Race for Freedom (19 page)

At a street leading upward, Caleb turned. On the hillside above the waterfront, he turned again, this time onto a dirt street that ran the same direction as the river. Near the north end of town, the street became a road. Muddy now from wagons bringing wheat and other goods to Reads Landing, the road looked well used.

Caleb set a rapid pace, walking around the holes and puddles whenever possible. Then suddenly he left the road. When he came to a small shed, he crouched down behind it.

Kneeling between Caleb and Jordan, Libby listened. It wasn’t long before she heard the sound of men walking toward Reads Landing. One of them was angry.

“What happened?” he asked. “We were just behind them.”

“We can’t let that slave boy get away!” growled another.

As soon as the men were safely past, Caleb returned to the road. They had walked some distance before Libby dared speak.

“Have you gone this way before?”

“Nope,” Caleb answered.

“How do you know where you’re going?”

“Your pa told me. Other men described it to him. Soon we’ll follow an old Indian trail.”

“One they’ve walked for years and years?”

Caleb nodded. “And before them, the buffalo. Indians followed their trails because buffalo find the easiest way. That’s what we’ll try to do.”

“How far is it to Red Wing?” Libby asked.

“By river, twenty-eight miles. Your pa isn’t sure how far it is by land.”

Twenty-eight miles?
Libby gulped, then tried to hide her feelings from Caleb.
Pa thinks I can walk twenty-eight miles? Maybe he believes in me more than I think
.

For the first time, Libby felt really shaky about the trip. She tried to remember if she’d ever done anything to prepare for this. In Chicago she had sometimes walked long distances, but never anything like twenty-eight miles.

“When we get to Wacouta, we might find someone to take us the rest of the way,” Caleb said. “There are supposed to be hotels and a trading post there.”

“And how far is Wacouta?” Libby asked.

“Five or six miles from Red Wing,” Caleb answered, as if he walked such distances every day. And probably he did, more often than Libby liked to think.

“What if we can’t reach Red Wing tonight?” she asked.

Caleb shrugged. “Your pa said there might be a cave in the bluffs.”

Across Libby’s back she carried a cloth bag holding extra clothes. A smaller bag tied around her waist held sandwiches and cookies packed by Granny. Like Libby, the boys had tied their bags on their back or waist to keep their hands free. Caleb had extra gear, including a bucket that hung from a rope around his waist.

Walking behind him, Libby noticed the set of his shoulders. She could almost hear him say, “Your pa said I had to take you along, but I don’t like it.”

Well, I don’t like the way you feel!
Libby wanted to tell him.
Elsa is my friend too. I want to help her!

Close behind, Jordan walked without saying a word. More than once Libby turned to look back and saw Jordan glancing over his shoulder. It frightened her.

When the slave catchers don’t find us, will they turn around again
? Libby wondered. The mud on the road would make it easy for them to follow.
Maybe they’re tracking us even now. Maybe they’re just far enough back so we can’t see
.

A few miles above Reads Landing, Caleb brought them to a high stretch of ground overlooking Lake Pepin. As the sky turned gold and pink, the sun lit the great expanse of ice. People had told Libby that at places the lake was three miles wide, but she never expected anything so beautiful. In spite of her worries, she wanted to take in everything and remember it all.
Someday I’ll paint this!
she promised herself.

As they hurried on, tall bluffs rose above them on their left. On their right the ground dropped sharply away to the lake. Gradually the road narrowed, then turned into a limestone trail.

By the time Caleb found a large log and sat down, Libby felt hollow with hunger. Even while eating breakfast, Caleb faced back toward the trail over which they had come. Grateful for the chance to rest, Libby dropped down next to him. But Jordan grasped the lower branches of a tall white pine and pulled himself up. From far overhead he, too, checked the trail.

Watching the boys, Libby felt uneasy. Did they still fear Riggs even after miles of fast walking?
It must be hard for Jordan
, Libby thought.
He’s helping Elsa when he really wants to get his family to freedom
.

Finally, Jordan climbed down and began to eat. When all of them finished, Caleb brushed aside his crumbs and Libby did the same.

Using a small pine branch, Jordan swept the ground until their footsteps disappeared. When they returned to the path, he carried the branch along. More than once, dirt had washed over the limestone trail. Where needed, Jordan brushed away their footprints.

As the sun climbed higher, the trail leveled out, and Libby felt grateful. They walked close to the lake now. The sunlight turned the ice into a shining jewel.

Beyond a long point reaching out into Lake Pepin, the ground once again dropped sharply away. Soon after the trail led them farther from the lake, Caleb pointed down to a large paw print. “That’s a big one!”

“A big what?” Libby asked, not sure she wanted to know.

“A bear, probably a male. They’re hungry now. When they come out of hibernation, they eat everything in sight.”

“Food, you mean?” Libby tried to keep the scared sound out of her voice.

“Of course they eat food.” A sparkle of fun shot through Caleb’s eyes. Then he grew serious. “And little girls.”

“Oh, Caleb!” Libby didn’t believe him.

“They’re especially fond of big girls, whether they’re tasty or not.”

“You’re just making that up!”

But Caleb’s face was as serious as she had ever seen it. “If you see a bear—”

“I don’t believe a word you’re saying!”

“Just stay as far from it as you can. Don’t ever get between a female and her cubs!”

Well, that sounds reasonable
, Libby thought.
So, is the rest of what he’s saying true or not?
When Caleb teased her, she didn’t know what to believe.

Libby tossed her head, and her long red hair swung around her shoulders.
I refuse to think about it. We’ll reach Red Wing before dark—by four or five o’clock, Pa said. That will keep me safe from any bears!

Besides, it was Riggs and his two slave catchers that Libby worried about.
They’re much more dangerous than any four-footed animal!

CHAPTER 16

W
hen Caleb would have stopped for a rest, Jordan said no. “What’s wrong?” Caleb asked, his voice low.

Jordan looked over his shoulder. “Someone’s watching my back.”

“What do you mean?” Libby asked.

“Someone’s behind us,” Jordan answered. “Someone comin’ mighty close.”

“You didn’t see anyone, did you?” Libby asked. “How do you know?”

“I just knows,” Jordan told her. “The Lord, He make me uneasy. He say, ‘Jordan, you watch your back, or you is goin’ to be in big trouble.’”

“Did the Lord tell you what to do?” Caleb asked.

“Leave the path,” Jordan said, as though there were no doubt in his mind.

Listening to the boys talk, Libby felt surprised. It was Jordan leading them now, and Caleb seemed to trust Jordan’s leading. Stepping aside, Caleb let him take first place. Libby still walked in the middle, but now Caleb followed her.

Jordan stayed off the path, but walked not far from it. When they dropped onto lower ground, they found pockets of snow in the hollows beneath tall white pine. Sheltered from the sun, the snow sometimes lay a foot deep. As it melted, water streamed downhill.

“It’s hard to believe it’s the last week in April!” Libby exclaimed.

“Don’t forget it was one of the worst winters Minnesota Territory has had,” Caleb reminded her.

Trudging across land he had never seen, Jordan led them on. Watching him, Libby wondered about other times when he needed to find his own path. Always Jordan walked with a confidence she never seemed to feel.

Though used to a warmer climate, he hiked without seeming tired. After a time he took off the boots Caleb had given him. Tying the laces, he slung the boots over his shoulders, as if more comfortable going barefoot.

Once Libby heard Jordan singing softly, almost under his breath.

When Caleb and Jordan finally stopped for lunch, Libby was so hungry she could hardly walk another step. Using a large stump as a table, she untied the cloth bag holding her food. For each sandwich, Granny had put together two big pieces of thickly sliced bread with chicken or beef between.

Libby had gobbled up one sandwich and started another when she looked around.
Where did the boys go?
Up till now they hadn’t left her alone. Libby didn’t like the idea at all.

Just then she heard a branch crack. Her heart leaped.
Caleb? Jordan? Are they coming back? They would never make so much noise
.

Whirling around, Libby gazed in the direction from which the noise came. When she heard a second cracking sound her stomach bottomed out.
Riggs and his slave catchers! And I’m here alone!

Forgetting her lunch, Libby stumbled away from the large stump. When she reached a tall tree, she slipped behind the trunk.

On the other side of the clearing, bushes were starting to leaf out. Something black seemed to move behind them. Peering out from behind the tree trunk, Libby watched. Closer and closer, the black shape moved, lumbering along. With every step the shape grew larger.

Suddenly, Libby felt her knees go weak. Without warning she slid to the ground. By the time she felt strong enough to look again, the black creature was out in the open. A great big bear!

Libby had never seen a bear before, but it was so big it had to be a male. On all fours he walked, swaying from side to side. In the sunlight his black hair shone. When he sniffed his way around the clearing, Libby guessed what he wanted.

“You’re not getting it!” she muttered.

Leaping up, Libby headed straight for the large stump.

With one hand she snatched up her sandwich. With the other, she grabbed the bag with the rest of her food. Then she heard a snuffle, not far away.

Turning, Libby faced the bear. In the next instant he stood up on his hind legs.

“Caleb!” Libby tried to scream. But panic closed her throat.

“Jordan!” she tried again. Not a sound came from her mouth.

With his great brown eyes, the bear sized up Libby. As though spotting the sandwich in her hand, he dropped down and headed straight for her. His mouth opened, showing his great teeth.

“Libby!”

As though from far away, she heard Caleb’s voice.

“Drop your sandwich!”

With one quick movement, Libby threw the sandwich from her. Instead of following it, the bear turned toward the cloth bag and the sandwiches in her other hand.