Why does Henry not take the pass from his boss?

Henry doesn't take  the pass from his boss because he wanted to experiment and find out if he could go without a pass since he was free.

Explanation:

Henry Adams was born at a time when slavery and anarchy  was at its peak in US. He got his freedom in 1865 in Mississippi where he worked as  a sharecropper.  After giving up the job of sharecropper , Henry joined the US Army and subsequently in 1880 he traveled to Washington DC to provide testimony to a senate committee.The question above revolves round his experience and life as a sharecropper and his relationship , good or bad , with his employer. Once while he was cutting oats ,  he approached his boss and asked for few of them. His boss then and there refused by saying that the oats were made when he was free. This reply of his boss made him very shocked and surprised. He was completely astounded and taken aback.In the month of September , once Henry again went to his  boss and seeked permission to go to Shreveport, however, this time his boss approved it but saying that he needs to carry a  pass with him. Henry replied sarcastically by  saying that he would see if he was free by going without a  pass. In other words , Henry wanted to say that he was free enough to go without  a pass.