Rescue on the River Read online

  This book is dedicated to Dani, a woman of courage—MKH

  To three amazing young women: Jayme, Alyssa, and Lindsey—SS

  Rescue on the River

  © 2019 Focus on the Family. All rights reserved.

  A Focus on the Family book published by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.

  The Imagination Station, Adventures in Odyssey, and Focus on the Family and their accompanying logos and designs are federally registered trademarks of Focus on the Family, 8605 Explorer Drive, Colorado Springs, CO 80920.

  TYNDALE and Tyndale’s quill logo are registered trademarks of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise—without prior written permission of Focus on the Family.

  With the exception of known historical figures, all characters are the product of the authors’ imaginations.

  Cover design by Jim Cail and Michael Heath | Magnus Creative

  For Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data for this title, visit http://www.loc.gov/help/contact-general.html.

  For manufacturing information regarding this product, please call 1-800-323-9400.

  For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Tyndale House Publishers at [email protected], or call 1-800-323-9400.

  ISBN: 978-1-58997-993-2

  ISBN 978-1-6842-8191-6 (ePub); ISBN 978-1-6842-8192-3 (Kindle); ISBN 978-1-6842-8190-9 (Apple)

  Build: 2021-04-21 22:34:39 EPUB 3.0

  Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1: March 4, 1861

  Chapter 2: The Parade

  Chapter 3: The Speech

  Chapter 4: A Civil War Nurse

  Chapter 5: Harriet Tubman

  Chapter 6: The Spy

  Chapter 7: The John Adams

  Chapter 8: Waiting for Trouble

  Chapter 9: Banished

  Chapter 10: The Harriet A. Weed

  Chapter 11: Fields Point

  Chapter 12: The Chase

  Chapter 13: The Cannons

  Chapter 14: The Raid

  Chapter 15: Heyward Plantation

  Chapter 16: Kitch

  Chapter 17: The Last Rowboat

  Secret Word Puzzle

  Prologue

  At the end of the last adventure, Terror in the Tunnel, Patrick and Beth met their friend Eugene outside a train station. He had been acting as an undercover spy. But he still looked younger than his real age because the Imagination Station had broken. He would continue to look like a teenager until the Station was fixed.

  The adventurers helped protect Abraham Lincoln from assassins in Baltimore, Maryland. Beth and Patrick weren’t sure Lincoln made it safely to Washington. Beth hoped he had. Patrick wanted to make sure Mr. Lincoln was sworn in as president.

  Here’s what happened outside that Baltimore train station.

  The cousins and Eugene pushed through people to reach an alley across from the station. Behind them, voices in the crowd seemed to grow angrier and angrier.

  Beth heard a train whistle. She turned toward Calvert Station. “I have to go back,” she said. “I have to know if Mr. Lincoln is on that train!”

  The glow of the Imagination Station appeared. Soon the Model T stood nearby.

  “According to historical documents, Lincoln should have made it through to Washington, DC,” Eugene said. “It’s time to return to Whit’s End. Are you ready?”

  “No!” Patrick said. “We still have Mr. Lincoln’s inauguration speech. He’ll need it if he lives long enough to give it.”

  Beth lifted the oilskin bag. “May we go to Washington?” she asked Eugene. “We’ll either see Mr. Lincoln give the speech, or we’ll be there for his funeral.”

  “Very well,” Eugene said.

  This time Beth sat in the passenger seat. She held Lincoln’s black bag tightly. Patrick sat in the rumble seat. Eugene sat behind the steering wheel.

  He slammed his fist into the red button.

  Blatt!

  March 4, 1861

  Beth opened her eyes. In front of her was a fancy hotel. The morning sun fought against gray clouds to light the hotel entrance.

  Beth climbed out of the Imagination Station. She saw Patrick fumble with the seat belt in the rumble seat. He couldn’t get out. Beth thought the Imagination Station was taking him to a different place.

  Patrick waved to her as the Imagination Station faded.

  Beth waved back until it disappeared. She trusted she would find him later. Then she entered the hotel.

  Beth wandered through the crowd. She carefully sidestepped many men holding silk top hats. Several ladies also stood in the hotel lobby. They wore poufy dresses. Many had winter cloaks draped over their arms.

  She saw Tad Lincoln dressed in a black suit. Tad was Abraham Lincoln’s youngest son. Beth had met him on a previous adventure.

  “Tad!” Beth shouted.

  But Tad walked through a pair of French doors.

  Beth followed him.

  Willie Lincoln, another of Mr. Lincoln’s sons, sat on the floor, playing with his toy metal soldiers. Beth thought Willie looked proper in his black bowtie.

  Abraham Lincoln was sitting on a couch. He had a small writing desk balanced on his lap. Tad sat next to his father.

  Beth sighed with relief. Lincoln had made it through Baltimore. She was glad to see for herself that the future president was okay.

  Lincoln’s eldest son, Robert, sat nearby in a high-backed chair. He was reading some papers. Beth guessed it was another draft of Lincoln’s speech.

  Beth slowly approached the couch. She raised the oilskin bag. “Ahem,” she said.

  The Lincolns looked up.

  “You’re back!” Tad said. He slid off the couch and hugged her.

  “And you have the bag with Father’s speech in it,” Willie said. He stood.

  Beth set the bag at Mr. Lincoln’s feet.

  Lincoln smiled at her. He opened the bag and took out his old speech. Then he said to Robert, “Read the speech you have.”

  Robert read:

  It follows from these views that no state, upon its own mere motion, can lawfully get out of the Union; that resolves and ordinances to that effect are legally void; and that acts of violence within any state or states against the authority of the United States are insurrectionary.

  Beth wished she knew what ordinances and insurrectionary meant. But she did know what Lincoln was saying. He believed that no state could leave the Union. But Beth knew seven states had already rebelled and formed the Confederate States of America. They were South Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas.

  Robert read a few more lines.

  Lincoln said, “Stop!”

  Robert paused midsentence.

  Lincoln smiled and said, “That’s the phrase I was looking for!” He picked up a pen from the small desk on his lap. He scratched out words on the paper. Then he wrote down the new words.

  Mary Lincoln entered the room. She moved directly to the window.

  Beth walked toward her. Outside the window a great crowd of people filled the streets. Beth saw several men in military uniforms move through the crowds.

  Beth curtsied to Mrs. Lincoln. “Good day.”

  Mary nodded. “I see you’re dressed for the day’s event.”

  Beth glanced down. She was wearing a green dress and a blue cloak. They were the ones she had worn the last time she had seen Mary. In that adventure, Mrs. Lincoln had helped them free a slave named Sally at Niagara Falls.

  “An
d you’re also dressed for the inauguration,” Beth said.

  “Yes,” Mrs. Lincoln said. Mary Lincoln smiled. The light from the crystal chandelier bounced off her shiny brown hair.

  “You look beautiful,” Beth said.

  “Thank you,” Mrs. Lincoln said. She glanced around the room. “Where’s your cousin Patrick?”

  “He’s with a friend from home,” Beth said.

  “I’m glad your time at Niagara Falls was successful. I know because I have a message for you,” Mrs. Lincoln said.

  “A message?” Beth said.

  Mrs. Lincoln nodded. She said, “I received a letter from Canada yesterday.”

  Beth’s heart leaped with excitement. “Is it from Sally Culver?”

  Mrs. Lincoln fished the letter out of her pocket. “It’s from her employer, but the postscript is from Sally.”

  Beth started to read the note, but a loud voice broke into Beth’s thoughts. She put the letter in her pocket. She would read it later.

  “Mrs. Lincoln,” said a man standing by the French doors. “It’s time for you and the children to leave for the White House. Your carriage awaits.”

  The soon-to-be First Lady turned away from the window. “Come along, boys,” she said to Willie and Tad. “This is going to be Mr. Lincoln’s finest hour!”

  Willie moved toward his mother. “May Beth come with us?” the boy asked.

  “That’s a splendid idea,” Mr. Lincoln said. “Beth can help Mrs. Lincoln watch you boys.”

  “Yippee!” Tad shouted. He took Beth’s hand and led her toward the door.

  The Parade

  Patrick climbed down from the rumble seat.

  A still-young Eugene stepped out of the Imagination Station. He wore the same suit and top hat from the train station.

  Patrick also wore the same brown suit he had been wearing earlier.

  The two stood in a parklike area jam-packed with people. The machine faded.

  Patrick didn’t recognize anyone. He asked Eugene, “Where’s Beth?”

  Eugene said, “I sent her to the Willard Hotel. She’s with the Lincolns.”

  “So he is alive?” Patrick asked.

  “Observe,” Eugene said.

  Patrick looked around him. He saw a familiar white building with a dome on top. In front of the building were steps. They led up to a large flat area with a podium and grandstands.

  Thousands of people in fancy clothes stood below the steps. Many held flags. More flags flew from nearby buildings.

  Men in blue uniforms kept people from sitting in the grandstand seats. The men also kept the avenue in front of the building clear.

  “That’s the Capitol,” Patrick said. He turned to Eugene in excitement. “Mr. Lincoln’s alive! He’s going to give his inaugural speech!”

  Eugene nodded. “Indeed,” he said. “I see the militia is here to make sure it occurs as planned.”

  Suddenly Patrick felt a friendly slap on his back. He turned around.

  Colonel Sumner stood before him. The military man’s blue uniform was perfectly pressed. Its polished gold buttons shone. A dagger and a pistol hung from his belt.

  Patrick had met Colonel Sumner on the previous adventure. The older, white-haired gentleman grinned a happy greeting.

  “Mr. Lincoln is to arrive in less than twenty minutes,” the colonel said.

  Then the colonel turned aside. He spoke quietly to Eugene. Patrick heard the words Mr. Pinkerton and killers.

  Eugene bowed to the colonel. He raised a hand in farewell to Patrick. “I have a certain mission to which I must attend,” Eugene said. “It’s of a rather personal nature. You’ll be all right here, I’m certain.”

  Patrick waved good-bye.

  Eugene walked off.

  Colonel Sumner pointed across the street toward the two- and three-story buildings. “Look there,” he said to Patrick.

  Patrick saw dozens of soldiers in loose blue jackets and brimmed caps. Each man held a rifle.

  “Snipers!” Patrick said. “They must be there to protect Mr. Lincoln. How can I help?”

  “I need you to sit behind the podium,” Colonel Sumner said. “Make sure no one rushes Mr. Lincoln from behind.”

  Patrick gulped. Would someone really shoot or stab Mr. Lincoln during his speech? he wondered.

  The colonel escorted Patrick through the line of military men. The soldiers saluted Colonel Sumner. The colonel showed Patrick his place on the risers.

  “I’ll be off,” Colonel Sumner said. “Thanks for your help, young man.”

  Patrick waved good-bye. The colonel left.

  Just then a carriage pulled by four horses stopped. The carriage driver hopped down from his bench and opened the door.

  Tad Lincoln jumped down. His brother Willie and his mother, Mary, followed him. Then a young girl climbed out.

  “Beth, over here!” Patrick called. Patrick gave his cousin a wide and wild wave.

  She waved back.

  Soon they were all sitting in front of the Capitol. More carriages arrived, and important people sat near them. One of those men was Robert Lincoln.

  Patrick looked up at the nearby rooftops. The snipers were in position.

  A band started playing a patriotic tune.

  “Imagine,” Mrs. Lincoln said, “they’re playing ‘Hail to the Chief’ for my husband!”

  Patrick wondered if Mrs. Lincoln knew about the danger to her husband.

  Several uniformed men on horses paraded down the avenue. They surrounded a small, open carriage.

  Patrick stood on the top riser to get a better view. He looked out over the sea of people. Fine horses with tall feathers in their bridles pulled long floats.

  Banners and flags decorated the floats. They represented states that had not left the Union.

  A group of old soldiers proudly walked down the avenue.

  “Those are the heroes of the War of 1812,” Mary Lincoln said. “Let’s hope our country never has to fight another war.”

  The Speech

  The band began another song. A long line of men came out of the Capitol building. All were well dressed, and a few wore black robes. They took empty seats behind the canopy-covered podium.

  Mrs. Lincoln whispered to the children. “Those men are congressmen, senators, and Supreme Court judges,” she said. “And there’s Mr. Buchanan, the former president.”

  Suddenly the crowd went wild.

  The children stood on their chairs to watch.

  Mr. Lincoln made a grand entrance as he walked out onto the podium. The crowd cheered.

  Lincoln carried a gold-tipped cane. He had changed clothes since Beth had seen him that morning. His black suit and hat looked brand new. He took off his hat and a man nearby offered to hold it.

  Lincoln bowed low. The applause roared even louder.

  Soon the people quieted.

  Lincoln reached inside his jacket pocket and took out his speech. He spread the papers on the podium. He placed his cane on top to keep the papers from blowing away. Mr. Lincoln reached inside his pocket, pulled out spectacles and balanced them on his nose.

  A man in the crowd below shouted, “Look at old four-eyes!”

  Three policemen hurried to that spot. They escorted the loud-mouthed man away.

  Lincoln began his speech in a strong voice. “Fellow citizens of the United States.”

  The crowd stopped his speech every few lines with cheers or claps.

  Lincoln finished his speech by bowing his head as if in prayer.

  Then an old judge with weathered skin and a hunched back moved forward. He wore a black robe. The judge’s hand shook as he held out a Bible.

  Lincoln put his hand on the Bible and said, “I, Abraham Lincoln, do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of president of the United States and defend the Constitution.” Next, Lincoln took the Bible out of the judge’s hands. He kissed the holy book’s well-worn cover.

  Suddenly a blast of artillery fire filled the area.
r />   Boom! Bang! Rat-a-tat-tat! Boom! Boom!

  Beth’s heart nearly beat out of her chest. Is someone shooting at the president?

  Patrick ducked when he heard the gunfire. It echoed through the park. But then the crowd cheered almost as loud.

  There was a pause as the cannon and rifles were reloaded.

  “Mr. Lincoln!” Tad called.

  “You mean Mr. President!” Willie shouted.

  Abraham Lincoln turned and smiled at his sons. They ran to their father and hugged him.

  Suddenly Patrick heard Eugene shout, “Beth! Patrick! Over here!”

  Patrick scanned the crowd and spotted his friend.

  Eugene waved his tall black hat at them. He headed toward them through the mob of people.

  Just then two police officers came to escort Mrs. Lincoln to her carriage.

  “Bless you both,” Mary Lincoln said to the cousins. “Don’t forget to read the postscript from Sally at the end of the letter.” She left.

  Patrick saw Beth pull a paper out of her cloak’s pocket.

  “Listen, Patrick,” Beth said. She waved the letter.

  But more artillery fire drowned her words.

  “We’ve got to meet Eugene,” Patrick said.

  The cousins pushed past the crowds.

  Eugene suddenly stepped out from behind a column.

  “We have plenty of work ahead of us,” Eugene said. “I’ve been conferring with the militia leaders. They believe a civil war will start soon.”

  Beth sighed. “That means trouble for Sally’s brother.” She held the letter and read:

  P.S. Dear Mrs. Lincoln, Please ask the honorable Mr. Lincoln to free the slaves in Beaufort, South Carolina. My brother Kitch was recently sent there. The conditions there are worse than in Kentucky.

  “Can we help Sally’s brother?” Patrick asked.

  “Hmm,” Eugene said, “that will be difficult.”

  “Why?” Beth asked.

  “South Carolina is in the Deep South,” Eugene said. “And . . .”