by Marian Wells
“I don’t think you should set your sights for him,” Olivia said softly.
“‘Cause you already have? Sister, I’m not blind.” She looked down at her grimy dress. “Ugh. Is there water around so I could wash this thing?”
Chapter 20
Alex’s hands rested lightly on the wheel. The cool morning breeze came through the pilothouse, ruffling his hair, and filling his nostrils with all the mingled odors of the muddy river and the greenery along the bank.
Beyond the line of hickory, oak, and magnolia he could see cultivated fields, with black figures marching abreast through the young corn. The sun glinted off the hoes as they rose and fell in rhythm. He could nearly guess the cadence of their songs as, sweating and hacking, they worked their way across the field. Softly Alex sang, “‘Go down, Moses, Way down in Egypt land, Tell old Pharaoh, Let my people go.’”
Caleb came into the pilothouse. Alex said, “There’s enough verses to get them across that field and into the next.” He nodded toward the bank.
Caleb grinned and sang another verse. “‘You’ll not get lost in the wilderness, Let my people go; With a lighted candle in your breast, Let my people go. Go down, Moses—’”
“You know Moses?”
Caleb shook his head. “I hear about her. Mighty fine woman, that Harriet Tubman. Not many black women brave enough to be Moses to their kind. I hear there’s a bounty on her. Thousands of dollars they pay if she’s turned over.”
“For a white man to lead slaves across into Canada is child’s play compared to a woman like that giving herself to the task time and time again.”
Caleb nodded soberly. “I ’spect she won’t survive to old age. But I admire that woman more’n I can say.”
“I pray for her,” Alex said slowly. “She is an inspiration to all of us. The hardships she suffers are beyond me, sitting here all safe and sound in my boat.”
“So far you’re safe,” Caleb said softly. He bent over the charts for a moment. “We’re nearly to the Ohio.”
Alex nodded. “The Harriet Tubman Moses carries a gun, I hear. A no-nonsense woman; she’s threatened slaves ready to quit on her.”
There was silence in the pilothouse. The sun rose and the air coming through was moist and heavy. Alex saw Caleb glance at him several times. Finally he said, “You want to say something? Out with it.”
“Miss Olivia. You a mite hard on her.”
Alex looked at him and grinned. “Since you know more about women than I do, what do you suggest?”
Caleb shifted his red cap and grinned sheepishly. “Aw, boss, I’m not telling you about women. It’s just that it bothers me seein’ you keep her on the boat. Doesn’t seem right. I think she can be trusted.”
“Mind if I keep her around just because I like her company?”
Caleb’s jaw sagged. “If you like that lady, there’s no one on this earth, including the Lord himself, who’d believe it!”
“Caleb, does that look like a sandbar to you?”
“Could be; seems the river’s a might low around here.”
“Did you take a sounding this morning?”
“Yes. We’re drawing plenty of water in the channel. I don’t trust that strip just ahead. Look how the sun hits it, and how the water dimples.”
“Caleb, no one would believe this is the first time you’ve been upriver this far. When life settles down, I’ll push you to get your license. That is, if you aren’t sick of the river by then.”
“I don’t know.” Caleb scratched his head. “Me, I’m thinking of getting married.”
Alex looked at him in surprise. “Anybody I know?”
“Naw, just thinking.”
“Caleb, go have your breakfast, and don’t get married before noon; I want some breakfast, too.”
“I could send Miss Olivia up with it.” Alex pitched his tin cup at Caleb, who clattered down the stairs laughing.
In the silence of the pilothouse, the Presence was undeniable. “Lord,” Alex murmured, rubbing his hand across his face. “Is it that obvious? I’m still wishing You’d take all the wanting out of me. Seems she’s not fitted for what You have in mind for me.” He stopped and grinned sheepishly. “Here I am, trying to run Your universe again!”
The quiet, the sweep of the wind, and swish of water through the paddlewheel had Alex’s thoughts drifting again. Finally with a sigh, he straightened and murmured, “As Shakespeare said so well, ‘It is my lady; Oh, it is my love! Oh, that she knew she were!’”
****
Olivia carefully spread the three sheets of paper on the rough surface of the table. She addressed the line of eager black faces. “Today we are writing R. What words sound like they begin with R?”
“Red.” “Rich.” “Rule.”
Her attention drifted. She looked toward the rail. Crystal and Matthew were in the same spot they had occupied yesterday and the day before. Their heads were close together. Matthew gestured and Crystal seemed to hang on his every word. “River.” “Rat.” “Rufus,” her pupils intoned.
“Oh, that’s enough! Let’s write—”
“Write.” “Wrong.”
Olivia looked at her pupils in dismay. “Oh, I think we have a problem. “You are right, but write—”
“Riddle’s the rule, right now,” Alex chuckled beside her.
She caught her breath. “I didn’t know you were here. All right, Mr. Captain, you explain the difference between an R and a W. And we’re out of paper.”
“No paper? That raises a ridiculous rift in the wreck.” He stopped, and they all listened. The grating, grinding noise seemed to sweep along underneath them. Alex leaped for the stairs. “Reverse it!”
“That’s a good R,” Tandy said.
“Oh, I think we’ve struck something!” Olivia said softly. Matthew ran past as they felt the vessel shift beneath them. There was more grinding and a shudder. They stopped abruptly.
Olivia ran to pick up the line of small figures on the floor. “Throw on the wood,” came the order. The men leaped forward and the steam began to rise.
The children were jumping up and down clapping their hands, but Olivia could see that Tandy and Maggie had guessed the situation. They came to her. “What do we do?”
“Pray,” Olivia murmured, moving automatically around the area, pushing trenchers and spoons into the oven, and shoving the simmering kettle back into position.
Crystal came to stand beside the table just as the steamboat shuddered and seemed to settle more firmly. Alex’s voice came through the speaking tube. “That’s enough wood. Any hotter and you’ll rupture the boilers. Keep the monkey rudder reversed.”
The boat continued to shudder. “Now throw it straight ahead!”
Olivia could feel the vessel straining. She was ready to clap, when abruptly the straining ceased. Alex flew down the stairs with Matthew behind him. They ran to the paddlewheel housing.
Alex backed out and groaned, “I feared this. We thought we were having paddle problems in New Orleans. I think we lost a gear.”
“What’ll we do?” Matthew asked, following Alex to the table.
“We’ll have to find help.” Alex said slowly. “But we dare not.” He looked slowly around the ring of dark faces.
“Alex,” Solomon suggested, “we could take to the pine forest. It’s thick through here. That way no one knows about us.”
Alex’s face brightened. “Might be the thing to do. Hide until we get the problem solved.” He walked to the speaking tube. “Caleb, do you seen any sign of a boat? We’re going to have to hail someone.”
Olivia turned to the group. Realizing her hands were trembling, she stopped to take a deep breath before saying, “Go to your cabins; gather up everything. If someone boards, they must not find anything that will give a clue. I’ll pack food. How fortunate Maggie baked bread this morning!”
“Matthew, prepare the lifeboat. Will you get them all ashore?” Alex asked as he walked toward the stairs. He paused. “We’ll need yo
u here. We’ll have to keep trying to work it loose even with a stripped gear. We’ve got to get off the sandbar before we settle in deeper. Lightening the boat may help.”
Alex glanced at Olivia and then came to her. “I don’t like involving you, but—”
“Because you still don’t trust me?”
“It has never been that. I do trust you, I’m only concerned.”
She shrugged indifferently. “I’ve prepared food to take to them. We had vegetables and beans simmering. They wanted a little more cooking.” She paused and looked up at him. Alex’s troubled eyes made her conscious of the danger to these people. “Please,” timidly she touched his arm. “I think it will be—” She hesitated, then said in a rush. “I’ll pray that God will help us know what to do.”
Unexpectedly he touched her cheek and ran up the stairs. Amelia had been watching from the rail. With a grin she said, “You’re soft on him, all right. No matter, he’s a nice-looking fella.”
Crystal came forward with a perplexed frown. “Olivia, I don’t know what to do. Joseph has an old leg injury, and it’s very difficult for him to walk rapidly.
“If a problem arose and the people had to run, I am afraid he would hinder them. Wouldn’t it be best for the two of us to stay here? After all, he’s my slave.”
Olivia nodded and Amelia drawled, “I’ll stay, too. I’m not fond of struggling through the forest afoot.”
“Do as you wish,” Olivia said. “We won’t be gone long. Oh, there’s Matthew with the boat. Please tell the first group to come down. I’m afraid he’ll have to make at least three trips.”
****
When Matthew returned for the final trip, he came to carry the kettle for Olivia. “Is there just you and Tandy?”
“No. There’s her two babies and little Joe. Matthew, there’s food on the stove for you all. Amelia and Crystal will be here, too.”
“Come along,” Matthew said. “I don’t like the lay of the land. There’s a cultivated field mighty close to the river. I suggest you spread out, walk up river until you’re around the next bend, and then regroup.”
“How long will we be there?”
“If we’re still on the sandbar come nightfall, we’ll bring you back for the night, if it seems safe. One of us will keep you informed. Just don’t get separated.”
Tandy came down the stairs with a toddler under each arm. Handing Sarah to Olivia, she said, “That little Joe is a handful.”
“I’ll get him,” Matthew said sprinting for the stairs.
When he returned, Matthew had the child under his arm, talking seriously to the grinning boy. “This isn’t a picnic,” he said, holding the child at eye level. “You settle down and be as quiet as possible. No shouting. You get a hold on Tandy’s apron strings and don’t let go until she says you can. When I come after you, if you haven’t behaved, I’ll turn you over my knee.”
Olivia saw the child’s eyes widen, and hastily she added, “And if you are as quiet as a mouse, I’ll give you a special treat.”
“Hurry! That toot means Caleb’s spotted a boat.”
They were able to get into the lifeboat quickly, and as soon as Matthew reached shore, the two women jumped out. Tandy carried her baby and a bundle, and Olivia had the kettle of food and a child under her arm. “Quick,” Matthew muttered, “into the woods! Caleb’s signaling the boat to come around.”
Olivia and Tandy ran into the woods, and when they finally sat down to rest, they were surrounded by the deep, fragrant pine forest. Leaning against a tree, Olivia closed her eyes while Tandy nursed her baby.
A little while later she opened them again and stared at Tandy. “Where do you reckon the others are?” she asked.
“I’ve been trying to guess while you were sleeping,” Tandy answered.
“Sleep! I didn’t realize. Oh, Tandy, maybe we should look for them. Let’s see, we came from that direction, didn’t we?”
Tandy shook her head slowly. “I don’t know. I can’t hear boats.”
“Maybe we’re farther from the water than we thought,” Olivia said slowly. “You stay here with the children while I look around.”
Tandy scrambled to her feet. “Then I might get lost, too.”
Olivia chewed her lip. “You think we’re lost? How can that be? The others must be close.”
“All the time you slept I tried to hear something. Didn’t even hear a twig break.”
Olivia peered through the gloom. “We dare not shout,” she whispered. “But what if we really are lost?”
Chapter 21
By late afternoon the Golden Awl was off the sandbar. Their benefactor scratched his head, saying, “You’d have done it yourselves if it weren’t for that monkey rudder. I think the gearing is stripped out of it. If I were you fellows, cargo or no, I’d head for the nearest port. You can’t go nowhere without having to back up and flank around curves.”
Alex finished wiping the grease from his hands and said, “Without a doubt. That’s what we’ll have to do. Thank you for your help.”
The young captain looked around. “Pretty nice little boat. You’ve taken good care of it.” He paused. “Cargo doesn’t pay much on a boat this size. Given the condition, I’d expect you to find more passengers. Only way you’ll ever pay for it.”
“Fortunately I’m not in debt,” Alex said dryly. “My father gave me the boat. It was sadly in need of some upkeep, which we’ve just finished. Thank you again, sir; it has been a pleasure to meet you. I’m going to take another look at the engine, and then we’ll take your advice about going into port.”
They shook hands and Alex watched the packet boat captain return to his craft. With a final signal the boat slipped back into the channel. Alex turned to Caleb. “See if you can do something to make that rudder hold together. Have Jeb and Tass shut down the engine and help you. Matthew and I will go after our passengers.”
When they reached shore, Matthew said, “I told them to head up river and wait for us. Let me shove the boat back in the willows and I’ll come with you.”
The two headed into the forest and then turned north. Within a short distance, Solomon rose out of the bushes with a grin. “Didn’t mean to spook you. We heard you coming and was being just as quiet as we could.”
Alex patted him on the shoulder. “Are you all here?”
“All except Tandy and her babes—oh yes, and little Joe.”
“Where did they go?” Alex asked.
“Never did catch up with us. We walked up here just like Matthew told us, and we—”
He stopped and cocked his head. Slowly Alex said, “Do I hear dogs?”
“Might just be a fellow out hunting,” Matthew said.
“Them’s hounds,” Solomon said softly, “just like they use to track black people. Ain’t bloodhounds—they track without no noise. From the bayin’, I’d say it’s coonhounds or blueticks—an’ comin this way.”
Alex looked around at the group of slaves coming up out of the bushes. He saw the fear on their faces. Making a quick decision he turned to Matthew. “I want you to take Jess and head back toward the boat. If Solomon’s guess is right, it won’t be long before those hounds pick up a scent. Cut through the trail in a zigzag, and be certain that you are there for the hounds to find. When you get back on the boat, head north for the nearest port.”
“Bait,” Matthew said tersely, nodding his head. “Then what are you doing to do?”
“Head north as fast as we can go. And pray that there’s only one pack of hounds out there. Eventually, we’ll catch up to you.”
“What about Olivia and Tandy?”
“We’ll find them. Since we didn’t see them, they’ve got to be ahead of us.”
“If not?”
“Then either you or the hounds will find them. Go, Matt!”
He watched the two men sprinting back the way they came laying a wide zigzagging trail. Alex took a deep breath, turned and said, “Let’s move out. Women and children in front, surrounded by you m
en. Walk as fast as you can, heading straight north. If the children can’t keep up with us, then carry them. We’ll survive if we shake those hounds.
“Watch the moss on the trees. It should always be behind you.”
****
Tandy whispered, “Listen, Olivia, I think I hear hounds.”
“Oh, then there’s a house near!” She saw the expression on Tandy’s face. “That isn’t good. What shall we do?”
“Olivia, we’ve got to catch up with the others. And with these babes, I don’t know how we can.”
“We can only hurry,” Olivia said, picking up Sarah.
****
Alex walked behind the others, constantly listening to the hounds, trying to determine their position, and dreading the prospect of their silence. But just about the time he felt he knew where the dogs were, the silence came. Almost immediately, however, the hounds erupted with frantic barking. Was the barking becoming uncertain? There was a shout. Alex saw Solomon’s pleased grin. “It worked!”
Alex released his breath in a sigh of relief. “Keep moving; we’ve got to find the others.”
****
Olivia gasped. “Tandy, I can’t take another step. Please, let’s sit down for a few minutes.”
“Listen! The hounds aren’t coming this way now. They found something.” Tandy collapsed beside Olivia. Breathing heavily, she said, “Maybe the others heard the hounds and waited for us.”
“I hope so. What will we do if they don’t find us before dark?” Olivia tried to swallow the lump in her throat. Tandy’s eyes were wide with fear as she patted her fussy baby.
“Tandy, do you hear something?”
Tandy cocked her head, listened, and then said. “Sure enough. There’s something coming. Let’s hide.”
As they started for the bushes, little Joe dropped Tandy’s apron string. “I hear a laugh; that’s Timmy!” He turned and ran.
Within a minute they were surrounded by their group. Olivia watched Tandy throw herself into Maggie’s arms, and in the midst of soft whispers, Alex was there beside Olivia. “You!” she said in amazement. “What are you doing here?”
