Race for Freedom (9 page)

It’s a door
! Libby thought, as the wood swung inward. Greatly relieved, she crawled through the opening.

Feeling around, Libby tried to discover where she was. On her left were the wide, strong beams of the inside of the hull. On her right, she again felt the long, upright piece of wood that was the bulkhead. Whatever the room was, it ran along the side of the boat.

Libby tried standing up. Taller than most girls her age, she bumped her head. When she knelt down, she found that someone had laid out planks to make a smooth floor.

Libby started to crawl. Before long, the walls of the long, narrow space seemed to close in around her. Feeling desperate, she wondered if she’d ever find a way to escape.
What if I’m locked down here forever?

Then something scampered nearby. Libby yelped.
A mouse? What is it?

Suddenly she had no doubt that a mouse was down there with her. Hadn’t the man even said there might be mice?

“Mice,” he said. More than one. That’s even worse
.

Panic washed over Libby.
Maybe they’re looking at me right now. When I stretch out my hand, they’ll run right over it!

Libby’s knees turned to jelly. Again she started to shake. Then, as if paralyzed, she could not move. All she could think about were the mice. “Oh, God, help me!” she cried out.

In the darkness her voice seemed to fall away. Yet in that moment, something changed. From some place long ago—a memory Libby couldn’t quite recall—she seemed to hear words.

“Fear thou not.”

“Do not fear?” Libby’s heart raced with fear.

“I am with thee.”

“You are with me?” Libby asked. “Here in this dark hole? Here, where no one knows that I am?”

“Be not dismayed; for I am thy God.”

“God, is it really You?” Only then did Libby realize she had spoken aloud. “And You truly will help me?”

From somewhere deep in her memory, the answer came.
“I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee.”

Libby clung to the words. As she said them to herself, she felt stronger.

Once more something scurried in the darkness. Something very close. Again Libby’s heart pounded. Yet instead of crying out, she kept repeating the words. Crawling on, she tried to think about God instead of her fears.

At last Libby saw a dim light ahead of her. Soon she reached another opening like the one where she had climbed down. As Libby started up the ladder, a lantern swung down toward her face.

“Libby!” Caleb’s voice was a whisper. “What on earth are you doing here?”

Libby’s giggle was part nervousness. She was awfully relieved to see him.

“You’re all right?” Caleb asked as she climbed out of the hole.

Libby looked around. She had come up outside the baggage room behind the wide stairway to the boiler deck. Only Caleb and Samson were there.

“I’m all right now,” Libby answered.

But Caleb looked scared. “When Samson came to me, he led me to the other hatch—the one next to the engine room.” Caleb broke off, as if remembering that Libby wasn’t supposed to know about that place.

“Someone closed the hatch,” Libby said. “Did he swing the machinery back over the opening?”

When Caleb nodded, Libby knew that something had changed between them. “Samson whimpered and scratched away at the base of the machine. I opened the hatch, but you weren’t there.”

Again a scared look filled Caleb’s eyes. He was so good about hiding his feelings from slave catchers that it surprised Libby. Inside, she felt a warm glow.
Caleb cares
, she thought.
He really cares about what happens to me. Maybe he even likes me
. But she didn’t dare hope.

“I didn’t know what happened,” Caleb went on. “You could have fallen over the side of the boat.”

After seeing Elsa on the main deck, Libby knew how easy it was to jump to that idea. “But I didn’t,” she said. “When I got locked in, I tried to find a way out.”

“Libby, whatever possessed you?” Caleb whispered, but he was still upset. “What possessed you to go down into the hold in the middle of the night?”

Now that Libby thought about it, she realized that she had been foolish. Then she remembered her reason for going down. “I wanted to find where Jordan hides,” she said. “I wanted to know where you put fugitives if someone like Riggs comes to visit.”

“And you found a mouse.”

Libby nodded.

As Caleb studied her face, she realized how she must look. Dirty. Her dress torn. Her cheeks streaked from crying.

“Are you okay, Libby?” he asked.

Surprised at the caring in his voice, Libby nodded, unable to speak. She remembered how she had planned to hold her knowledge of this place over Caleb. Now there was no pride in her, no wanting to say, “I got the better of you, Caleb Whitney.”

Instead, Libby remembered the words she had seemed to hear in the darkness.
Maybe there’s more to knowing God than I thought
.

She wanted to ask Caleb about it. He believed in God. He could tell her. But Libby was afraid to admit how little she knew.

Early the next morning, Libby learned that cold air had moved down from the north. Even now, on a sunny day, the air felt the touch of winter instead of spring. Yet with the windows and door closed, the sun warmed Captain Norstad’s cabin.

When Libby looked around, she felt proud of her place on the
Christina. I was born to be the captain’s daughter
, she thought.
If Ma were here, she would be called the First Lady
. Remembering Elsa’s crowded spot, Libby felt glad that she was not living on the deck of the steamboat.

As soon as Caleb came for the day’s lessons, Pa took out a newspaper. By the way he unfolded it, Libby knew he was still upset about the Dred Scott decision.

“I want to be sure that both of you understand what the Supreme Court decision means,” he said. “Chief Justice Taney ruled that as a slave, Dred Scott is not a citizen of the United States. That means he has no right to bring a suit on any matter to a federal court.”

“It denies one group of people our basic American rights!” Caleb was also upset.

“That’s true,” Captain Norstad answered. “According to the decision, Dred Scott has never been free because slaves are personal property. The decision also says that Congress has no right to ban the spread of slavery in new territories.”

Captain Norstad put down the newspaper. “To understand how serious this decision is, we need to think about our founding fathers. What did they want when they asked for their own freedom? Libby, you remember the words, don’t you?”

In her Chicago school, Libby had memorized part of the Declaration of Independence. A few weeks before, she and Pa had talked about the words: “‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal—’”

“Equal!” Caleb interrupted. “The Dred Scott decision says that slaves have no constitutional rights! It’s the same as saying that some of us are better than others. That’s not true!”

Again Libby remembered Elsa sitting on the carpetbags, ready to fall into the river with any jolt of the boat. “But some people
do
have more privileges than others,” Libby answered.

The minute the words were out, Libby felt sorry she had spoken. “I mean, some people are born with more privileges.”

“You mean people like you?” Caleb asked.

Libby felt the warm flush of embarrassment creep into her cheeks. Caleb’s words cut deep. She wished she could throw them back like a pie in his face.

Instead, she lifted her head, tossing her long hair. Though someone who teased her would call it red, Libby knew it was auburn with gold highlights. “I
like
being the captain’s daughter. Is it wrong to appreciate the way you’re born?” Libby’s voice trembled. “Is it wrong to appreciate the father you have?”

Now it was Caleb who looked embarrassed. He glanced toward Captain Norstad. “I put my foot into it, didn’t I?”

“Yes, Caleb, you did. What do you want to do with your foot?”

His usual confidence gone, Caleb spoke quietly. “I’m sorry, Libby. I’m glad for the way you feel about your pa.”

Quick tears welled up in Libby’s eyes. Seeing them, Caleb spoke again. “Forgive me?”

Libby hesitated, then glanced toward Pa. His thoughtful eyes watched them both. Knowing she had no choice, Libby nodded.

“What if someone is born into a family who has everything?” Captain Norstad asked.

Again Libby felt uncomfortable. While Pa wasn’t wealthy like Auntie Vi, Libby always had everything she needed and more.

Pa seemed to know what she was thinking, for he waited. “Libby?” he asked finally when she did not speak.

Libby shook her head and looked down. With her hands in her lap, she twisted a gold ring Auntie Vi had given her. The morning sun caught the birthstone in its light.

In the silence that filled the room, Libby felt even more uncomfortable. She knew what Pa wanted her to say. A person with many privileges should be wise how she uses them. But Libby was uneasy now, afraid to speak in front of Caleb.

Pa seemed to sense that, for he said, “Let’s go back to the Dred Scott decision. If we make another human being a slave, it’s like saying, ‘You can’t work and grow and become all that you have the ability to be.’”

“Oh!” In that moment Libby understood. “That’s why it’s different for Elsa! Living on the deck is hard for them now, and I know you don’t want that, Pa. But when they get to Minnesota Territory, they’ll have a home and a farm and grow all the food they need.”

“Instead of the life Jordan had as a slave,” Caleb said. “Instead of the life he’ll have if Riggs finds him.”

Captain Norstad nodded. “Go on with the Declaration of Independence, Libby. ‘That all men are created equal—’”

Libby took it up. “‘That they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.’”

Because of her earlier talk with Pa, Libby now understood what the word
unalienable
meant. “That our Creator gave us rights that shouldn’t be taken away—‘Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.’”

“When our founding fathers signed those words, they knew they’d have to fight for them,” Pa said. “For your assignment, think about the kind of courage that offers life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness to every person. Think about ways you can put courage into practice.”

Leaving the newspaper open on the table, Captain Norstad stood up and walked out of the room.

The minute the door closed behind him, Libby let out a frustrated sigh. “Do you ever get the feeling that Pa’s assignments are
hard
?”

Caleb sat there, tapping a pen against the table and staring off into space. Then he grinned. “I’ve decided what to do. It will help Jordan and me with our plan to reach his mother.”

“Oh, fine!” Libby answered. “Just that quick you know!”

“Yup.” Caleb looked as satisfied as a cat licking his whiskers. “We’ll be in Keokuk soon. I’ll go into town and ask directions on how to get to the farm where Jordan’s mother is.”

Feeling even more frustrated, Libby picked up her books. Just before she reached the door, Caleb spoke again.

“Libby, you have every right to feel proud of your pa. He has a good name.”

A good name
, Libby thought.
What does that mean
? Once again she was too embarrassed to ask.

CHAPTER 8