Race for Freedom (23 page)

She didn’t know where the slave catchers were. 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

T
he 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:

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?