of being seized again had developed during his time in Nova Scotia. There, he had learned that kidnappers roamed the coast and could abduct a free Black man and force him back into slavery. He also experienced hostility from white residents who resented Black workers competing for employment. After a stranger attacked him from behind outside a tavern, Washington escaped by fighting back, but remained unable to shake the feeling that the assailant might have been Willard. The episode made him more watchful and solitary, showing how the threat persisted even when he was not certain who was pursuing him.

The later assault takes place in a dark alley in London. Washington has long regarded science as a possible equalizer, but he has also come to recognize how readily supposedly neutral spaces are shaped by racial prejudice. The violence makes the limits of his safety immediate: he is attacked not in an isolated past but in the city where he has tried to build a new life.

The Assault

Willard strikes Washington on the forehead, then hits him again as Washington tries to keep his footing. Washington falls and attempts to move out of reach. In the ensuing struggle, Willard grabs his face, and Washington recognizes him. Willard’s words make the encounter personal: he accuses Washington of humiliating and embarrassing him. The stated grievance is not simply that Washington has escaped; Willard treats Washington’s resistance and independence as an affront to his own authority.

The two men struggle on the ground, each trying to overpower the other. Washington remembers the ivory-handled kitchen knife he has been carrying in his pocket. Unable to free both hands from Willard, he gradually works one loose, draws the knife, and strikes beneath Willard’s spectacles. The blow gives Washington enough space to push him away and escape. He leaves injured and shaken, but alive; the assault ends with Willard still living rather than dead.

Aftermath and Consequences

Washington later recounts the attack to Tanna, who recognizes that it was not a random assault: she suspects John Willard or one of his agents. Washington confirms that Willard survived. The knife had struck at an awkward angle, and Washington believes Willard would probably lose an eye, but he does not think the wound was fatal. His account also makes the distinction between defending himself and killing his pursuer decisive: accepting that Willard lived brought Washington a measure of relief, because he would not have become the murderer he had feared he might be.

Tanna does not accept Washington’s claim that the danger is over. She urges him to leave for London at once, warning that Willard will find him and arguing that London offers greater protection. The attack thus changes the immediate course of Washington’s life: even after he has fought off Willard, the threat remains active enough to require flight. The violence has ended in the alley, but not the pursuit.

The Assault’s Moral and Narrative Turn

The encounter brings together two kinds of danger Washington has faced before: the physical threat of being overpowered and the racial authority that treats his freedom as an offense. Earlier, Captain Benedikt had dismissed Washington as property despite Titch’s defense of his scientific skill; in Nova Scotia, Washington had feared kidnappers who could force a free man back into slavery. Willard’s attack makes that vulnerability personal again. His accusation that Washington has humiliated him casts the violence as an attempt to punish Washington’s resistance, not as an unexplained street crime.

Washington’s defense turns on an object carried from his daily work: the ivory-handled kitchen knife he had taken from a sideboard drawer. Unable to release both hands from Willard, he works one free, draws the blade, and strikes beneath Willard’s spectacles. The action stops the assault long enough for Washington to push Willard away and escape, but it does not resolve the threat through death. Later, Washington explains that the knife went in at an awkward angle and that Willard would likely lose an eye, while remaining alive. His relief at this outcome marks a boundary he feared crossing: surviving the struggle matters, but so does not becoming a murderer.

Consequences and Continuing Threat

When Washington later recounts the assault to Tanna, she identifies the attack as deliberate rather than random and suspects Willard or one of his agents. Washington tells her that Willard survived: the knife had entered at an awkward angle, and he expected Willard to lose an eye, not his life. That distinction matters to Washington. Knowing that he had stopped the attack without killing his pursuer gives him some relief; he had feared becoming a murderer himself.

Tanna rejects Washington’s belief that the danger has passed. She insists that he leave for London, where he will have greater protection, because Willard may still find him. The encounter therefore ends the immediate assault but not the pursuit. Its aftermath turns a moment of self-defense into a renewed flight, while Washington’s survival depends on holding together two necessities: resisting the violence directed at him and refusing to let that resistance become a killing.