Mysterious Signal (14 page)

More than any teasing could have done, Caleb’s kindness was too much for Libby. Tears welled up in her eyes and ran down her cheeks. That embarrassed Libby even more. Not wanting to cry in front of the boys, she brushed away her tears.

But the pain of words she had thought about for five months would not go away. Instead, Libby started to sob.

Peter patted her hand. Caleb brought out his red bandanna. This time Libby used it, in spite of how it looked from being in his knapsack for twelve days.

When at last she stopped crying, Caleb had made up his
mind. “Annika has already proved that she can be trusted,” he said. “When she comes back, let’s see if she has any ideas about what to do.”

As Annika came in, she looked from one to the other and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Caleb started explaining, and Libby added to it. “Pa has never told Auntie Vi about the Underground Railroad, and I can’t either.”

“If Libby’s Aunt Vi let anything slip, Jordan and his daddy could lose their freedom, even their lives,” Caleb said.

When they finished talking, Annika told them, “I want to help you. I’ve finished my job here. The family who owns this house will return in two days.”

“Are you sure you want to leave?” Libby asked, thinking about the young marshal.

“It’s been an exciting place to live,” Annika told them. “Just a few months ago our neighboring city, North Bloomington, was chosen for the teachers’ college, the Illinois State Normal University. Jesse Fell—the man who planted twelve thousand trees—worked hard to get the college here. Some say the city will soon be called Normal after the school.”

Annika poured herself a cup of coffee. “Last year, right here in Bloomington, the Illinois Republican party was organized. Mr. Abraham Lincoln gave an excellent speech.”

“Mr. Lincoln spoke here?” Libby asked. “What did he say?”

Annika grinned. “I don’t know.”

“But you said—”

“It was such a spellbinding speech that even the reporters forgot to write it down. None of us can remember what he said.” A look of mischief filled Annika’s eyes. “People are
calling it Mr. Lincoln’s Lost Speech.”

Annika looked from Libby to Peter to Caleb, as though she had already grown to love them the way they loved her. “I’ll travel with you to the
Christina
. Then I’ll go to Galena or Minnesota Territory. I know a teacher named Harriet Bishop in St. Paul. She’ll help me find another teaching position.”

“If you went with us, we would be like a family,” Libby said.

Annika agreed. “Whenever Caleb needs to transfer Jordan and his father onto another train, you and Peter and I will keep your Aunt Vi busy. She won’t notice what’s going on.”

Annika also understood why Peter was so afraid of Dexter. “When I met him today, I knew he was a man to be feared. Libby, you need to keep your disguise. I’ll give you another hat—one that hides your face better.”

Twice during the night Libby woke up with the feeling that something really awful had happened. Each time she came fully awake, she remembered that in the morning Aunt Vi would arrive from Chicago. She would think and say her worst.

Why am I so upset?
Libby wondered.
I just got dragged to a police station and accused of passing counterfeit money. How can anything be more awful than that?
Yet for some reason facing her aunt seemed even worse.

Then Libby knew what really bothered her. For as long as she could remember she had wanted to please her aunt. For the same length of time, Libby had never managed to do it.

Finally Libby started to pray.
Please, God, I just want to be safe—safe from all the awful things Auntie says and does. Safe from all the terrible things Dexter and his friend might do
.

The next morning Libby was still at the breakfast table
when Caleb said, “I’ll walk over to see Mr. Pinkerton’s friend again. We’ll take the extra barrels for the
Christina
to the depot. Meet you there, okay?”

Today Annika had pulled up her long black hair, but curls escaped around her face. She wore a bright blue traveling dress.

As soon as Annika served Libby and Peter eggs and ham, she started washing dishes. “We need to leave in half an hour,” she reminded them while Libby poked at her food.

In spite of how good the breakfast looked, Libby could barely get it down. When she finally stood up and brought her plate to Annika, she found the teacher looking at her.

“What’s the matter, Libby?” she asked.

The kindness in Annika’s voice went straight to Libby’s heart.

“You’d better tell me,” Annika said gently. “I think it’s something I need to know.”

Libby finished her story about Auntie Vi by saying, “She wants me to be perfect—to be a proper young lady. She said I always manage to attract trouble.”

Annika’s smile had that look of mischief again. “You attract trouble, all right. But you’re a young lady, even in boys’ clothing.”

“I am?” Even the idea of it shocked Libby.

Annika nodded. “You are fast becoming a young lady. It’s in you, Libby. That’s why it’s so hard for you to pretend you’re a boy. But for now you must, and because you must, you will.”

“For Peter’s sake,” Libby said quietly.

“For Peter’s sake.”

In that moment Libby understood Annika better. “Just like you do things that scare you. You hide runaway slaves.”

The night before, Annika had brought in the Jacob’s ladder quilt. Now it lay over a chair, neatly folded. Annika picked it up.

“Do you remember Jacob’s dream about a ladder set on the earth and the top reaching up to heaven? And God stood above the top of the ladder and promised Jacob, ‘I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest.’ Libby, that’s what God is saying to you. ‘I am with you. I will keep you in all the places you go.’ But if you want God with you, you need to let Him be there.”

Annika put down the quilt. “I can’t promise that you won’t have a bad time today,” she said, speaking gently. “I wish I could make that promise, but I can’t. You might have a really terrible day. But there’s something I want for you—that you find out what God thinks of you.”

“What God thinks of me!” Libby nearly laughed out loud. If Annika hadn’t been so kind to her, Libby would have scoffed at the idea.

“What God thinks of you,” Annika repeated, her voice steady. “That’s much more important than what your aunt thinks of you.”

Libby wasn’t so sure about that. “What can be worse than facing both Auntie and God?”

But Annika only smiled. “Just wait. You’ll see.”

Putting down the quilt, she hurried off to make sure that Peter was ready to leave. Already the teacher had packed two carpetbags and set them next to the door. Yet a Bible lay open on the table. Now Libby wondered,
What can be so important that Annika leaves her Bible out till the very end?

Looking closer, Libby saw that the pages were open to
Psalm 16. One of the verses was neatly underlined. It made Libby curious.
A Bible is really valuable. People fill in the pages for family births and deaths. But underline a verse?

Then Libby read the words, and they seemed to leap off the page. “I have set the Lord always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.”

Not be moved?
Libby wondered about it.
Does that mean not be shaken? I will not be scared?

Yes!
Libby decided, for now as she thought about the Lord she felt peaceful inside. No longer scared.

Standing there, Libby memorized the verse.
If only I can remember those words. If only I can repeat them to myself, even if something really terrible happens to me
.

CHAPTER 12

W
hen Libby was ready to leave, she picked up the signal quilt from where it lay on a chair. For a moment Libby stroked the soft cloth with its neatly sewn pieces.
If it weren’t for this quilt, we never would have met Annika
.

When the teacher returned with Peter, Libby offered the quilt to her. But Annika shook her head. “It’s yours, Libby.”

“Mine?” In a flash Libby remembered the quilts she had given to fugitive slaves for the
Christina
’s most secret hiding place. None of them were as beautiful as this. “Mine? To keep?”

Annika smiled. “In western Kentucky this is called an Underground Railroad quilt. You’re part of that Railroad now, Libby. I suspect that sometime you’ll need the quilt for a signal. Besides, I want you to have it for a remembrance quilt.”

“Remembrance?” Libby wasn’t sure what Annika meant.

“To help you remember who you are—a very special girl who is rapidly becoming a woman.”

Libby grinned. “Even though I’m dressed like a boy.”

Annika smiled back. “Even though you’re acting more like a boy all the time.”

Together they tucked the Jacob’s ladder quilt inside a pillowcase
to keep it clean. When Libby stowed it under one arm, they were ready to leave.

Annika had asked a friend to take them to the depot. When they reached it, the train had come in from Chicago. They found Caleb waiting for them. Standing next to the wall at one side of the depot, Caleb spoke quietly to Libby, “He’s here.”

“He?” Libby caught the worry in Caleb’s voice. “Not
they
? Who’s
he
?”

Caleb looked around, then signed Jordan’s name.

“What happened?” Libby asked.

“The people in Chicago said it was too dangerous for Micah Parker to go back to western Illinois. They wouldn’t let him take the risk. He’s going straight from Chicago to his family in Galena. Can you imagine the reunion they’ll have?”

“Jordan will meet his father there?” Libby asked.

“If all goes well. Jordan should have gone with him, but he knew we wouldn’t leave unless he came.”

“He’s right. We wouldn’t have,” Libby said. “And if we don’t leave, we won’t get the money to Pa. And Pa won’t make the payment for the
Christina
on time. But—”

“I know.” Though Caleb usually managed to hide his feelings, he looked troubled now. “I can’t help wondering if Dexter is hiding somewhere, watching us right now. I don’t want to even think about it.”