Mysterious Signal (8 page)

Then Libby came to an even bigger question. When does an ordinary quilt become a signal?

Soon Jordan and Peter caught up to them. But now Jordan looked over his shoulder often. His father seemed even more uneasy. More than once he glanced back, as if not sure whether he should stay with them. Libby could understand why.

In the past it had been difficult enough to hide Jordan because of his height and proud look. Only recently had Caleb and Libby learned they could help protect Jordan by walking as if they belonged together. For Jordan’s father, Micah, it was even more dangerous because of his recent escape from slavery. Posters scattered over a wide area described Micah’s height and offered a big reward for his capture. At any moment the wrong person could start trouble.

As Libby tried to push away her uneasiness, Jordan spoke
quietly from where he walked. “Pray,” he muttered softly, but Libby heard the word.

Pray
, she thought.
Lord, I just want Jordan and his daddy to be safe
.

On the next block, they met two rough-looking men walking along the street. When they stared at Jordan and Micah Parker, Libby felt frantic inside.

Soon the men passed on. Yet when Libby turned around to look, she found one of them still staring at Jordan and his daddy.

Again Libby prayed.
Help us, Lord. Help us find a safe place!

A few minutes later Jordan spoke in a soft voice. “The Lord says, ‘Turn here.’”

More than once Jordan had received strong leading from the Lord—a quiet inner sense of what to do when they needed help. Libby and Caleb had learned to respect what Jordan said because of the way his words proved to be true.

For a block they walked along the side street Jordan had chosen. Soon he said, “Turn again,” and they followed another street. A block farther on, Libby caught the movement of cloth on one side of a house. Eagerly she hurried forward.

Outside a second-floor window, a railing surrounded a narrow walkway. Hung over the railing was a quilt made with dark red and blue pieces against the cream color of unbleached muslin. A gentle breeze lifted one corner of the quilt.

In that moment Jordan spoke in a low voice. “That’s the signal we need!” Moving quickly into the yard, he led them into a clump of closely grown bushes. There he knelt down.

From between the branches Libby could see the quilt even better. The dark red and blue triangles and squares looked like
ladders—steps leading upward.

Libby’s mind leaped.
Steps leading up to heaven?
From Jordan, Libby had learned that
heaven
could be a code word. For Christian slaves it meant a place where there would be no more bondage. But slaves also used the word to mean escape from slavery in this life.

As though Libby had asked her question aloud, Jordan began to hum. Soft and low he hummed, almost under his breath. Then just as quietly, he began to sing.

Jacob’s ladder!
Libby thought.
So I
did
understand!
From her mother’s early telling of Bible stories, Libby remembered how Jacob fled from an angry brother. When far away from home, Jacob used a rock as a pillow and lay down to sleep. That night he dreamed of angels going up and down a ladder between earth and heaven.

Then Jordan whispered, “Squint!” and Libby did.

In that moment she saw it. In daylight the dark blue pieces stood out as lines moving diagonally across the quilt, as though from south to north. As Libby looked at the quilt with her eyes nearly closed, the blue pieces seemed to merge into lines. “Railroad tracks!”

“The Underground Railroad!” Jordan whispered back. “Tracks leading to the Promised Land!”

Down on her knees, Libby waited without moving. The
clump of bushes seemed to have been planted especially for people who needed to hide. Libby and the others watched to see if anyone went in or out of the house. At the same time, they watched the street and the surrounding neighborhood.

As the minutes stretched long, Libby grew more and more impatient. Turning to Caleb, she whispered close to his ear. “If someone takes us in, can I stop looking like a boy?”

“I don’t know,” he whispered back. “Anyone who hides fugitives knows better than to talk. But there’s something else—the rules of the Underground Railroad.”

The rules
, Libby thought.
The unwritten rules. Most people working with the Railroad know only what they need to know
. And Libby understood why—for their own protection.

The more we tell someone, the harder it is for that person if he’s questioned. A person who doesn’t know something is innocent if a cruel slave catcher questions him
.

Just as Libby felt she couldn’t wait another minute, Jordan turned to his father. “You be ready to run if I’m wrong?”

“I be ready to run,” Micah Parker answered. “But you run too.” Jordan’s daddy tipped his head toward the barn back of the house. “I be waiting for you there.”

CHAPTER 7

W
ith a last careful look for anyone who might pass by on the street, Jordan stood up. Quietly he slipped out from between the bushes and across the lawn to the side door.

As he reached the steps, Jordan started humming again, so softly that at first Libby wondered if she was imagining it. But Jordan rapped quickly on the door, then moved close to an open window.

There his humming changed to singing. Low and clear the words came across the short distance.

Suddenly the door opened. A tall young woman looked out. Even from where Libby hid, she could see that the woman was beautiful.

The woman’s long black hair was pulled up to fall into loose curls at the back of her head. Tucked at one side behind her ear were blue flowers that matched the deep blue of her eyes. “Come in,” she invited in a soft voice.

“There be five of us,” Jordan answered.

“I know,” she said. “I watched you from the upstairs window.”

As Libby and the others crossed the lawn, the young woman stepped back enough to be hidden behind the open door. The moment they all stepped inside, she closed the door.

“Welcome,” she said, her voice warm with friendliness. “I’m Annika Berg. Were you followed?”

“I don’t think so,” Caleb answered. “For the moment we seem out of danger.”

“Then I’ll get you some food. But if anyone comes to the door …” Annika led them up the stairs. In a bedroom she showed them a closet behind a closet where they should hide if needed. “We have a better place in the barn,” she said. “From there it will be easier for you to leave if necessary. After dark I’ll show you.”

Libby’s spirit leaped, responding to Annika’s loveliness. But even more, her smile was warm and welcoming.
Womanly
, Libby thought.
Everything I’m not right now
.

Just looking at Annika, Libby felt the dirt on her own clothes. Cinders from the train had blown in through the open windows. On that hot August day a fine dust had settled over all that she wore. Even worse, Libby disliked how she looked—her jagged cut-off hair, the wrinkled shirt and overalls. The look of a boy when she wanted to be what she was—a girl.

From where he stood beside her, Caleb touched the brim of her hat, and Libby remembered to take it off. For Libby it was also a reminder not to tell Annika more than necessary. As an agent—someone who ran an Underground Railroad station—she had put herself in a dangerous spot.

In spite of Annika’s womanly ways, Libby knew by instinct that she was strong. Only a courageous woman would protect runaways from a cruel return to their masters. In turn, Libby wanted to protect Annika.

When they returned to the kitchen, Annika added corncobs to make a quick fire in the cookstove. “Would you like to wash up?” she asked as though not concerned about making the hot kitchen even hotter.

Libby’s spirit leaped.
Yes, I’d like to wash up!

In an entryway next to the kitchen door stood a bench with a pail of water and a basin. Nearby, a towel hung on a roller. When Libby’s turn came, Caleb poured fresh water for her. Just seeing the water, Libby could only think about getting clean. Then as she splashed cool water on her cheeks, she remembered,
I better keep some dirt on my face
.

When she finished washing, a glance in the mirror showed Libby that a streak of dirt still darkened her cheek. But now she faced another problem.
It’s hard enough to look like a boy. How do I act like one?

Annika had pushed a kettle onto the hottest part of the stove. While the soup heated, she made sandwiches. Between two pieces of thickly sliced bread she put cheese and meat. As she invited them to sit down at the drop-leaf table, Libby watched the three boys.

When Jordan picked up his spoon, he kept an eye on Caleb, as though his momma had taught him to take a sharp look when he needed to know what to do.

And Peter? He was stuffing bread into his mouth so fast that he barely chewed it. For a time Peter had lived like an
orphan. It looked as if he filled up on bread when there was no good cooking around.

Caleb had the best manners. He said
please
and
thank you
and closed his mouth when he chewed. Libby decided that she’d have to figure out her own way to act like a boy.

With hunched shoulders, she leaned over her plate. Holding her sandwich with both hands, she took the largest bites she could manage without choking.

When Annika served the soup, Libby had another problem. Auntie Vi had taught her to dip her spoon into the bowl, then away, before lifting it to her mouth. Libby started doing as she was taught, then stopped.
I look too dainty
.

Again Libby looked around. Peter had picked up his bowl and held it close to his chin while spooning soup into his mouth. Libby did the same, then decided she could go one better. With the spoon close to her lips, she slurped.

Across the table Caleb glanced up. For an instant he stared at Libby as though thinking,
I can’t believe this
.

I’m really doing well
, Libby decided, filled with satisfaction.
Caleb must be pleased with how I’m acting
.

When Annika finished serving, she sat down to eat with them. Up close, she looked even more beautiful. Annika was also as curious as Libby.

“Why are you traveling together?” Annika asked, looking first at Jordan and Micah, then at Libby, Caleb, and Peter.

“We’re friends,” Caleb answered.

“Helping one another?”

Caleb nodded.

“You’re an Underground Railroad conductor?” she asked.

“At home,” Caleb said. “Not here. I don’t know this area.”

“And you—” Annika turned back to Jordan and Micah Parker. “Are there slave catchers after you?”

“Yes’m,” Micah answered with his gaze down in the way he had been taught by his master. “There be a big reward on my head. On Jordan’s too.”