The Underground Railroad (5 page)

“Back in those days,” the professor answered, “women had few rights—similar to slaves. They were considered weaker than men, and inferior to them, too.”

“You have got to be kidding me,” Tamika said angrily. “I can run faster than anyone in my class, including all the boys. And Kelly can do more pushups than Robert. Girls aren't weaker than boys.”

I had to agree. Tamika made a good point.

“That's the way it was in those days,” replied the professor. “But there's much more. In the time of Frederick Douglass, women couldn't vote. And while single women could own property, married women couldn't.”

“Why was that?” I asked.

“By law, married women and children were considered to be the property of the husband,” answered the professor.

“That stinks,” Tamika said.

“Well,” the professor said, “you can thank Susan B. Anthony and several other brave women for making changes to women's rights. In August of 1920, women finally earned the right to vote.”

“So what did Mr. Douglass do after he moved to Rochester?” I asked.

“He stayed active in the abolitionist movement and attended the first women's rights convention in the United States conducted in Seneca, New York. He also published an anti-slavery newspaper called
The North Star
. Several years later, he changed the name of his publication to Frederick Douglass' Paper. He also wrote another autobiography called
My Bondage and My Freedom
.”

“It sounds like he was pretty busy,” Tamika said.

“He was very passionate about freeing slaves and equal treatment for all people. He even helped hundreds escape slavery as a station master in the Underground Railroad.”

“That's what I want to learn about,” Tamika said. “I want to see slaves traveling the Underground Railroad. Can you take us back in time to see that?”

“No,” answered the professor. A very serious look crossed his face. “It would be much too dangerous. It's one thing to visit London in the 1840s where slavery did not exist in any form, and quite another to travel the Underground Railroad where danger was at every turn.”

“Will you at least think about it?” Tamika asked. “There must be a way we could see how the Underground Railroad worked.”

“I can't think of how we could,” answered the professor. “When your classmates and I visited a lumber camp in northern Michigan, we just stuck our heads into the teleporter cloud. But there weren't any people who were shooting guns like there were at the time of the Underground Railroad.”

“Okay,” Tamika said. “But would you just promise to think about it?”

“I promise,” answered the professor.

P
rofessor Tuesday stayed awake nearly every night after Tamika and I went with him to visit Frederick Douglass in London. He knew that we wanted to see how escaped slaves traveled the Underground Railroad—especially the western route that was near where we live. However, the idea of visiting that dangerous and deadly time in our country's history concerned him.

Professor Tuesday was all about learning, but he also insisted on doing it safely. The professor couldn't think of a good way to visit the past to learn about the Underground Railroad. It was all too dangerous. He wanted to help Tamika and me, but he couldn't. He felt terrible all day, partly because he got very little sleep the night before, and partly because he had to say “no” to us.

He was just picking up his cell phone to call Miss Pepper when his nephew, Mr. Adams, walked into his office. The professor's nephew had just turned six. He is a funny little dude. His hair is wild, like the professor's. He wears thick, round glasses and has a missing tooth in front. The strangest thing about Mr. Adams is that he doesn't like to talk. Instead, he uses sign language.

Professor Tuesday closed up the cell phone as his nephew showed off a large box. Just then, the professor remembered what day it was. “Happy birthday, Mr. Adams,” he said. The professor was very excited about his favorite nephew's birthday.

Mr. Adams put his right hand to his lips and moved it forward and down. It was sign language for “thank you.”

“I have something special for you,” Professor Tuesday said as he reached across his desk, picked up a present, and handed it to his nephew. The gift was wrapped in the Tuesday edition of the local newspaper.

Mr. Adams tore open the wrapper. Paper flew through the air and landed in a heap at his feet. It was a book, but not just any book. Mr. Adams loved history, so the professor gave him a rare book on the French-Canadian voyageurs, one of his favorite subjects.

The professor's nephew gave him a big hug and thanked him using sign language. Then the professor noticed the big box that Mr. Adams had brought into his office. “Is that one of your birthday presents?”

His nephew nodded his head yes and placed the box on the floor. Mr. Adams sat down behind the box and opened it. Slowly, he lifted something strange-looking out of the box: a monster truck. It had big, knobby wheels and was splashed with bright colors. He put the truck on the floor, went back to the box, and picked up the truck's remote control. Mr. Adams pulled a long antenna out of the control unit, pushed some buttons, and slammed the joystick forward.

The truck jumped to life. Mr. Adams squealed with laughter as it raced around the professor's office. The truck jumped over a stack of books and shot underneath the professor's desk. Professor Tuesday hopped up on his chair and watched the monster truck run circles around his office. All the while, he was laughing with his nephew.

“Whoa!” the professor said with excitement. “What a wonderful toy!”

Mr. Adams handed the control unit to his uncle. Professor Tuesday smiled as he played, sending the monster truck out of his office and down the hall. The professor and Mr. Adams followed it through the building. When Mr. Adams took over the controls after the professor's turn, he showed how the truck could spin in circles and do other tricks. It was a cool truck, for sure.

When they returned to the professor's office, Mr. Adams started looking through his new book. Professor Tuesday went back to his cell phone to call Miss Pepper. When the teacher answered her phone, the professor explained the reason for his call.

“Miss Pepper, yes, this is Professor Tuesday. You probably know that Jesse and Tamika visited my office last week. Yes, we had a wonderful chat with Frederick Douglass. Well, I have been thinking about the dangers of going back in time to study the Underground Railroad and I … I … I.”

As the professor was speaking, he looked over at Mr. Adam's monster truck. An idea popped into his head. “I just figured out a way to do our research safely. Please ask Jesse and Tamika to join me at my office next Tuesday after school.” The professor listened to Miss Pepper's reply, then said: “Thank you. Goodbye.”

Professor Tuesday closed his cell phone and jumped up and down in excitement. “Mr. Adams, you are a genius.”

The professor's nephew gave him a funny look and shrugged his shoulders.

Once Mr. Adams left for home, Professor Tuesday started making a shopping list. The idea he had in mind would take some work, but it was going to be fun work. He made a list of items he would need from the hobby shop, an electronics store, the hardware store, and the university's biology department.

P
rofessor Tuesday was so excited that he skipped and jumped around like a little kid. He got that way whenever he had an idea for a new invention, and this one would be the best and baddest one yet. It was all very exciting.

The professor put on a light jacket, grabbed his list and shopping bag, and headed out the door. There was a great hobby store a few blocks from his office, and it was a wonderful day for a walk. The smell of newly mown grass and spring flowers tickled his nose. Professor Tuesday strolled down the sidewalk, careful not to step on any cracks. He didn't want any bad luck causing a problem with his invention.

The clerk at the hobby shop was very knowledgeable about radio-controlled monster trucks. She had lots of different models to look at. The professor explained that he needed one that was not too large and not too small. It had to have big, knobby tires and a powerful battery. He also wanted it to run very quietly.

The hobby shop had just the one he wanted. Before long, the professor left with the most radical RC monster truck of all time! It was sleek and powerful, and it had a shocking paint job with purple, yellow, and bright green colors. Professor Tuesday checked the first item off his shopping list.

Professor Tuesday was so excited about his monster truck that he wanted to rip open the box and play with it on the street, but he had more shopping to do. The electronics store was two blocks away. He practically ran to his next stop.

Once at the electronics store, he went right to the computer section. The professor recognized one of the store employees from his history class at the university. The young man followed him as he shopped. The first thing on the list was a special kind of webcam, one that you could control remotely— like the monster truck itself. The college student showed him exactly the right one. The professor also picked up a wireless microphone and a small speaker.

Next door to the computer store was the hardware. Professor Tuesday stopped and picked up some wire mesh called “hardware cloth,” and some other small items. Now he was ready to get to work.

The professor skipped and whistled a happy tune as he carried his shopping bags back to his office. He could hardly wait to get started building his invention. Once in his office, he opened up all of his packages and sat on the floor looking at all of the stuff he had purchased.

After Professor Tuesday had everything assembled, he played with his monster truck for a while, making
rhumm-m-m-m
sounds as he drove it around the floor in his office. Then he popped open his cell phone and called his friend in the university's biology department, Professor Brown.

Professor Brown answered on the first ring. “Hello, Professor Brown, this is Professor Hickamore P. Tuesday in the history department.” The professor walked around his office as he talked on his cell. “I'm fine thank you, and you? Great. Great. Do you still have that wonderful collection of animal skins in the biology department? Wonderful. May I stop by and look at them? I may want to borrow one for an invention I'm trying to finish. Thank you. I'll come over in a few minutes.”

Professor Tuesday closed his cell phone, picked up his new monster truck, and headed out the door for Professor Brown's office. He was so excited that he sprinted through the hallway, slid down the stair rail, scooted through the giant doors, and ran out into the sunshine. He got to the biology building in no time flat! When Professor Tuesday burst through the doors of the biology laboratory, his friend was shocked to see him.

“That was fast,” said Professor Brown. “This must be quite some invention you are working on, Professor. How can I help you?”

Professor Tuesday held up his monster truck. “Can you help me find a skin from a common North American animal that can disguise this? I am helping some young students learn about the Underground Railroad. Because of the danger involved with this study, I put a video camera, a microphone, and a small speaker in this monster truck. I can send it back in time through my Tuesday Teleporter, and we can watch history unfold from the safety of my office. But I can't have a hot monster truck with a rad paint job showing up in the mid-1800s, now can I?

“Heavens, no,” replied Professor Brown with a laugh in his voice. “That would never do.” The biology professor thought for a moment. Suddenly an idea popped into his head, and his eyes widened. “Hickamore, I think I've got just the thing you are looking for. Wait right here. I'll get it for you.”

Only Professor Tuesday's closest friends call him by his first name, Hickamore, and Professor Brown happened to be Professor Tuesday's BFF. Professor Brown turned and walked to the back of his laboratory. He rattled around for a while, then returned with an animal skin.

When Professor Tuesday saw what his friend had chosen, he laughed out loud. He covered his mouth as he kept on laughing. His friend laughed, too.

“This is exactly what you should have for your invention. Look,” said Professor Brown, “it will fit perfectly.” The biology professor placed the hide over the monster truck. He was right; it was a perfect fit for the invention. Professor Tuesday couldn't stop laughing when he looked at it.

“Thanks, Professor Brown,” he said as he picked up his things. “I'll let you know how my invention works.”

Professor Tuesday walked back to his office. Every time he looked down at the animal skin, he started chuckling again.

W
hen Tamika and I got to the professor's office after school on Tuesday, we were surprised to see the professor's nephew. But that wasn't all. We were shocked to see a strange animal sitting quietly on top of the table at the far side of the professor's office.

I turned to Tamika. “This is Mr. Adams,” I said. “He's the professor's nephew.”

Tamika gave Mr. Adams a wave as she curiously eyed him up and down. “What kind of name is Mr. Adams for a little kid?” she asked.

The professor leaned toward Tamika and smiled. “His mother wanted to give him an important name, one that people would remember.” He pointed to Mr. Adams. “John Adams was the first Vice President of the United States and the second President of our country. You may be interested to know that John Adams was one of our founding fathers and he was against slavery.”