Billy Boy (16 page)

“We must pray it will be so,” Johanna said quietly.

“Well, I know thee is expecting a telegraph, Johanna, so I will leave and tend to my business. Good day to you all,” Edward said, smiling politely. He put down his coffee mug and left the store.

Richard Bentley stood silently for several moments, took a long deep breath, and stared at the array of boots stretched across the long table. “What size boot does thee need, lad?”

“I-I-I—”

“Thee needs a size ten,” Johanna said quickly. “And I fear we have lost much time already. He will not need to try them on.”

In spite of Johanna's urgency, Richard stood before the table for several moments. Finally, he reached for two pairs of brown leather boots and handed them to Billy. Turning to Johanna he
said, “If I may assume correctly about this matter, then I understand two pairs of boots are needed.”

Johanna stared in stunned silence.

“Billy must no longer wear the ones he has on now, Johanna. The lad's boots are army issue.”

Richard reached into a bin and tossed Billy two pairs of socks.

“Richard …” Johanna started.

Richard gently placed a finger on her lips. “Thee is a most resolute woman. Thee need only to ask for my assistance and yet thee chooses to turn away.”

Billy glanced back and forth at Johanna and Mr. Bentley, confused by their stern expressions. “You sore at Miss Johanna?” he asked.

“No, lad,” Mr. Bentley said, his face breaking into a smile. “Johanna is a most willful woman, and I am merely humbled in her presence.”

“Thee is a good man, Richard. What do I owe for the boots?”

“Thee owes me nothing.”

“Thank you for them boots, Mr. Bentley,” Billy said shyly.

The storekeeper bowed his head and clasped his hands behind his back. “And a safe journey, I pray.”

Billy poked his head out over the loft at the sound of the door creaking along its rusty track. Yellow light flickered in the sudden draft, casting wavy shadows against the wall as Johanna entered the shed, the lantern raised above her head.

“Miss Johanna!” Billy called out in sudden relief.

“They all gone now?” asked Elijah, creeping on his hands and knees beside Billy and peering down at her.

“Yes, our meeting for worship is over. Only a few Friends gathered this evening, and Isaiah Brooke, the only one on horseback tonight, tethered his horse to the hitching post out front. It was fortunate that no one required use of the shed. And, I have sweets for thee both.”

Johanna hung the lantern on a spike protruding from the rafter and reached into the pocket on her apron. “Elizabeth Applewhite made sugar tarts.”

Excitedly, Billy leaned back and pulled the ladder across the hay, and with Elijah's help lowered it over the loft until it landed with a heavy thud on the floor.

“I have much to discuss,” said Johanna as Billy swung his legs onto the ladder and, skipping the last few rungs, leaped onto the floor. Picking up an empty crate, Johanna turned it over, clutched the folds of her dress, and sat down.

“This be about the Underground Railroad, missus?” asked Elijah as he scrambled down the ladder behind Billy. Billy handed him a tart, all the while licking the sugar off his own.

“Yesterday when we talked, I explained that the Underground Railroad is only a name given to the escape routes to Canada. And homes that offer food and shelter along the way are called stations.”

Johanna reached into her apron pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. “I received this telegraph tonight before our meeting for worship. I've been waiting for a reply from my friend Anna Dickinson, a Quaker at one of the stations in Philadelphia. She is willing to help thee,” Johanna said, moving back to the overturned crate. “Anna and I have done this before; we send hidden messages in our telegraphs. I have great trust in her.”

Johanna fidgeted, stood up, paced a few steps and back again, and sat down on the crate. “This evening, after I read the telegraph, I asked Mr. Bentley for the use of his wagon on the Sixth Day, so that I may take thee both to Ellicotts Mills.”

Johanna looked directly at Elijah. “Thee will be hidden in the tailboard, under blankets.”

“Where we goin', Miss Johanna?” asked Billy.

“Anna will meet us at the Emory Methodist Church in Ellicotts Mills. From there thee both will take the train with Anna to Baltimore.”

“This white folks' train station?” Elijah jumped to his feet. “No, Missus Johanna. Slave catchers be there.”

“But there is a way to fool the slave catchers, Elijah,” she said. “Hear me out, please.”

Johanna turned and faced Billy. “Anna is about thy same age. Anna and thee will travel as husband and wife; Elijah will pass as thy slave. There are still many white people, slave owners in Maryland, who bring their slaves with them on the trains—it will not be an uncommon sight. The slave catchers will not stop thee. They linger at stations looking for runaways who have no papers or try to steal rides by hiding under the cars. They will not bother slave owners or question them about thy slaves.”

“Elijah ain't got no papers!”

“Husband and wife?” said Billy, panicked.

Johanna took a deep breath. “Anna will get papers from the provost marshal or the station master if it becomes necessary. This way, thee both will be able to ride the train to Philadelphia instead of walking, at great risk, over a hundred miles.”

“Elijah don't know, Missus, don't know … This Philadelphia be in Canada? Elijah be free there?”

“No, Canada is still a long distance from Philadelphia, but there are many people there who can help thee. Anna has friends at the Anti-Slavery Society. Thee is a free man in spirit only now, but soon, thee will be a free man under the law.”

“Anna's friends help Billy, suh, also?”

Billy filled with despair when he saw Johanna shake her head.

“The people I speak of at the Society help only runaway slaves. But that is why I have asked Anna to help. She is far more able to find a way to get thee home, Billy. Anna will see that thee rides the train north.”

“But if I'm a husband and all—”

“No, Billy, I forgot to answer thy question. Anna and thee will not really be married, but papers will say that thee are husband and wife—slave owners—and that Elijah is thy slave. It is the only way for Elijah to ride the train.”

Billy jumped to his feet and paced rapidly across the floor, dropping his tart in the excitement. “I ain't never talked much to a lady before. Ain't knowin' how to be married.”

“It is only for a short while—to fool the slave catchers until thee arrives in Philadelphia. Then Anna will take thee both to a safe place where thee will wait until it is time for Elijah to leave for the next station.” Johanna folded her hands on her lap.

Billy continued to pace, kicking at the scattered wisps of straw on the floor.

“Is all right, Billy, suh,” said Elijah as he walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Missus Johanna, she tryin' to help us now.”

“I ain't knowin' how to be married.”

“Billy, suh, we just gonna pretend. We got to fool other people on the train. Like you fool the white folk in the store.”

“You mean where I got them ginger candies?”

“Yes, Billy, suh. Now you fool the people on the train only. They go and think you be married, but you ain't, no, suh.”

“And you'll be with me?”

“Yes, suh.”

“All right, then.” Billy sat back down beside Johanna and scanned the floor for the rest of his half-eaten tart.

Johanna smoothed the folds of her skirt and continued. “There will be two trains. Thee will board a train in Ellicotts Mills—it is a short ride into Baltimore. Anna will know what to do. When thee arrives in Philadelphia, Anna will take thee to the people who will help thee get to Canada.”

“They white folk?” asked Elijah.

“They are freemen, colored people. They call themselves the Vigilance Committee. They have offered aid and comfort to escaped slaves for many years.”

“They nigguh folk like me?” Elijah asked with excitement.

“Thee must not call thyself by such a name, Elijah. It is used by evil people who do not see thee as equal in the eyes of God. They are colored men who have earned or bought their freedom.”

“Then Elijah go to Philadelphia, missus. See his people. This a good plan.”

Johanna stood and lifted the lantern off the spike. “There is still much to work out, but it is late. I will see thee both in the morning.”

Chapter 17

T
he old farm wagon bumped noisily along the dusty turnpike. On the buckboard beside Johanna, Billy was glum. Elijah lay motionless in the tailboard, layers of blankets piled over him. Johanna had given Billy strict orders not to talk to Elijah at all, not even when there was no one around.

“This is Ashton, but we most often refer to it as Porter's Corner,” Johanna said.

Billy nodded but said nothing as he glanced at the approaching crossroads. It was a small settlement with only a general store, a blacksmith, and a wheelwright's shop. They rode in silence through the open countryside, an endless landscape of apple orchards and brown hillocks speckled with decaying cornstalks.

Billy was thinking about Harry and Leighton and his other friends. He was glad he had Elijah for a new friend, but he sorely missed his pals from home. That telegraph man at the store said all the troops were on the move south. Some big fighting was in store, for sure. Billy was worried his friends would get hurt by one of those big guns. He wished he had had the chance to say good-bye to them before he cut out, and he hoped they weren't too sore at him for what he had done, but they probably were. Not wanting to think about that, Billy slipped his haversack off his shoulder and pulled out his knife and a small block of wood he had found in Johanna's shed. He studied the wood, turning it over and over in his hands, and began to whittle. Flakes of soft pine fell steadily onto his lap.

Johanna shot a puzzled glance in his direction. “What is thee doing?”

“Whittlin' is all,” Billy answered, brushing the chips off his trousers. He couldn't tell her he was carving the Meeting House. Elijah wanted it to be a surprise when they said their good-byes at the station.

“Ethan taught me mostly.”

“And who is this Ethan?”

“Private, same as me.” Lowering his head, he finished shaping the Meeting House's chimney and then stared at his progress. Except for smoothing the tiny notches marking the windows, it was almost finished. Yesterday he had nearly taken a fit trying to get the windows just right. Seemed like every time he went to carve one, he got confused, there being so many and all. Finally Elijah had grabbed the knife, and from the loft, peered through the cracks. He nicked the wood, marking a place for each window so Billy would know where to put them.

The rhythmic gait of the bays slowed, and the heavier clopping of hooves echoed noisily in his ears. The wagon rattled and bumped across a stone bridge that was arched over a shallow river.

“What's this river, Miss Johanna?”

“It's the Patuxent River. When we crossed the bridge we left Montgomery County and entered Howard County.”

“We almost there, you thinkin'?” He stretched the stiffness from his neck and shoulders and then looked down again at his whittling. Pleased with the result, he blew away the loose pine chips, rubbed the wood against his shirt, and tucked it into his haversack.

“Ellicotts Mills is about fifteen miles from Sandy Spring. We have another hour at least. We must pass through Highland and Clarksville first, and then we will be there.”

Looking out across the fields, Billy twisted sideways in his seat when he spotted a small boy beating a stick against the rails of a wooden gate as he herded cows to a higher pasture. Near Jamie's size, he thought. Doing chores. Suddenly gripped with longing, he stared at the dark-haired child, watching intently as the boy poked the cows playfully with his stick, hopping from one foot to another in his own imaginary game. Billy yanked off his hat and started to wave at the child when the clatter of an approaching wagon spooked him.

Clouds of dust filled the air as the fast-moving wagon narrowed the gap. Billy turned and looked at Johanna and saw that she was trembling, the knuckles of her long hands white against the leather reins.

“Those two men in the wagon are in a frightful hurry,” Johanna said nervously, with another glance over her shoulder. Her gaze dropped to the blankets covering Elijah. There was no movement beneath the dark wool.

In seconds the wagon was alongside them. Clucking his teeth, the driver pulled back on the reins and his sorrel mare fell into a slow trot.

Billy pulled the brim of his hat down over his forehead and stole a glance at the driver, who was smiling. His passenger, a man with ruddy hair, was looking intently at Johanna. Billy tried to remember the faces of the men who had chased him into the barn, but he couldn't recall them. He pressed his back against the seat, shielding himself behind Johanna's shoulders.

“Lovely morning!” the driver shouted.

“Indeed.” Johanna nodded in response, never turning her face in the men's direction.

“Where might you folks be from?”

Billy relaxed. The voice seemed friendly enough.

“Not far from Porter's Corner,” Johanna replied.

“Going to market in Ellicotts Mills?”

The ruddy-haired passenger leaned over in his seat, scanning the nearly empty tailboard until his eyes rested on the pile of blankets. “But then you're not bringing anything to sell I see,” he added. “Or mebbe you are selling blankets?”

“We are meeting a friend at the station,” Johanna answered. “We left early this morning, and the blankets kept us warm.”

“Well, mebbe I'll see you at the market. I surely wouldn't miss a red-headed beauty like you,” the man said.