Midnight Rescue (25 page)

“We’ll be crossing the Skunk River,” he said. “There’s a ford here—stones put down like a road on the river bottom. The water shouldn’t be more than three feet deep. But if it’s higher—”

“We is ready” came Jordan’s quiet voice.

At a worn-down place in the bank, the horses eased into the river, as though used to the crossing. Soon the water rose around their knees, then sloshed against their bellies. On the far side of the river, the horses plodded up the bank. When they reached the road again, they picked up speed.

“We’re close, aren’t we?” Libby asked as she watched them. No doubt about it, the horses knew there was feed and water not far away.

Twisting around, Caleb peered back in the darkness. “I don’t like it,” he said. “I feel uneasy, as if someone is watching me. But that has to be crazy. I’ve haven’t seen anyone since those men near the Des Moines River.”

“Where are we?” Libby asked.

“Augusta, Iowa.”

“Could the horses keep going if we didn’t stop?” Libby asked.

“If they had to, they could, but they need a rest,” Caleb said. “And if there’s someone behind us, we need to get rid of him somehow.”

As the horses started up a long steep hill, Caleb again
looked back. “Strange,” he said. “I just can’t explain it. But I’ve worked with the Railroad long enough to pay attention when I think something isn’t quite right.”

“Can you tell me where we’re going?” Libby knew that “passengers”—runaway slaves—might go in and out of a station without ever knowing the names of the people who helped them.

Now Caleb surprised Libby by telling her about Dr. Edwin James.

“He’s an explorer and a scientist,” Caleb said. “On an expedition to Colorado with Major Long, Dr. James discovered plants and trees no one had named before. He was an army doctor too, and the first white man to climb Pikes Peak. For a while the mountain was named James Peak after him.”

As Libby listened to the pride in Caleb’s voice, she guessed the doctor was one of his heroes.

“But there’s more,” Caleb went on. “Dr. James translated the New Testament into the Chippewa language.”

“And Dr. James must be part of the Underground Railroad,” Libby said.

“Yup. A well-known part. That’s why I can tell you about him. A few years back he was caught taking a fugitive named Dick across the Mississippi River. The slave catchers forced Dr. James back to Burlington, and Dick was thrown into jail. The courtroom has never been as full as it was the day of that trial in Burlington. The judge challenged the fugitive slave laws and set Dick free.”

Caleb grinned his delight at telling the story. “A great shout went up in the courtroom. Those who hadn’t been able to get inside cheered till the whole town echoed. A thousand men
walked with Dr. James and Dick down to the river. There they cheered again while Dick started across on his way to freedom.”

As they came into view of a small stone building, Caleb spoke quickly. “This chapel is on Dr. James’s property. He has church here every Sunday. I’ll leave all of you while I find him. If it’s safe, he’ll come get you, and I’ll take care of the horses.”

The minute they stopped Caleb gave Libby the reins and jumped down to check the little church. In a moment he returned and spoke softly to Jordan’s family. As Caleb stood watch, they wiggled out from under the hay and slipped into the chapel.

The inside of the small building was dark, but a shaft of moonlight shone through one window. With Rose sleeping in her arms, Jordan’s mother dropped down on a bench and rocked back and forth.

Jordan settled himself on another bench. Facing the door, he waited, alert and ready for danger. When Zack sat down on one side of him and Serena on another, Jordan’s face softened.

Before long Libby heard a muffled sound outside the chapel. As the sound moved closer, she knew what it was—small stones rolling down a steep hillside. When Jordan leaped to his feet, Libby raced to a window.

Though she could see no one in the darkness, Libby again heard the sound. Muffled but distinct it came, as though someone stopped to listen, then walked on.

When the footsteps stopped once more, this time just outside the chapel, Jordan stepped behind the door. As it swung open, he waited while a man entered.

As the door closed again, the man turned toward Jordan’s dark shape. “I’m Dr. James,” he said as if he expected Jordan to
be there. “Don’t be afraid. Caleb asked me to come for you.”

Slowly, as though not wanting to frighten anyone, the doctor moved toward the window. When the moonlight fell across his face, he asked, “Did anyone follow you?”

“There be slave catchers after us,” Jordan said.

“And maybe an escaped prisoner,” Libby added.

“And a man who thinks we is his property,” Hattie said.

“I see,” said Dr. James. “You are certainly well liked. Then come quickly.”

Dr. James opened the door, looked around, then led them outside. The chapel lay at the bottom of a wooded ravine. As they hurried up the narrow valley between steep hills, Dr. James walked tall and erect, like a person used to army life.

When he brought them into his house, Libby saw heavy curtains drawn across the windows. In the living room a huge fireplace nearly filled the wall opposite the door. As the red coals sent forth welcome heat, Libby and the others gathered around. By the light of the lamp, Libby saw kindness in the doctor’s eyes. But he warned them.

“You can’t stay this close to the front door. Ever since I was caught with a fugitive, slave catchers have watched my house day and night. Someone might come with a search warrant.”

On either side of the fireplace were closet doors. When Dr. James opened one of them, it looked like the usual closet. Then he showed Libby the latch for a hidden trapdoor. The door in the wall opened onto a landing with a secret stairway leading both up and down.

“If someone comes to the door, you’ll have to listen,” Dr. James said. “If all is going well, you can stand on the stairs and be safe. But if the child starts to cry—”

“What does we do?” Hattie asked quickly, no doubt remembering how Rose had cried in the peddler’s wagon.

“If the slave catchers go upstairs to hunt for you, go down in the basement. If you hear them walk down to the basement, creep upstairs. Even the walls can talk.”

The doctor’s housekeeper came then, bringing bread and cheese. “If you stay long enough, I’ll have more,” she told them. “Something to warm up your insides. But don’t leave even a crumb in the closet. It’s the first place slave catchers look.”

They were still eating when Caleb came in. As he wolfed down a sandwich, footsteps sounded outside the house.

“Hurry!” Dr. James pushed them toward the secret hiding place. “Get in the stairway and close the trapdoor.”

Inside the closet Libby fumbled with the latch to the trapdoor. Caleb snatched up a candle and followed her. Reaching forward, he pressed the latch, and the trapdoor opened. When Jordan followed Caleb, Hattie shoved Serena and Zack toward him.

As Libby started up the secret stairway, she looked back into the living room. Little Rose stood next to the window. When her mother raced to get her, the little girl pushed aside the heavy curtain to look out.

Just then someone pounded on the front door. Libby’s heart leaped into her throat.

“Get moving,” Caleb said, but Libby was watching Rose.

Snatching up her child, Hattie raced for the closet. When Dr. James closed the door behind her, Jordan reached for his little sister. “Follow Caleb,” he told Serena and Zack, and the two slipped past him.

“Hurry!” Jordan told his mother. Pulling her onto the
landing, he closed the trap door leading to the closet.

As the latch clicked into place, Libby fled up the stairs. Through the walls, she heard the pounding on the outside door. Slow footsteps crossed the wooden floor, as if Dr. James was giving them all the time he could.

Remembering the doctor’s warning about noise, Libby stopped on the second-floor landing. Behind her, the others waited. As Caleb held up the candle, Libby saw the stone wall of the chimney on one side of the secret stairway. Opposite the chimney, the wall was wood with openings into other parts of the house. In the light of the candle, Libby’s shadow fell across the wall. Walking on tiptoe, she grabbed the handrail and climbed another step, then another. Each time she moved, her shadow moved with her. As Caleb and the others followed Libby upward, their shadows flickered and danced in the candlelight.

From below, Libby heard voices. Listening, she tried to figure out how many men there were. “We’re after some runaway slaves,” one of them said.

“You’ll find no slaves in this house,” Dr. James answered, and Libby knew that like the Quakers, he too believed in honesty, yet in the freedom of every individual.

“We’ll have a look around,” a second man answered.

“Not without a search warrant.” The doctor’s voice was firm.

“Here’s your warrant.” That was the third voice.

Barely breathing, Libby waited. When she heard no sound, she knew that Dr. James must be reading a paper.

In that moment little Rose whimpered.

“Hush, baby,” her mother whispered. But Rose looked up at the dancing shadows and whimpered again.

“Move!” Jordan whispered, and Libby again started upward.

Her feet flying without sound, she reached the landing for the attic. Looking back, she saw Caleb, Serena, Zack, and Jordan fleeing up the steps. Last of all came Hattie with the child’s head against her chest. As they passed the second-floor landing, Rose let out a wail.

Frantic with haste, Libby fumbled with the latch to the attic door. By the time she found it, Rose was sobbing as if her heart would break.

The minute Libby opened the trapdoor, she stepped into a closet. There she opened another door into a large attic room.

Still holding the candle, Caleb lit the way for the others. In the attic a window was open, and the current of air caught the flame. When Caleb gave Libby the candle, she cupped her hand around it.

Just then Hattie moved into the room. Rocking back and forth, she crooned softly to Rose. For the moment the little girl was quiet.

Peering around the attic, Libby tried to see into the shadows.
The main stairway. Where is it?

Then she knew by the sound. Someone was coming up, no doubt taking the steps two at a time.

Libby raced for the closet and the secret stairway. As Serena and Zack, then Hattie followed, Caleb stayed behind to help Jordan close the doors.

In that moment Libby felt a current of air sweep down the steps. An instant later the candle flickered out.

CHAPTER 19

S
uddenly Rose shrieked. Close behind Libby, Serena gasped. Reaching back, Libby felt for Serena’s hand, then grabbed it.

“Hang on,” Libby whispered to Serena, then started down the stairway. With her other hand on the railing, Libby felt her way in the dark, doing her best to hurry.

Behind Libby, Serena’s bare feet made no sound. Zack followed Serena, again without sound. Behind them Libby heard only a slight movement now and then.

When Libby reached the second-floor landing, she paused. Rose was quiet now, for the moment at least. From the other side of the wall next to her, Libby heard a voice. As clearly as if the man were on the stairway with them, he spoke with a rasp in his voice.