The Fiddler's Secret (14 page)

A man climbed down from each wagon. Two were tall and one was short. All three quietly slipped in through the door.

Why?
Libby wondered.
What are they doing?

A moment later they began coming back out. Each man carried something heavy on his shoulder. As the moon broke
free of the clouds, Libby saw what it was. A pack of furs!

Thieves!
Libby thought as she watched them load the wagons.
Thieves stealing the furs!

Just then Libby heard the
Christina
's gangplank go out and quiet footsteps pass over to the riverbank. In the dark area near the boat, two men started toward the wagons.

More thieves! What can I do?

As Libby stood up to tell her pa, she remembered he wasn't in his cabin. By the time she found him, the thieves would get away.

Then Libby caught sight of the nearby bell. In one moment she was there, taking hold of the long rope between the bell and pilothouse.

CHAPTER 11

W
ith one tug of the rope, the bell rang out. The clanging sound filled the night, and the Lower Landing came alive. Again and again Libby rang the bell.

On the
Christina
deckhands raced up the stairs to see what was wrong. Near the warehouse the thieves leaped into their wagons. As men from the
Christina
raced toward them, Libby stood at the railing, watching. Just then two policemen rounded one end of the building.

At the other end of the warehouse, the thieves cracked whips over their horses. Rattling and swaying, the wagons entered the street. The policemen tore after them, but the thieves got away.

When all the excitement was over, Libby walked slowly to her father's cabin. Filled with discouragement, she waited for Pa to come in.
I tried
, she thought.
But it wasn't enough
.

It was Caleb who came first, and he asked, “Libby, how do you manage to get in so much trouble?”

Libby stared at him. “Caleb Whitney, I was trying to stop the thieves. I wanted to warn the police, the people who owned the warehouse, anyone who would listen.”

“You warned people, all right. You got everyone on the whole waterfront awake. But the thieves got away before Jordan and I could see who they were.”

“That was
you
along the riverfront? Well, I'll tell you who they were. Two were tall, and one was short enough to be the pawnbroker.”

Caleb barely listened. Instead he asked, “Couldn't you think of another way to get help?”

Libby bowed her head. Closing her fists, she gripped them until her fingernails bit into the palms of her hands. Not for anything in the world would she let Caleb see her cry.

But he wasn't finished yet. “Libby, you made yourself a marked person again. Those thieves know who you are. They know there's only one captain's daughter on the
Christina
.”

Like water, a flood of anger poured through Libby. But when she looked up, she saw Caleb's eyes. “You're scared, aren't you?” she said.

“How can I
not
be scared? From the minute you came to live on this boat, your pa asked me to look out for you.”

“So-o-o-o,” Libby said. “I'm part of your job.”

Caleb groaned. “No! I mean yes! Oh, you know what I mean.”

“No, I don't.” Libby's anger was back, and this time it spilled over. “I thought we were friends. I thought you liked having me help with the Underground Railroad, that you trusted me—”

Suddenly Caleb whirled around and stalked off. At the door he turned back. “Libby, you make me so mad I could spit!”

Then he was gone.

As the door slammed behind him, Libby giggled.
So! Even the great Caleb Whitney can get upset!

Then her giggling gave way to sobs. Half a minute later, she remembered Caleb's scared eyes and started laughing. But when she once more started weeping, she sobbed as if she would never stop.

Just then Caleb flung open the door and pushed Samson inside. “Keep him with you,” he warned. “I can't be your nursemaid all the time.”

“I don't want you to be my nursemaid
any
of the time!” Libby called after him. But Caleb was gone for good.

In Pa's cabin the next morning, Libby finished telling him what had happened during the night. Cup of coffee in hand and still taking it easy, Pa looked through the window to Jackson Street. “There's Joe Rolette!”

With quick strides a man was hurrying down the steep bluff, headed straight for the
Christina
.

“Who's Joe Rolette?” Libby asked.

“The representative from Pembina—by the Canadian border where the oxcarts come from. Because of men like Joe and his partner, St. Paul takes an active part in international trade.”

Already Pa was looking for his tie. “Joe is also the man who stole the bill that would have moved the capital of Minnesota from St. Paul to St. Peter. He walked off with the bill and hid out in a St. Paul hotel till it was too late to take a vote.”

Libby giggled. No doubt the people of Minnesota Territory took it seriously, though.

“Joe uses sled dogs to come to St. Paul in winter. Libby, where's my toothbrush?”

“It's not on your washstand?”

“And my comb? That's not here either.”

Libby hurried over to look. Pa was so orderly she had never seen him search for his belongings.

As he laid out his captain's coat, he said, “My clothes brush. And where are my shoes?”

Upset now, Pa looked around. “What's going on? Everything I need has disappeared!”

“Uh-oh!” Libby said. “Did Peter offer to help you yesterday?”

Suddenly Pa stood still. “Why, yes, now that I think of it. When he asked what he could do, I suggested he straighten my cabin.”

Instead of its usual place on the washstand, Libby found Pa's toothbrush in his desk. His comb had somehow fallen down between the bed and the wall. His clothes brush and shoes were in a drawer under the bed.

By the time Pa put on his captain's coat and hat, he looked exhausted. And Joe Rolette was knocking at the door.

“Can you manage to find some other way for Peter to help?” Pa asked as Libby scurried out.

At breakfast Pa told Annika, “I'm going to take a look around today. Would you like to come with me?”

“I'd like to go,” Annika said, “but I promised to check back with Harriet Bishop. She's looking for a teaching position for me.”

Pa looked disappointed. “I'd still like to have you help me teach on the
Christina
if you're willing. You could also teach English to immigrants as they travel upstream.”

Before Annika could answer, Peter jumped in to ask Pa, “How can I help you today? Shall I clean your cabin again?”

Taking Peter's slate, Pa wrote quickly, “I'd like your help in
another way. If you want to be an explorer, how about going with me?”

While rousters loaded Joe Rolette's furs onto the
Christina
, Pa set out with Peter. From the boat Libby watched them cross the waterfront.

“Peter gets to be with Pa for a whole day,” she told Annika.

“Libby, Peter needs a sister just like you,” Annika said gently. “And he needs your pa in the same way that you need him. Your father has enough love for both of you.”

But Libby's gaze followed Pa long after he and Peter started up Jackson Street.
I've always had Pa to myself. My life is changing. I don't know if I like the changes
.

On the riverfront Libby and Franz watched Jordan and Caleb go from one wagon to the next. Before long they found a farmer headed for the young city of St. Anthony. On his way there, he would pass near Larpenteur's Lake, where the oxcart drivers camped.

Franz swung up onto the seat next to the driver while Libby, Caleb, and Jordan climbed in at the back. As they bumped along, Jordan leaned against the high boards at the front of the wagon. His eyes closed, he hummed so softly that Libby could barely hear him.

When Jordan began singing the words, Franz turned his head to listen. Swaying back and forth with the music, Jordan seemed to forget where he was.