Midnight Rescue (3 page)

“Do they wear uniforms?” Caleb asked.

“Wel-l-l-l—” Nate thought about it. “They all wear the same thing—gray pants, a shirt, jacket, and cap. But the best way to recognize a prisoner is by his haircut.”

Libby’s knuckles were white now from holding the top board of the wagon. The sharp drop at the edge of the bluff was so close to the wheels that it made her nervous. If she had her way about things, she would get out of the wagon and walk.

When the road finally leveled out, Libby felt relieved. At the top of the bluff Nate stopped the horses. At least he was right about one thing. There couldn’t be a better view anywhere.

Gazing upstream and down, Libby watched the sunlight dance upon the water. Here at the head of Lake St. Croix, masses of logs floated like large islands. On the far side of the lake, the sandstone bluffs of Wisconsin rose high and beautiful.

Libby caught her breath at the beauty. Far below, men hurried up and down the
Christina
’s gangplank, unloading her cargo. Between the steamboat and Libby, houses clung to the steep hillside.

Like Libby, Caleb and Jordan studied the great stretch of water before them. It wasn’t hard to guess what they were searching for—a steamboat that might bring news about the two-hundred-dollar reward offered for Jordan.

Moments later, as Libby feared, Caleb stretched out his arm, pointing downstream. “Steamboat a-comin,’” he said.

Still far away, small plumes of black smoke rose from two tall stacks. It was a steamboat all right. Which one? And who was on board? People who had never heard of Jordan? Or his enemies?

When Caleb and Jordan looked at each other, Libby felt sure she knew what they were thinking. Only then did she realize how much she dreaded having the wrong person follow Jordan because he was a fugitive.

As Nate drove on, he stopped the horses on the bluff behind the territorial prison. Here too, the hill in front of them was stripped bare of trees. Libby looked down across the roofs of three-story high buildings that stretched away toward the river.

On the back and two sides the bluff formed a natural hollow around the prison. On Libby’s left, the bluff was straight-up-and-down rock. Directly below her and the boys,
the steep hill slanted more gradually away. Between the bottom of the bluff and the buildings was a twelve-foot stone wall.

As Nate pointed toward the warden’s house, a clank broke the stillness of the morning.

What is it?
Libby gazed down into the hollow, trying to figure out where the sound came from. In the prison yard everything seemed to be as it had been.

Then Libby heard a second clank—the sound of metal against metal. This time she noticed a pipe railing around the top of the prison wall. Below where she stood something hung from the pipe.

Staring down, Libby decided it was a large hook. A rope hung from the hook, dropping inside the prison wall. While Libby watched, the rope stretched tight.

“Look!” she whispered to Caleb. The rope swayed now, swinging out away from the wall as if someone was climbing up. “A prisoner is trying to escape!”

In the next instant a hand reached up to where the rope showed above the wall. Another hand grasped the pipe, and a halfshaved head appeared.

CHAPTER 2

A
s Libby and the boys watched, a man pulled himself up, then swung a leg over the wall.

“I bet the warden went to see the
Christina
come in,” Nate muttered.

For a moment the prisoner balanced on top of the wall. With quick movements he pulled up the rope, yanked the hook free, and dropped the rope to the ground outside the wall.

Leaning forward, Libby tried for a better look at his face. Just then the prisoner turned. As he grasped the pipe railing with both hands, Libby saw the bundle on his back. Swinging his legs free, the prisoner touched down on the steep hill close to the top of the wall.

As he picked up the rope, he glanced around, then up the bluff to where Libby and the boys waited in the wagon. Suddenly the man jerked back. As if trying to hide his face, he ducked his head. Grabbing bushes and weeds for a handhold, he crept along the side of the hill.

“We need to get help!” Caleb exclaimed.

“It’s a hard climb,” Nate said as if doubting the man could get out.

“Right here the hill is slanted enough for him to make it,”
Caleb answered. “He’ll get away.”

“Not if we hurry.” In the narrow road Nate turned the horses sharply, then backed up. The moment Tom and Bob completed the turn, Nate slapped the reins across their backs.

“Giddyup!” he cried. As the horses swung around a curve, they picked up speed. Soon they reached the level ground at the top of the long steep hill. As Libby looked ahead, her fear of heights returned.

On her right, the ground at the side of the road rose upward. On her left, the bluff fell away to nothing. Remembering the frightening drop to the ground far below, Libby felt her stomach turn over.
If the harness holds. If nothing goes wrong—

As they started down the long hill, Nate pulled back on the reins. When the horses slowed to a walk, Libby felt relieved. As if digging in their rear hooves, Tom and Bob held back the weight of the wagon.

Nate spoke to them now. “Good boys. Easy—that’s the way.”

Breathing deeply, Libby felt almost silly.
Here I was so scared for no reason at all
. For a moment she glanced toward the river, almost enjoying the view.

In the next instant everything changed. As the steep hill forced the harness forward, the wagon lurched. Libby rocked back. Tightening her grip, she clung to the high wooden sides of the wagon. Standing next to Libby, Caleb braced his feet and hung on.

Again the wagon lurched. Suddenly the horses started running.

“Whoa!” Nate called, pulling back on the reins. Instead, Tom and Bob picked up their speed.

“Whoa!” Nate cried again.

When Bob tossed his head, Libby saw the terror in his eyes. Fighting against the harness, Tom veered off to the right and the rising hill. Then Bob pulled left, and the wagon swayed. As the horses moved into a gallop, Libby’s heart pounded. The horses were running away!

“Whoa!” Leaning back, Nate pulled at the reins, but nothing happened. “Whoa!” he called again. Instead, the wheels went faster and faster.

Suddenly Jordan reached over, grabbing the reins. His hands next to Nate’s, they pulled together. With all their strength they hung on. But there was no stopping the horses. On the narrow road the wagon rocked dangerously.

Just then Jordan leaped from the high front seat. Hitting the ground in a ball, he rolled, picked himself up, and raced after the horses. But the wagon swung past him, so close that the rear wheel almost hit him.

Filled with terror, Libby stared down over the high wood sides. The boards that had seemed to protect her now made it impossible to leap.

Libby whirled around. When she tried to walk toward the open back end, she staggered. Unable to move against the slant of the wagon, she almost fell.

Her panic growing, Libby grabbed the sides of the wagon again. As she faced forward, Tom veered to the right. Bob again pulled left. Rocking from side to side, the wagon swung out of control. Moments later, the horses headed straight for a big rock on the edge of the bluff.

From next to Libby, Caleb shouted, “Get down!”

Instead, Libby froze, unable to let go. Grabbing her arm,
Caleb pushed her to the floor of the wagon. “Cover your head!”

Still frozen by terror, Libby had time for only one thought.
What will Pa do without me?

In the next instant arms came down on top of her head. The wagon wobbled, then tipped. As a horse screamed, the wagon rolled on its side. With a great lurch and cracking wood, it slammed to a stop.

When a second horse snorted, Libby shuddered. Without moving, she tried to figure out where she was.
The steep road. The wagon. The runaway horses
.

Then she remembered.
Caleb told me to get down
.

As Libby stirred and tried to look up, she saw Caleb’s arms protecting her head.

“You okay, Libby?” he asked. Moving slowly, he sat back on his heels.

Again Libby stirred.
Am I okay?
she wondered.

She wiggled her toes. Yes, she could feel them. Her legs, her arms, and her hands all seemed to work. But Libby felt dazed. Why was she kneeling on the side instead of the bottom of the wagon? The wagon tilted strangely too.

Still feeling odd, Libby looked up into Caleb’s scared eyes. “Are
you
okay?” she asked.

Caleb nodded, but when Libby tried to move, he stopped her. “We’re at the edge of the bluff,” he warned. “There’s only a rock holding us.”

“One rock? A big one?” Again terror filled Libby, reaching through her dazed feelings.

“The horses headed straight for it,” Caleb said. “Bob went to one side and Tom to the other. They broke the pole, and the wagon swung around.”

“Out over the edge?” Libby could barely speak.

Caleb nodded. “Don’t move,” he warned again.

“Jordan?” Libby asked, remembering. Jordan had jumped free, trying to catch the horses.

“I can’t see him,” Caleb said. “I don’t dare look.”

“Nate?” Libby felt afraid to even breathe. As though able to see the steep drop below them, she remembered.

“I don’t know,” Caleb said.

Then Libby heard Jordan’s voice. “Hold still,” he warned as Caleb had.

Barely moving her head, Libby looked around. This time she understood what she saw. The wagon lay on its side with ground beneath the smashed front boards. The back end of the wagon hung at a crazy angle over the edge of the bluff. The only way out was through the open top, which was half on and half off the bluff.

Between the broken front boards Libby could see Jordan. “We gots to unhitch the horses before they shake everything loose,” he said.

Jordan was gone then, and Libby heard him talking quietly, soothing the horses. Through the splintered wood she heard a second voice, then saw Nate working to free the horses. Tom stood on one side of the large rock, Bob on the other, only a few feet from the edge of the bluff.

“Nate jumped off too?” Libby asked.

“Or was thrown,” Caleb told her. “I don’t know which. I was just thinking about you.”

“And my head.” Libby tried to smile, but her lips felt stiff. “Thanks, Caleb. Are you sure
your
head is okay?”

“My head is okay,” Caleb said.

“And the rest of you?” Libby asked.

“We both got down in time. The high sides protected us.”

For what seemed forever they waited, neither of them moving. Now and then they heard a whinny, as though the horses were still terrified.

“What happened?” Libby finally asked. Her voice was soft, as if even the sound could break the wagon free.

“Something spooked the horses,” Caleb said. “Whatever it was, I knew Nate wouldn’t be able to stop them. And we wouldn’t be able to get out.”

Always Libby felt amazed at how quickly Caleb figured out what to do. “You knew all that in the midst of horses running away?” Then Libby remembered. “That man climbing over the wall. The escaped prisoner must have gotten away.”