Race for Freedom Read online

  Watching him, Libby remembered the slave catchers. Hutton! Not Riggs like we thought.

  “Where are they?” Libby could barely get out the words.

  But Caleb understood. “The slave catchers? I hope they’re on the other side of the ravine.”

  Caleb’s voice was quieter than usual, as if he still couldn’t believe that Libby was alive. “From what your pa said, the creek spreads even wider below where we were. If Hutton and his bullies try to cross the mud flats, they’ll find standing water. If they try it the way you did, they’ll be in just as much trouble.”

  Unless the stream slows down. Suddenly Libby knew she was thinking again. “Hutton fooled us.” This time Libby’s shiver did not come from cold. “He lied. He pretended he was something he wasn’t.” Libby felt angry now. In spite of her misery, questions plagued her. “Won’t the smoke give us away?”

  “Take a look!”

  As Libby turned in the direction where Caleb pointed, Libby saw the smoke drifting back into the cave.

  “There’s a crack in the limestone drawing the smoke,” Caleb said. “Somewhere back there, it’ll escape—away from us.” For the first time since Libby’s accident, Caleb grinned. “Maybe it’s God’s protection.”

  Soon Caleb divided his remaining sandwiches between Jordan and Libby. “That’s the last one,” he said when they finished eating. “You can’t be hungry tomorrow.”

  “Tomorrow!” Libby exclaimed. “By now we should have found Doctor Sweney. Look at the time we’ve wasted because of Hutton!”

  “But we’re this far,” Caleb told her. “We still have the hope of getting help for Elsa.”

  With each minute that passed, Libby discovered another bruise. When she touched her face, she felt dried blood on her cheek.

  Taking a clean cloth from his bag, Caleb wet it in the last of the warm water. “Hold still,” he said as he knelt down next to Libby. Gently he washed the cut on her cheek.

  While melting more ice, he checked her arms. Here, too, she had scrapes and bruises. “Does anything feel broken?” Caleb asked.

  When Libby shook her head, he spoke softly. “It’s a miracle that you’re alive. You know that, don’t you?”

  Carefully he washed the cuts on her arms, then set her shoes next to the fire. When they started steaming, Caleb took warm soil from near the fire and put it in her shoes.

  “Hey! What are you doing?” Libby asked.

  “Drying up the insides.”

  As soon as Libby stopped shaking, she spread out her wet clothes. Deep down, she ached. “I thought we could trust Hutton!”

  Libby looked across the fire. “But Jordan knew better.”

  “I ain’t never had no likin’ for that man,” he muttered.

  Libby remembered Jordan’s words. She wished she had listened to him. “Do you think Riggs hired Hutton to be a slave catcher?” she asked Caleb.

  “I’m sure of it,” he answered. “Why else would Hutton have come on the boat when he did?”

  It made Libby angry. “We looked so hard for Riggs, and he sent someone else! Or do you think Riggs is still on the Christina?”

  “We’ll find out when we go back,” Caleb told her. “Right now it’s Hutton and his two slave catchers we should worry about.”

  If they come up the hill—Libby tried to push the thought away. If the slave catchers suddenly appeared, she could barely stand up, let alone run.

  Like a guard, Caleb sat on the outer edge of the fire next to the entrance of the cave. As the sun went down behind the bluff towering above them, the temperature dropped. In the gray twilight, Caleb gathered more wood. When he had a good-sized heap, he sat down again.

  Jordan also faced the opening of the cave. Though his teeth still chattered, his eyes were watchful.

  So the danger isn’t past, Libby thought. They’re still wondering. And waiting.

  As twilight deepened into darkness, Caleb often got up and prowled around, watching and listening. When Jordan straightened up as though finally warm, Caleb faced him. “Jordan, is Libby right? You don’t know how to swim?”

  “I don’t know how, but I gots to learn,” Jordan said. “What if I need to help my family cross a river to freedom?”

  As though still living that frightful moment in the creek, Libby remembered. Jordan risked his life—everything—to get his freedom. Yet now that he has it, he almost gave his life for me.

  Libby couldn’t understand a gift like that. “Jordan,” she asked. “How could you wade in to save me when you don’t know how to swim?”

  “I had to,” he told her.

  “No, you didn’t.” The terror in Jordan’s face was still real to Libby. “Someone else might have let me drown. What if you had drowned?”

  “If I did, I was ready.”

  “Ready for what?” Libby asked.

  “Ready to die.”

  “You knew that you might die to pull me out?” she asked.

  “Yes’m. But I didn’t think about it.” Jordan sounded as if his actions were a surprise, even to himself. “If I had thunk on it, I would have done the same thing.”

  “Why?” Libby asked.

  “For your pa’s sake.” Jordan grinned. “And for yours.”

  Libby swallowed against a lump in her throat. Nothing could possibly say what she felt, but she had to try. “I can’t thank you enough, Jordan.”

  He nodded, receiving her words. Yet Libby knew he still didn’t think he had done very much.

  As the night grew deeper, Libby looked to the darkness beyond the fire, and her fear returned. What if the slave catchers creep up the hill? In the minute they find us, Jordan loses his freedom.

  “Jordan, how do you stand it?” she asked. “How do you stand knowing that at any moment a slave catcher might find you?”

  In the firelight Jordan glanced beyond the entrance of the cave. When he looked back at Libby and Caleb, his eyes were solemn. “If I was by myself, I couldn’t stand it.”

  By myself. That’s it! Deep inside, Libby felt an emptiness that never went completely away. Those moments when she could have died still seemed too real.

  “I do try to do everything by myself,” she said softly.

  “You needs to know how to be free,” Jordan told her. “I has been free for a long time.”

  Libby felt puzzled. “I thought you just escaped from slavery.”

  Jordan grinned. “That Riggs. That Old Massa of mine. They just look on the outside. They thinks, ‘I own that boy.’ But me, I knows better. In here—”

  Jordan pointed to his heart. “In here I was free, even when I were a slave. It’s Jesus that makes me free, Libby. You gots to let Jesus git you!”

  “But how?” Libby whispered. She wanted to pretend that she had all the right answers. Instead, she remembered Ma being strong even when she was afraid. Pa staying calm while Riggs came up the stairs, planning to arrest him. Caleb standing against what he believed was wrong. And Jordan risking everything to save her from drowning.

  In that moment there was something Libby knew. She turned to Caleb. “It takes courage to believe in God, doesn’t it?”

  His gaze meeting hers, Caleb nodded.

  “But when you do, God gives you courage?” Libby asked. “Is that how it works?”

  Again Caleb nodded.

  A great sobbing rose in Libby’s throat. “Then how do I let Jesus get me?”

  In the firelight Caleb leaned forward. “He’s already done everything for you, Libby. He died on the cross because He wants to give you His love and forgiveness.”

  “And He does?” Hope filled Libby’s heart.

  “Tell Him you’re sorry for your sins. Ask Him to forgive you. To be your Savior. Your Lord. Just ask Him.”

  Just ask Him. The words hung between them in the night air.

  As Libby bowed her head to pray, tears ran down her cheeks. Yet by the time she finished praying, she felt peaceful deep inside.

  She didn’t know where the slave catchers wer
e. She didn’t know what would happen that night. But she drew close to her side of the fire, wrapped the blanket tight around her, and fell asleep.

  CHAPTER 19

  Big Trouble!

  The next morning Libby woke to the sound of Caleb putting wood on the fire. Kneeling down next to Jordan, Caleb shook him awake.

  “Time for your swimming lesson,” he said when Jordan sat up.

  “Swimming lesson?” As though forgetting what he’d said the night before, Jordan wiggled closer to the fire. “You foolin’ me?”

  “Nope! Some time you might need to know how. Like when we go after your family.”

  Libby shivered as though still feeling the icy water of the creek. “A swimming lesson in April?” The gray light outside the cave told her the sun wasn’t yet above the horizon.

  “I’ll teach you enough to survive,” Caleb promised Jordan. “Now watch.”

  Holding out his hands, Caleb held his fingers wide. “If you’re scared and push at the water this way, it goes right between your fingers. But if you hold them together—”

  Caleb showed him. “Now open your arms wide with your palms facing out. Bring your hands together in a big clap. Always keep your fingers together.”

  As soon as Jordan held his fingers the right way, Caleb put his hands against Jordan’s back. “Lean back like you’re lying down in water.”

  When Jordan obeyed, Caleb told him, “Tip back your head. Breathe deep so your chest fills with air.”

  When Jordan sat up again, Caleb asked, “Got it?”

  Jordan nodded.

  “Good!” Caleb exclaimed. “If you really need to know this, you’ll be mighty scared.”

  Several times he asked Jordan to do it again. Always Caleb made sure that Jordan tipped back his head and filled his lungs with air. “And when you’re in water kick your feet.”

  As the gray light grew stronger, Libby dumped the dirt from her shoes. Caleb put out the fire. Moving quietly and watching for Hutton and the slave catchers, they picked their way down the bluff. At the bottom they followed the north side of Bullard’s Creek.

  “If we run into trouble, keep going no matter what,” Caleb said.

  No matter what? Libby wondered. She dreaded the thought.

  With every step she took, Libby wondered if Hutton was behind them. Were he and his men still watching and waiting, ready to follow?

  After sitting next to the fire all night, Libby’s shoes were dry but stiff. Her back ached and every part of her body felt bruised. Yet somehow she managed to keep up with the boys.

  Often Caleb and Jordan glanced around, keeping a close watch. Now and then Jordan sang quietly:

  I got wings,

  You got wings,

  All God’s children got wings.

  This time Libby felt the words were for her. She remembered her mother’s verse. “‘Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee.’”

  Yes, You are with me, Jesus! You are my God!

  When at last Libby and the boys entered Red Wing, they followed a string of logs across a marsh. After asking directions, they found Doctor Sweney.

  As they told their story, the doctor listened carefully. “What has been done for Elsa?” he asked.

  When Caleb explained, the doctor answered, “Good. I’ll start right away. Maybe your friend is still alive.”

  Quickly Doctor Sweney filled his medical bag with needed supplies. “Before you eat, find our mailman, Uncle Dave Hancock. This is the day he makes his weekly trip down to Reads Landing. If he’s taking a wagon, maybe you can catch a ride.”

  They could. All the way back to Reads Landing, Libby and the boys rode in the wagon and watched for Hutton. In a muddy spot near Bullard’s Trading Post, Caleb pointed down. The shoes of three different horses were clearly visible.

  “Maybe Hutton got hold of some horses,” Caleb said.

  “Does that mean he went back to the Christina?” Libby asked.

  As though wishing he knew, Caleb shrugged. “Maybe. Maybe not,” he said. “We’ll find out.”

  When at last they reached the Christina, Samson spied them from the top deck and raced down to the gangplank. Wagging his tail until it seemed ready to fall off, he welcomed them back.

  “Good dog!” Libby cried, kneeling down to throw her arms around his neck.

  As soon as the boys petted Samson, they all bounded up the steps to the texas deck. They found Doctor Sweney outside the door to Libby’s room.

  “Elsa is still very sick,” Doctor Sweney said as he shook Caleb’s hand. “Your good directions about drinking a lot of water may be what has kept her alive.”

  Alive, Libby thought. The gift of life now seemed very precious to her.

  From there Libby hurried to her father’s cabin. She found Pa in his big rocking chair, looking out the window.

  When he saw Libby, he jumped up. A warm welcome leaped into his eyes. As Pa opened his arms, Libby walked into them. She couldn’t remember ever feeling so glad for his hug.

  “You’re all right?” he asked. Holding her out at arm’s length, Pa studied her face.

  Libby met his eyes and nodded. But then Pa saw the scrape on her cheek and the bruises and cuts on her arms and legs. Together they sat down, and she told him the story from beginning to end.

  “You’re not feeling sick?” he asked finally, and Libby shook her head.

  At last she said, “Pa, I understand now. I understand what you believe about God, and I believe the same way.”

  When Pa gave her another hug, Libby saw the tears in his eyes. One of them slid down his cheek.

  The next afternoon Libby stood on the hurricane deck feeling the warmth of the sun. April 30. Maybe—just maybe, this is the day for the big race!

  Overhead against a cloudless blue sky, smoke billowed out of the tall stacks. From her lookout high on the Christina, Libby gazed upstream, hoping for the best.

  Even so, she felt uneasy. Going up the stairway the night before, she had looked down to where passengers walked on the boiler deck. For one moment she saw the man she felt sure was Riggs. When she raced down the steps to find out, he was gone.

  Ever since, Libby wondered about him. Wondered, too, about Hutton and his slave catchers. They seemed to have vanished.

  Only once since returning from Red Wing had Libby seen Jordan. Then she had noticed his eyes. He always watches, she thought. Jordan wants to know who’s behind him.

  “Doctor Sweney would like to get Elsa to Red Wing,” Caleb said when he found Libby on the hurricane deck.

  Caleb’s expression told her that he, too, wanted Elsa in a place that was warm—a room with a wood stove and all that she needed to get well.

  “Isn’t it good to know how you helped Elsa?” Libby asked softly. “How you told Mrs. Meyer to give Elsa lots of water?”

  Then Libby lowered her voice. “I think I saw Riggs.” She told Caleb about it, then asked if he knew anything about Hutton.

  Caleb shook his head. “He must have offered those slave catchers a lot of money. They won’t just disappear from our lives.”

  “Good afternoon!” As Pa joined them, Libby saw the warm light in his eyes. He looked as excited as Libby felt.

  “Have you heard?” he asked. “Usually there are only ten or twelve boats waiting for the ice to go out. Right now there are twenty-two! Not since 1844 has Pepin taken so long to open!”

  With their bows nosed into the waterfront and lying only a few feet apart, the boats seemed wedged between each other. On one side of the Christina was the War Eagle. On the other side, the Golden State.

  Already the Christina had her steam up, ready to go if the ice opened. Along the river’s edge next to Reads Landing, the stretch of water between the bank and the ice had widened. Yet the mass of ice farther upstream still seemed solid.

  Then Libby leaned forward. “Is that an opening? A dark space in the ice? Or is it my imagination?” Even as she pointed,
the narrow crack of black water widened.

  Caleb grinned. “It’s what we’re waiting for!”

  “Here we go!” Pa hurried away.

  Moments later the warning bell rang three times. They would start at once.

  Bells and whistles filled the air. Eager to see everything, Libby followed Caleb down to the main deck. When he started toward the engine room, Libby trailed behind.

  On the Golden State and the Christina, deckhands worked feverishly. As they tossed their lines aboard, Caleb whirled around and started back to Libby. Looking beyond Caleb, she guessed the reason.

  Two tough-looking fellows stood near the door to the engine room. To Libby they seemed familiar. Suddenly she knew who they were. The slave catchers!

  Just then one of the bullies stepped into Caleb’s path. The other started talking to him. Libby’s fists knotted in fear. Caleb’s in big trouble!

  But there was something else. Is it just a coincidence? Libby wondered. Or do the slave catchers know they’re blocking the way to Jordan’s hiding place?

  CHAPTER 20

  Race for Life

  Filled with panic, Libby turned back to the stairs. Where’s Pa? I’ve got to find him!

  Just then Jordan bounded down the steps. When he nearly crashed into Libby, she stopped him. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

  “Hutton!” Jordan pointed behind him.

  “Wait!” Libby cried.

  “I has to hide!”

  Libby felt sure he wanted to reach the secret place in the hold. “You can’t,” she said. “The slave catchers stopped Caleb!”

  Libby peered around the corner. Caleb and one man still stood close to the engine room door, blocking the hatch Libby had found. Like a watch dog, the other slave catcher had moved forward and stood near the door to the cargo space. Beyond that door was the second hatch for Jordan’s hiding place.

  “They’ve blocked off your secret place!” Libby warned.

  Frantically Jordan looked back up the stairs. “Hutton’s after me! I is trapped!”

  Just then a whistle tooted. “The War Eagle!” Jordan whispered.

  The steamboat lay on the side away from where Caleb stood. Crouching down, Jordan kept his head low. Weaving between freight and passengers, he crept across the Christina’s deck. When he reached the edge, Jordan leaped, landing on the War Eagle. In the next instant, he disappeared behind their freight.