Mysterious Signal (3 page)

Again the Underground Railroad conductor whispered, “You’re on your own now. The good Lord go with you.”

Caleb stretched out his hand. “Thanks for everything.”

When Libby, Caleb, and Peter jumped down from the end of the wagon, the driver barely lifted the reins and the horses responded. As the wagon rolled away, Caleb pointed to the trees. Without a sound he led them into the shadows, then stopped. When he leaned against a tree, his tall slender body seemed to blend with the bark.

To Libby it felt as if Caleb waited forever. As the hours stretched long, she grew more and more restless. But Caleb stood without moving. Libby had no doubt that he waited to be sure they brought no trouble on the Underground Railroad conductor and his family. Together they watched to see if anyone had followed them from the livery stable.

Following Caleb’s lead, Peter stood next to him. With the
same blond hair and blue eyes, he looked like Caleb’s younger brother.

Finally in the gray light before dawn, Caleb took Peter’s slate. After losing his hearing through brain fever, Peter had learned sign language at the school for the deaf in Jacksonville, Illinois. Now Libby and Caleb were learning sign language from him. The slate helped them explain things they didn’t know how to sign.

Using the shortcut words he and Peter had worked out between them, Caleb explained about Jordan and his daddy. Then he pointed to the depot and wrote, “Telegram. Libby’s pa.”

Along the street no one moved. In the half-light Libby heard only the twittering of birds. Then Caleb slung his knapsack onto his back, and Peter did the same.

“Let’s go.” For the first time all night, Caleb spoke aloud.

Just hearing his voice made Libby feel better. Anxious to get moving, she tossed her head and her long auburn hair swung about the knapsack on her back. Libby thought about what was inside—a change of clothes, needle and thread, sewing scissors, packets of food, drawing paper and pencils.
Am I ready for whatever lies ahead?

Then Libby knew.
If I’m not, there’s no turning back. No second chance
.

CHAPTER 2

C
aleb, Libby, and Peter stepped out. Their watchfulness while racing through the darkness, then waiting for dawn, had been worth it. They seemed to have succeeded in getting away from any slave catcher who might follow them to find Jordan and Micah Parker.

“I can’t believe it!” Libby exclaimed. “Jordan and his daddy are safely on their way in the wagon. We can walk down the street without wondering if someone will know that they’re fugitives.”

Libby took a deep breath, just enjoying the fresh air, still cool with the morning. Thinking about how everything had suddenly turned out all right, she laughed aloud. “Not only are Jordan and his daddy together. We have the stolen money!”

But Caleb was more cautious. “You mean we know where the money is. We don’t have it in the right places. The money from Jordan’s church isn’t safe till he turns it over to John Jones in Chicago. And we still need to get your pa’s money to Galena by August fifteenth.”

Libby knew exactly what Caleb was saying. Galena was in the northwest corner of Illinois, while they were still near the center of the state. For two weeks they had tried to stay ahead
of the clock to find money stolen from Libby’s father, who was captain of the steamboat
Christina
. But now Libby felt impatient with Caleb. She didn’t want anything to spoil her excitement about all the good things that had happened.

Though only a few inches taller than Libby, Caleb walked faster. Just then he reached for Peter’s slate. While still walking, Caleb tried to write. Finally he gave up and stopped long enough to scribble, “I hope we hear from Libby’s pa. That would make it much easier to find each other.”

Holding up one hand, Peter wiggled his fingers. “See?” Because he could hear until he was seven, Peter knew how to speak. “It’d be easier if you learned to spell with your fingers. You can talk even when you walk.”

Caleb grinned, returned the slate, and set out again. With Libby and Peter half running to keep up with Caleb’s strides, they hurried the rest of the way to the Springfield train depot.

Libby’s thoughts leaped ahead, even more quickly than her feet. “Can you imagine what Pa will think when he hears our story?” she asked Caleb. “I can’t wait to give him the stolen money and see him pay off that loan!”

Caleb’s blue eyes held a warning. “If we don’t find your pa, he won’t get to Galena by Saturday. He’ll lose the
Christina
!”

Again Libby pushed aside Caleb’s words. “That’s five days. Pa will make it in time. I know he will. We’ll find him. We’ll give him the money, and everything will be all right.”

“If nothing else goes wrong.”

Like a clanging bell, Libby heard the words in her mind.
If nothing else goes wrong
. She remembered the fugitive slave laws and the danger to Jordan and his father. She remembered all that had kept them from finding the money before now.

Then she pushed her anxious thoughts away. Today, after their long struggle, the sun was shining. Jordan and his daddy were safe. Today only good things could happen.

Inside the depot they found a man using a telegraph. As he jiggled a lever, Libby heard short and long clicks and knew he was sending Morse code. To her it seemed a miracle that a message could fly over a line of wire stretched between two cities.

Eleven days before, when Libby, Caleb, Jordan, and Peter left the
Christina
at Alton, Illinois, Libby’s father, Captain Norstad, continued down the Mississippi River to St. Louis. Before separating, they had agreed to use the Alton train depot as a place to leave messages. Only yesterday Libby and Caleb had telegraphed Libby’s father to tell him they were in Springfield.

As the telegraph operator looked up, Libby asked, “Any message from my pa?”

“Here you are!” The telegraph operator handed Libby a piece of paper. Eagerly she read it:

GLAD FOR GOOD NEWS STOP
MEET IN QUINCY AUGUST 12 STOP

   Libby stared at the message, then showed it to Caleb and Peter. “If Pa is glad for our good news, why does he say stop?” she asked Caleb.

“Stop means the end of the sentence,” Caleb told her. “It’s like a period. Your pa wants us to meet him at Quincy, Illinois, on Wednesday, August twelfth.”

“Two days from now.” Libby looked forward to seeing her
father. She wrote to Peter. “We can meet Pa in time.”

But Caleb’s eyes had that uneasy look again. He turned back to the telegraph operator. “The next train to the Junction at North Bloomington. When does it leave?”

After several more questions, Caleb led Libby and Peter away from the telegraph operator. The depot had two waiting rooms. Both were filled with benches and looked much alike. However, one room was set aside for women and children. The other, for men and boys, had spittoons—small brass pots—for the men who chewed tobacco.

Instead of separating into two rooms, Libby and the boys went outside. Under the shelter of an overhanging roof, they sat down on crates ready to be shipped.

“What’s wrong, Caleb?” Libby asked while eating breakfast.

Picking up a stick, Caleb started to draw in the dirt. “We’re here,” he said, making a round hole that he labeled
Springfield
. Making a second hole, Caleb marked it
North Bloomington
, then drew a line from Springfield.

From North Bloomington Caleb drew a longer line to Chicago. Then he marked the Mississippi River, Quincy, and Galena.

Peter understood. “From the Junction at North Bloomington, Jordan and his daddy will go to Chicago. We’ll take whatever trains we need to meet Libby’s pa in Quincy. But how will Jordan and his daddy stay safe?”

Safe
. As much as Libby wanted to forget the word, she couldn’t.
All my life I’ve wanted to be safe
, she thought.

During the four years after her mother’s death, Libby lived with her Auntie Vi in Chicago. Since coming to be with her father on the
Christina
, Libby had learned a new meaning of the word
safe
. She and Pa and Caleb and his grandmother all worked to help runaway slaves be safe. Often Libby longed for a safe place for herself—a place where no danger could touch her or Pa or the people they loved.

Pulling forward a strand of her long auburn hair, Libby started twisting it around her finger. In the early morning sunlight her hair shone red gold. Libby felt proud of her hair and thankful that she had inherited the color from her mother. She also felt glad that she had the same brown eyes as both Pa and Ma. Even now, Libby missed her mother.

Sometimes it was just a fleeting thought—something such as the color of her hair that reminded Libby of days gone by. Other times she felt the deep ache of loneliness.
I wish I could ask Ma what it’s like to grow up—to be a girl ready to get married, to be a woman. That would feel safe, too, just talking with Ma
.

Libby’s Auntie Vi had worked hard, trying to turn Libby into a perfect lady. It wasn’t hard to remember what Auntie said about her.
“Somehow that girl always manages to attract trouble! I just want to give up on her!”

Those hurtful words had given Libby a bigger wish. “I want
a never-give-up family,” she told Pa more than once. “A family that believes in me even when I’m not perfect.”

But now Libby felt proud.
Look at all I’ve done, helping with the Underground Railroad. Someday Auntie will know I’m a person she shouldn’t have given up on. I wish she could see me this minute!

Just then Peter broke into Libby’s thoughts. “Let’s get the money so we’re ready to leave.” Without waiting another minute, Peter set out for the police station.

He looks the happiest I’ve ever seen him
, Libby thought. Dexter, the man Peter dreaded, was behind bars here in Springfield.

Little more than twenty-four hours before, in the early hours of Sunday morning, Peter had stood up to Dexter, the thief who stole money from both Pa and Jordan. With courage Peter had revealed who Dexter was—a man who tried to teach him to steal.

But when Peter reached the door of the police station, he suddenly stopped. “I don’t want Dexter to see me,” he said. “He’s really upset with me.”