Race for Freedom (25 page)

A loud cry cut off Libby’s words. “I see him!”

Libby looked up. On the boiler deck above them, Hutton stood at the railing. His angry voice shouted across the water. “I see you, boy! I’ll catch you yet!”

Startled, Jordan looked toward Hutton. As the
War Eagle
took a burst of speed, Jordan lost his balance. His arms beat the air. Then he tumbled into the water.

Fear clutched Libby’s heart. “Jordan can’t swim!”

“Man overboard!” came the cry from the
War Eagle
.

“Man overboard!” Caleb called out.

On both boats warning bells jangled. Paddle wheels stopped.

Libby groaned. “After all that’s happened, what if Jordan drowns? What about his family?”

Caleb shook his head. His lips moved as if he were praying, but Libby heard no sound.

“Can he ever remember what you taught him?”

Caleb looked grim. “It seems impossible. But Jordan thinks fast in an emergency.”

Seconds later, his head appeared in the water. On the
War Eagle
, deckhands raced to drop their yawl. Soon the small boat headed toward Jordan.

“They’ll never make it!” Caleb’s voice was filled with dread. “They’re too far away from him!”

But the bow of the
Christina
was closer. In that moment Libby remembered her dog.
Newfoundlands. Bred for rescuing men at sea
.

“Samson!” Libby commanded. She pointed toward Jordan. “Get him!”

In the next instant, the dog jumped up on a crate. His front paws together, he leaped into the river. As water splashed around him, all but Samson’s head and shoulders disappeared. A dark shape against the moonlit water, the dog swam straight for Jordan.

Straining forward, Libby kept her gaze on Jordan’s head. Suddenly she lost sight of him.

“Where
is
he?” she cried. “I can’t see Jordan!”

Still paddling a straight line, Samson kept on. Moments later Jordan surfaced. In spite of the icy water, he tipped back his head. Just barely, Libby saw his neck and shoulders.

“He remembers!” she cried. “Jordan remembers what you taught him!”

With strong, sure strokes of the oars, the
War Eagle
deckhands raced toward Jordan. Minute by minute, the distance between them narrowed, but Samson was still closer to Jordan.

As time seemed to stand still, his head bobbed up and down. Just before Samson reached him, Jordan slipped beneath the surface again.

Caleb groaned. Then Samson disappeared.

“Where are they?” Libby cried out.

Then she spotted Samson. Grasping Jordan’s upper arm and shoulder in his mouth, the dog lifted Jordan’s head above water.

Jordan’s arms thrashed as he fought against Samson. As the dog hung on, Jordan seemed to realize he was trying to help. Suddenly Jordan stopped struggling.

When he clutched the dog’s tail, Samson turned toward the
Christina
. The yawl turned with them. Staying close by, the deckhands from the
War Eagle
followed, making sure Jordan was safe.

As Samson brought Jordan alongside the
Christina
, Libby and Caleb rushed over. Reaching out, Caleb and a deckhand grabbed hold of Jordan. More deckhands helped Samson on board. Then a great cheer went up.

A quick whistle from the
Christina
told the
War Eagle
that all was well. Moments later the
Christina
’s paddle wheels and engines started. As Caleb drew Jordan into the furnace room to change and warm up, the
Christina
again poured on steam.

Just then Libby remembered Hutton. Looking up, she saw that he still stood at the railing on the boiler deck. When the moon lit his face, Libby felt sure she knew his angry thoughts.

He knows he can’t take Jordan now. Not with all these people who wanted him rescued
.

But there was one thing Libby knew.
Hutton will wait for a better time
.

CHAPTER 21

N
ext to the stove used by the deckers, Libby rubbed Samson with towels. “Good dog!” she told him again and again. Someone had passed the word to Granny, for she brought a special bone.

When Libby once more went out on the main deck, she found Caleb. As if having no more than the usual interest in Jordan, he stood at the bow. But Caleb’s eyes were watchful, as though always looking for Riggs. Now and then his gaze flipped up to where Hutton stood.

As they drew close to St. Paul, Libby stood beside Caleb. The full moon still lit a pathway across the water. Though nearly two o’clock in the morning, the decks were full of people watching to see who won the race.

Just then a man crowded close—too close. His cane bumped Libby’s bruised leg. Looking down, she saw that the cane had a handle with a gold head. In the seconds it took to look up, Libby’s heart pounded.

The short, slender man next to her wore an expensive-looking coat. His beaver hat protected him against the damp night air. When he turned toward Libby, she saw his blue eyes. Instead of being cold and mean, they looked kind.

Then Libby saw the man’s mouth. Above his upper lip the skin was red, as though still healing from the glue that held a mustache. But there were no evil lines between his nose and the outer corners of his lips.

As Libby nudged Caleb with her elbow, the man tipped his hat. “Excuse me, Miss,” he said. “I’m sorry about my cane. I hope I didn’t hurt you.”

Libby smiled. “You didn’t hurt me at all,” she said.
It’s not Riggs!
she thought.

When Libby turned back to Caleb, she saw that he was listening. Without speaking, they waited until the man walked away. “We spent so much time looking for Riggs, we didn’t catch on to Hutton,” Libby said with regret.

Caleb grinned. “But you’re learning fast, Libby.”

“Fast enough to—” Libby stopped, afraid to speak the words aloud with so many people close by.
To help with the Underground Railroad
, she thought.

But Caleb understood. “Maybe,” he said.

It still bothered Libby. “Do you trust me, Caleb?”

For a moment he thought about it. “I think so.”

“Don’t I have enough courage?”

This time Caleb answered at once. “You have more than enough courage, Libby. And you get it from the right Person.”

Deep inside, Libby felt grateful. Yet she still needed to understand. “So why don’t you want me to—”

Libby paused. Again she needed to be careful.
To be a part of the Underground Railroad
. Aloud she said, “Why are you afraid to let me try?”

In the moonlight Caleb’s blue eyes were darker than usual. Now they were serious instead of filled with fun. As his gaze met Libby’s, he spoke softly. “I’m afraid that something will happen to you.”

“That’s
all?
” Libby asked.

“Well, isn’t that enough?”

“Nothing will happen to me!” As her spirit soared, Libby tossed her head, and her auburn hair swung about her shoulders. “Unless a bear wants my sandwich. Or an ice dam gives way.”

Caleb grinned. “Or you go snooping around a boat in the middle of the night.” He lowered his voice still more. “We’re ready now,” he whispered. “When we go back down the river, Jordan knows exactly how he can help his family escape. His plan sounds as safe as something like that can be. And he’s figured out what you and I can do.”

“I can help?” Libby asked, startled.

Before Caleb could answer, Jordan came up behind him. In dry clothes again, he wore a sweater and Caleb’s warmest jacket. When Jordan tried to talk, his teeth chattered, but Libby understood what he was saying. “If you hadn’t sent that dog of yours, I’d be hearin’ them angels sing!”

In spite of what had happened, Jordan’s eyes glowed, as if knowing a miracle had taken place. “Libby, I ain’t able to thank you enough.”

“You don’t have to say a word,” she answered. “Don’t forget what you did for me!”

Libby remembered Caleb’s words after her near drowning. Now it was her turn to say them. “I’m mighty glad you’re still with us, Jordan.”

“Me too.” In the midst of his shivers Jordan grinned. “I can’t be a Moses for my people till I knows how to cross the water.”

Just then, from farther upstream, they heard the tooting of whistles. Church bells rang, and a cannon sounded.

“It’s the welcome in St. Paul,” Caleb said.

“A cannon at two o’clock in the morning?” Libby asked. Looking up, she saw that Pa had joined them. “Did the
Galena
win?”

“From here it looks that way. The
War Eagle
can’t be more than fifteen minutes behind. Captain Kingman will be second.”

Libby felt disappointed for Pa. “What fun it would have been to be first. I wish you could have won.”

“No wasted wishes,” Pa told her. He looked toward Jordan. “A person’s life is worth more than a free wharf for the season. The
War Eagle
’s captain knows that. So do I.”

Pa’s honest eyes told Libby that he meant every word. Turning to Caleb, Captain Norstad lowered his voice. “You know what to do,” he warned. “Even in Minnesota Territory—”

Libby’s thoughts finished the sentence.
Even here, Hutton has the lawful right to capture Jordan. To bring him back into slavery
.

Caleb nodded. “As soon as we reach St. Paul, sir.”

“Jordan?” Pa asked.

“I’ll stick with Caleb like fleas on a dog’s back.”

When Pa slipped away, he shook hands with passengers, one here, another there. Then he moved close to where the gangplank would go down.

As the
Christina
put into St. Paul, passengers pushed toward her bow. In the crowd on the boat, Libby saw Hutton trying to reach Jordan. Yet when the
Christina
reached the landing, Caleb and Jordan were ready. While Pa talked to passengers, using them to block Hutton’s way, the two boys hurried down the gangplank.

The moment they reached the riverbank, Caleb started running. Jordan was right behind. Dodging around freight and people, they made their escape.

Without moving, Libby waited, hoping for another view. As Caleb started up the bluff above the landing, Libby thought she saw his blond hair in the moonlight. Yes, that was him with Jordan close behind. Then both of them disappeared into the darkness.

Tomorrow I’ll see St. Paul
, Libby promised herself.
And I’ll see Caleb
. Turning away, she smiled.

As the
Christina
steams south, Libby Norstad and her friends Caleb and Jordan finalize their plans to rescue Jordan’s family from slavery. But problems arise with the news of an escaped convict who may have sneaked aboard Captain Norstad’s steamboat. Then someone overhears Libby talk to Caleb. Did the escaped prisoner learn that Jordan is a runaway slave?

Sick at heart, Libby knows that she has failed her friends. Not only has she risked Jordan’s safety, she has also endangered the mission to rescue his family. Will Caleb trust her to help with the Underground Railroad? If he does, can Libby avoid making another terrible mistake?