The Fiddler's Secret

by Lois Walfrid Johnson

  “At the jail, I looked into his eyes and recognized him. We were students in Vienna when there were tryouts for a well-known orchestra. We competed against each other. He is a very good violinist, but I won the place.”

  “He was jealous?” Caleb asked. “He wanted to get even?”

  Franz nodded. “At first. But there was more. He knew my violin is gut value. He knew the money it might bring. Because he couldn’t get the amount he wanted, he decided to keep the violin. He thought that if he had such a fine instrument, he would become the violinist he always wanted to be.”

  “He’s like a little boy, isn’t he?” Annika said. “He doesn’t understand that for someone to play music in a way that touches people, he must feel the music by how he lives.”

  “My land and wealth are gone,” Franz answered. “But if I have my fiddle, I can earn a living. That’s why I watched how you treated Jordan.”

  In that moment Libby had the answer to another puzzle. “You watched during school? You were the one looking through the window?”

  As the fiddler nodded, he looked young again. “I knew that if you gave to Jordan the freedom he needs, you will give my family the freedom we need.”

  “But no matter where you live, there will be someone who doesn’t want to do that,” Caleb said. “Someone who tries to take freedom from others.”

  The fiddler smiled. “But as long as there are people who rob us of freedom, there need to be others like you and Libby, Jordan, and Peter.” Franz looked around the room. “People like all of you who work to keep freedom for others. You are Freedom Seekers.”

  It was Peter who gave Franz his violin. As though unable to believe he truly held it again, the fiddler ran his fingers across the wood. Then he began to tune his treasured instrument.

  When Franz looked up, Libby saw the tears in his eyes. When he spoke, she heard the tears in his voice. “I will tell my family I have found a new home. And now I will play for you a song I learned from a special friend.”

  The sweet, mellow tones of his violin filled the room. As he played, Libby heard the words in her mind.

  Deep River, my home is over Jordan;

  Deep River; Lord, I want to cross over into camp ground.

  Annika reached out her hand. While Pa held it in his, the music soared around them. In that moment Libby understood what Jordan had known all along.

  Live freedom? To be strong enough to let myself be free? That’s what it is! To believe, truly believe, that no matter what happens to me, God can work in everything to bring something good.

  Then Libby had another thought. As she looked around the room there was something she knew. Every one of us is a freedom seeker!

  As the Christina’s family gathered around one large table, Libby, Gran, and Annika, Jordan’s mother Hattie and sister Serena, all brought out food they had prepared. But Libby knew it wasn’t the food that mattered.

  Pa looked from one person to the next. “Before we eat, let’s give thanks for all that God has done for us.”

  It started with Pa’s teasing. “I’m thankful that Annika knew she was supposed to be in St. Paul this winter.”

  But soon it turned serious. “I’m thankful that you adopted me,” Peter told Libby and Pa.

  Jordan’s mother looked around the table at her family. “I still need to pinch myself—to say, ‘Hattie, you and your family are free.’ I thank the good Lord that we are together.”

  Micah grinned. “And I’m thankful that I have a job to support you.” In spite of the panic, a man at one of the flour mills had hired Micah to take care of his horses.

  When Jordan explained how he walked away from the bully, he said, “I’m thankful that God helped me live freedom.”

  Then Annika spoke. “I’m glad I can be part of your never-give-up family.” Her gaze rested on each of them, but under the tablecloth she held Pa’s hand.

  “I’m thankful for something I’ve learned,” Libby said. “Even when things are awful and nothing makes sense, God can bring something good.”

  The fiddler spoke last of all. “When I needed to flee my country, I promised my wife I would find a place for our family. I traveled in rags because I wanted a true feeling for America. I wanted to know how people would treat a poor man—a man who is not famous.”

  Franz smiled. “That is my biggest secret—that I told my family I would find a place where people are kind. Today I am thankful I can keep my promise to them.”

  Later, when everyone had eaten and the dishes were washed and put away, Libby went outside. On the hurricane deck she found Caleb. He stood looking beyond the island, upriver to the bluffs and the city of St. Paul.

  At first neither of them spoke, but then Libby was curious. “Caleb, when we talked about being thankful, you didn’t say anything.”

  “I couldn’t in front of everyone else.”

  As Caleb looked at her, Libby saw the pain in his eyes. “When I knew you were trapped in that store with those three crooks—” Caleb shook his head. “It was even worse than Peter with the rattlesnake.”

  Then Caleb, who had never betrayed a fugitive by giving away his thoughts, brushed a hand across his eyes. “I’m thankful that you’re my friend, Libby. I’m thankful to God that you are home and you are safe.”

  In the spring of the year, Pa began building again on the Christina. He took Libby’s room and the one behind it and enlarged his own cabin for a family place. He gave Libby the space just behind that and Peter the room next to hers so they would always be close to the rest of the family.

  Then when the time was right, Pa asked Annika to marry him.

  Because Libby was trying very hard to grow up, she did not listen in and never heard what Pa said. Libby only knew how he and Annika looked. Their eyes and faces seemed filled with light. They could not stop smiling, and they talked often about the goodness of God.

  When the ice went out of Lake Pepin, Pa said it was time to drop south again. Caleb’s grandmother knew what that meant, and she began making a huge wedding cake and every kind of food fit for a feast.

  The morning that Annika came on board was bright and clear and the sky so blue that it took Libby’s breath away. As the Christina steamed down the river, Libby searched out Annika. There was something that weighed on Libby’s mind. She needed to set it straight.

  She found Annika in the place that had always been one of Libby’s favorites—high on the Christina at the front of the hurricane deck. Today Annika had woven a strand of pearls through her black hair. In every way she looked a bride.

  “Annika?” Libby asked, and the young woman turned. But when Libby tried to speak, her throat felt tight and uncomfortable.

  “What is it, Libby?” Annika asked.

  “Remember how you said that a mother can be a friend? But that a mother also needs to tell me what I’m doing wrong so I learn to change it?”

  Annika nodded.

  “You were right, Annika. When you said to keep Samson with me, I should have listened to you.”

  “Yes,” Annika agreed.

  “I could have been badly hurt.”

  “Yes,” Annika said again.

  “I can’t promise that I’ll always listen.” Again Libby stumbled over her words. “That I’ll ever be perfect.”

  “No, you can’t.” Annika smiled. “I can’t either.”

  At last Libby relaxed. “There’s something I want you to know. I want to be friends. But I also want you to be my mother.”

  Tears welled up in Annika’s eyes and ran down her cheeks. “Thank you, Libby. You honor me with your gift.”

  At Red Wing the Christina stopped long enough to pick up a friend of Pa’s—a pastor he had known for some time. Then through Lake Pepin they went and below that to a quiet place in the backwaters.

  There the crew tied up along the shore. With the trees on a nearby island wearing their spring-green best, Pa and Annika were married.

  As best man, Caleb stood straight and tall next to Pa. Libby
was maid of honor for Annika, and Peter held the rings.

  “Do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?” the pastor asked Annika.

  With her strong yet gentle voice she spoke her vows: “For better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part.”

  When Pa spoke his vows, Libby didn’t hear them, for just then she remembered Annika’s words. She said she wouldn’t marry till she found a man of God who loved and cherished her the way she wanted to cherish him.

  As it all became real, Libby’s heart leaped. Annika found him! And Pa found her!

  Then, as her father and her new mother exchanged rings, Libby’s thoughts ran on. I wonder if I’ll have the courage of Annika—to wait until I find a man who truly loves God and also loves me?

  Looking beyond Annika to Pa, Libby saw Caleb. I think I already know who I want to marry when I grow up. But what if he meets someone else and decides he loves that girl instead?

  As though a shadow passed over the sun, the thought frightened Libby. What’s ahead for Caleb and me? What good things? What hard things? What will we have to face?

  Once again the pastor’s voice broke into Libby’s thoughts. As Annika and Pa clasped their hands together, the pastor placed his hand on top of theirs. “Nathaniel and Annika, I now pronounce you man and wife. The Lord bless you and keep you.”

  In that moment Libby heard the flutter of wings as two eagles rose from a stream in the backwaters. Against the bright blue of the sky, they soared away together.

  Libby watched the eagles until they disappeared. When she looked back to the Christina, she found Caleb watching her. God wants us to soar, Libby thought as her smile met his. In whatever comes to us, God wants us to soar!

  Don’t miss the first novel

  in the Viking Quest series,

  Raiders from the Sea!

  When Briana O’Toole rescues a stranger from drowning, she doesn’t realize that her actions may have put her family and village in danger. When everything seems against them, how will Bree and her brother Devin find the courage to win?

  “What a wonderful find! A great historical series for the entire family—full of warmth, adventure, suspense, and above all, a reminder of what can happen when we put our trust in God.”

  —BILL MYERS, author of the Wally McDoogle and Forbidden Doors series

  Find the first chapter in the Viking Quest series at the end of this book.

  During the five novels, Bree her brother Devin, and Mikkel, the young master of a Viking ship, sail from the Republic of Ireland to Northern Ireland, then to what is now Bergen, Norway, the Aurland Fjord, Trondheim, and Iceland. In Greenland, Bree, Devin, and Mikkel reach the home of Leif Erikson and sail with him to the New World.

  TRAVEL AWAY IN YOUR IMAGINATION

  SAIL THE FAR SEAS

  READ ABOUT THE LONG AGO

  IN A WAY THAT GIVES MEANING TO NOW

  Study Guide

  To access a printable pdf of this study guide, go to www.moodypublishers.com/978-0-8024-0721-4. Click the “Resources” tab to download study guide.

  In the fog of a dark and scary night, Libby wakes to the ship’s bell. First she finds Annika. Then she finds danger. An impatient captain runs his steamboat even in the thickest fog. But out of the near-diaster comes the sound of music. A fiddler on the main deck with a light, quick touch that sets toes tapping and hearts free.

  Why is this gifted man who is also a concert violinist wearing ragged clothes? Why does he answer to his first name, but not his second?

  Hi Friends—What is the fiddler’s secret? Where is Jordan’s biggest enemy? And when the Christina family leaves St. Paul, will they ever find Annika again?

  Let’s Talk About … Words you might need

  Find a dictionary and fill in the definitions:

  guard (as in steamboat)

  gut (German)

  nein (German)

  speculators

  treaties

  oxcarts

  trunk

  pawnshop

  pawnbroker

  bog (as in a geographic area)

  gristmill

  pan ice

  buckets (as for a paddle wheeler)

  suffrage

  Let’s Talk About … The story

  Use the blank space between questions to write your answers or create sections in your loose-leaf notebook when you want to write more. To find something in the story, check the number (ch. 1) at the end of the first question. That means chapter 1. Look there until you see another note (ch. 2, or 3, or 4) directing you to a different chapter.

  How did Libby’s quick thinking become a matter of life-or-death? (ch. 1)

  Why is Libby still trying to be a matchmaker?

  In what way did the fiddler’s face seem to hold a secret? (ch. 2)

  As older boys, what did Caleb and Jordan do to help Peter with the bullies? (ch. 3)

  Why could Peter and Jordan understand how a mistreated orphan dog might feel?

  What did Libby’s mother understand about a captain’s duty if there was ever a disaster on the Christina? (ch. 5)

  What choice did Libby’s mother make?

  How did Peter help the Christina family talk to him? How did they help Peter know what they were saying?

  Let’s Talk About … What’s important to us

  In school Pa asked, “What is most important to you? What do you want?” (ch. 5) Let’s do his lesson: Think first about the speculators, the immigrants, and the people who want to build a new state. What do each of these groups want? Give just a few words for each group.

  What do Pa’s students want?

  Peter:

  Jordan:

  Libby (ch. 6):

  Caleb:

  What is most important to you? Make a list, then summarize your thoughts in one sentence. Date your answer and put it in a safe place so you can check back and decide how you’re doing.

  When Captain Norstad says it’s important that we know what we want in life—what we believe in—he asks if we’re tested about what we want, are we going to stick to what we believe? Yes or no? What would you say?

  Captain Norstad gives a clue: If that time of testing comes, what should we do?

  Let’s Talk About … Freedom … What is it?

  James Thompson is an historic character who lived in St. Paul during this time. (ch. 8) Mr. Thompson told Jordan that living in Minnesota Territory was like living anywhere. “If you let yourself be free, you will be.” Was Mr. Thompson saying that Jordan could do anything he wanted, whether it was right or wrong? Why or why not?

  What does it mean to Jordan to be free to live, to earn his own way, to learn to read and write?

  In 1857 a handshake was a man’s pledge of honor. Business agreements were made and kept by the pledge of that handshake. In some places a handshake is still a way to say, “I give you my word. You can trust me.” When Jordan finds it hard to believe that he will ever vote, why does Mr. Thompson offer another handshake?

  What does Jordan decide about what Mr. Thompson said? What does Jordan say about his taste of freedom?

  How did the thought of being truly free give Jordan even more reason for wanting to do his best?

  What does Jordan plan to tell his parents when he gets to Galena? (ch. 13)

  What did Jordan do when the bully threatened him?

  What kind of person do you believe Jordan will be in his new life of freedom?

  Let’s Talk About … Discoveries

  In the Bible there are heroes of the faith who made the right choices. Who are some of those heroes? Why?

  In Chapter 6 Peter talked about a secret sign that could help them know that one of them had been somewhere. Long ago, another group of people used this sign. Who were they? What did that sign mean to them and what does it still mean to us?

  In St. Paul an artist asked Libby and Caleb if they’d like to be part of his painting of the Christina. (ch. 12) Year
s later in Disaster at Windy Hill, some Northwoods characters saw that painting at Nevers Dam. Who were those characters and why were they curious about Libby and Caleb?

  In what way did the artist catch the best view of Caleb? What look did Caleb have?

  When the artist painted Libby, what did she see about herself? Have you seen that change in Libby also?

  Let’s Talk About … A never-give-up family

  Why did Annika feel certain that God wanted her to stay in St. Paul that winter?

  When Pa had to start downriver, Annika and Libby had to say goodbye. What comfort does Annika offer Libby?

  What does a never-give-up family mean to Pa? If he adopts Peter will he love Libby just as much? If Pa marries Annika what will happen to his love for Libby? What does Pa tell Libby? (ch. 13) What is Libby’s answer to Pa?

  How did Pa tell Peter that he and Libby want to adopt him? (ch. 15)

  Because Aunt Vi told Annika that she would always be second best, what did Pa plan to tell Annika? (ch. 14)

  How do you think Peter felt when he asked Pa, “I’m really your boy?” When he told Libby, “You’re really my sister!” (ch. 17)

  When Caleb talks with Libby about how she listened in to Pa and Annika, what honesty does Caleb offer Libby? What comfort?

  How can that same comfort help each of us when we’re facing something difficult?

  Is it the good times or the hard times that make us a family? Give reasons for your answer.

  How have the people on the Christina become a never-give-up family?