Race for Freedom

by Lois Walfrid Johnson

  Praise for the Works of Lois Walfrid Johnson

  Intertwining fictional characters with real-life people and critical moments in American history, Lois Walfrid Johnson creates novels certain to catch the attention of readers, and then leaves them wanting to read and learn more. Johnson does an incredible job of bringing us into the lives of the American people in 1857. These adventure-filled, educational books should be read by youth everywhere.

  —BILL INGEBRIGTSEN, Minnesota State Senator, former sheriff

  Lois Walfrid Johnson writes stories kids love. When they were young, my daughters read her Freedom Seekers books, and really enjoyed them. These are stories that not only entertain, but call children to conviction, courage, and Christ-centered living. I highly recommend Lois and these excellent books.

  —RANDY ALCORN, New York Times bestselling author of forty books including Heaven

  I’ve used Escape into the Night in my classroom for many years and am thrilled to see the new Freedom Seekers edition coming out with study guides. My students have always enjoyed the well-developed characters and engaging storylines. As a teacher I have appreciated the historical accuracy and timeless spiritual truths.

  —JOCELYN ANDERSON, teacher, Our Redeemer’s Christian School, Minot, ND

  It’s difficult to find a series of books written for a variety of age groups with both boys and girls and yet remain historically accurate. Mrs. Johnson has succeeded in doing so in the Freedom Seekers series. Set in a geographic area that runs north and south, she describes weather conditions and topographical features that impacted the daring adventures of the main characters, their clothing, and even their food.

  While developing the character of Peter [book 4], Mrs. Johnson visited with students at the Illinois School for the Deaf, including students in my classroom. We compared and contrasted the life of Peter to their lives. After all, Peter could have stood in our classroom! Often a child becomes a lifelong reader, simply because they relate to a character in a book. My students related to Peter, not only because he was deaf, but because he had so much more in common with them.

  —KATHLEEN COOK, teacher, Illinois School for the Deaf, Jacksonville, IL

  I want to thank you on behalf of my class and their families for your wonderful books. I teach a reading class at a homeschool co-op in Washington State. I can’t count how many times the parents of my students have thanked me for the class and told me that their child never enjoyed reading like they do now. They have to hold their children back from reading ahead of the others! So many families who are not in my class have begun to read your books. We may have started an epidemic, and one that I am happy to be a part of!

  I hope you have more books on the horizon. Your fans here in Gig Harbor, Washington, will be on the lookout for them!

  —MARYANN KING, homeschool co-op teacher, Washington State

  Your books have encouraged me in trusting in God more and more. Your characters, especially Libby Norstad, Caleb Whitney, and Jordan Parker, sound just so realistic! I sometimes wish that they were real!!!!!! I like how you introduced a new character [Peter] in the fourth book. It kept the story even more exciting than it is!

  —S., young reader, Texas

  After I read one of your books I often end up asking myself, Would I have helped slaves or not? I have come up with an answer. I would help them because all people are equal and have the right to be free in the sight of God.

  —C. B., young reader, Kentucky

  We love how you incorporate biblical principles into your stories. When Caleb trusts God and Libby struggles in the same areas we do, it shows us that through God we can overcome every obstacle, because He is our light and our salvation.

  —C. FAMILY, Ohio

  Other Titles by Lois Walfrid Johnson

  The Freedom Seekers

  1. Escape into the Night

  2. Race for Freedom

  3. Midnight Rescue

  4. The Swindler’s Treasure

  5. Mysterious Signal

  6. The Fiddler’s Secret

  Adventures of the Northwoods

  1. The Disappearing Stranger

  2. The Hidden Message

  3. The Creeping Shadows

  4. The Vanishing Footprints

  5. Trouble at Wild River

  6. The Mysterious Hideaway

  7. Grandpa’s Stolen Treasure

  8. The Runaway Clown

  9. Mystery of the Missing Map

  10. Disaster on Windy Hill

  Series also available in German and Swedish

  Viking Quest

  1. Raiders from the Sea

  2. Mystery of the Silver Coins

  3. The Invisible Friend

  4. Heart of Courage

  5. The Raider’s Promise

  Series also available in Norwegian

  Faith Girlz: Girl Talk: 52 Weekly Devotions

  For adults: Either Way, I Win: God’s Hope for Difficult Times

  FREEDOM 2 SEEKERS

  Race for Freedom

  LOIS WALFRID JOHNSON

  MOODY PUBLISHERS

  CHICAGO

  © 2013, 1996

  LOIS WALFRID JOHNSON

  Previously published as The Riverboat Adventures Series

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

  Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible.

  Interior Design: Ragont Design

  Sidewheeler illustration by Toni Auble

  Map of Upper Mississippi by Meridian Mapping

  Cover Design: Faceout Studio, Tim Green

  Cover Illustration: Odessa Sawyer

  978-0-8024-0717-7 Printed by Bethany Press in Bloomington, MN −04/13

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Johnson, Lois Walfrid.

  Race for freedom / by Lois Walfrid Johnson.

  p. cm. — (The Freedom Seekers; #2)

  Summary: In 1857, while helping to conceal a runaway slave on her father’s Mississippi River steamboat, Libby looks to God for support and hopes that her friend Caleb will let her join the Underground Railroad.

  ISBN 978-0-8024-0717-7

  [1. Underbround railroad—Fiction. 2. Slavery—Fiction. 3. Steamboats—Fiction. 4. Mississippi River—Fiction. 5. Christian life—Fiction.]

  I. Title. II. Series. Johnson, Lois Walfrid. Freedom Seekers; #2

  PZ7.J63255Rac 1996

  [Fic]—dc20

  96-4433

  CIP

  AC

  We hope you enjoy this book from River North Fiction by Moody Publishers. Our goal is to provide high-quality, thought-provoking books and products that connect truth to your real needs and challenges. For more information on other books and products written and produced from a biblical perspective, go to www.moodypublishers.com or write to:

  River North Fiction

  A division of Moody Publishers

  820 N. LaSalle Boulevard

  Chicago, IL 60610

  1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2

  Printed in the United States of America

  To Roy

  my courageous,

  fun-to-be-with

  husband and friend

  Thank you

  for

  being my awesome idea person

  and for all that you are!

  Dred Scott, Chief Justice Roger B. Taney, Elijah Lovejoy, Captain Daniel Smith Harris, Orion Clemens, Samuel Clemens, Dr. William Sweney, “Uncle Dave” Hancock, Captain A. T. Kingman, Captain W. H. Laughton, Pilot Stephen Hanks, and Abraham Lincoln lived during the time of this book. All other characters are ficti
tious and spring with gratitude for life from the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is coincidental.

  In the time in which this book is set,

  African Americans were called Negro, the Spanish word for black,

  or colored people.

  Contents

  1. Darker than Night

  2. More Mystery

  3. Search Warrant!

  4. Unwanted Passenger

  5. Scary Thoughts

  6. The Secret Hideaway

  7. Hidden Monsters

  8. The Great Chase

  9. Free Eyes

  10. Shivery Heart

  11. Cinderella

  12. Green-Eyed Caterpillar

  13. Caleb’s Warning

  14. I’ll Show Them!

  15. Red Is for Courage

  16. Slave Catchers!

  17. Danger Signal

  18. Jordan’s Choice

  19. Big Trouble!

  20. Race for Life

  21. The Winner!

  Study Guide

  A Few Words for Educators

  The Race for Freedom Folks

  Acknowledgments

  Excerpt from Midnight Rescue

  CHAPTER 1

  Darker than Night

  A lantern hung near the gangplank, casting a glow over the Christina’s deck. Libby Norstad’s deep brown eyes sparkled in its light. “We got away!” she whispered to Caleb. “We really got away!”

  To Libby it seemed a miracle. For the past two days and nights, they had faced constant danger.

  Caleb Whitney’s blond hair fell over his forehead, nearly reaching his eyes. He grinned at Libby, then glanced up at the hills of Burlington, Iowa. The steamboat owned by Libby’s father lay at the landing. While deckhands brought in the gangplank, Caleb kept watch.

  Now, late at night, the streets looked empty, yet Libby knew that Caleb was searching for someone. Near the riverfront, the windows of tall warehouses seemed like dark eyes staring down at them.

  With three quick blasts of the whistle, the Christina put out into the Mississippi River. As the strip of water between the land and boat grew wide, Libby felt relieved. In spite of all kinds of danger, they had escaped!

  Just then Libby felt a movement behind her. As she turned, she saw Jordan Parker creeping forward without a sound.When he drew close to the lantern, he stopped, as if afraid to enter the circle of light.

  A fugitive slave, Jordan had managed to get away from his master, a cruel slave trader named Riggs. Like Caleb, Jordan also stared up at the city. On the streets above them no one stirred. Then a dark shape stepped out from the shadow of a warehouse.

  Jordan moaned. “It’s Riggs!”

  With one quick movement, Caleb lifted the glass of the lantern and blew out the flame. Libby dropped down on her hands and knees, but it was too late.

  “Riggs knows,” she whispered as Caleb joined her behind piles of freight. “He saw you.”

  “He saw you too,” Caleb warned, his voice low.

  A feeling of dread tightened Libby’s stomach. “What should we do?”

  Caleb shushed her. “Sound carries on water.”

  A short distance out from shore, the Christina started to turn. As her bow swung around to face downstream, Libby stared at the man next to the warehouse. Then the center of the boat blocked her view.

  “How long was Riggs there?” she whispered. “How much did he see?”

  “Too much,” Caleb told her. At fourteen, almost fifteen, he was nearly a year older than Libby. Now Caleb led her and Jordan to a place at the front of the boat where no one could hear them talk.

  When the boys dropped down on crates, Libby found a nail keg to sit on. “You’re sure it was Riggs?” she asked. It had been too dark to see the man’s face, and she wanted to believe they were wrong. According to Caleb, Riggs was the cruelest man he knew.

  “It were Riggs, all right.” Jordan’s voice held no doubt. “He gots one shape—and I knows it!”

  “But he could have stayed hidden,” Libby answered. “Why did he step out so we could see him?”

  “That man wants us to know he’s on our trail,” Jordan said. “He wants to scare us any way he can.”

  In the darkness Libby shivered. As long as the slave trader searched for him, Jordan would never be safe. Libby didn’t like being frightened by the sight of Riggs, but deep inside she trembled just thinking about him.

  Then she remembered. “Jordan, you weren’t in the light. Maybe Riggs doesn’t know that you’re with us.”

  Jordan sighed. “I wish you was right, Libby. That man Riggs is like a bloodhound on my trail. When he sniffs out Caleb, he sniffs out me.”

  Since the age of nine, Caleb had worked on the Underground Railroad, the secret plan to help runaway slaves reach freedom. Once fugitives started on that route, they usually kept moving if it was safe. Instead, for special reasons Jordan would stay on the Christina.

  “What’s wrong?” Caleb asked Libby, as though sensing her worry.

  “N-n-nothing!” Libby hated the sound of her voice. “Nothing at all!” If she told Caleb what bothered her, he would think she was a scaredy-cat. Instead, Libby tried to push her fear away. I want to have courage, she thought. Courage like Caleb and Jordan.

  On that March night in 1857, Libby knew the penalty for someone who helped runaway slaves on their race to freedom. Because of fugitive slave laws, slave hunters could follow fugitives into the Northwest Territory and free states. There they could gather a posse and bring runaways back to their owners.

  Leaning closer, Caleb peered into Libby’s face. When she tried to hide her feelings, the light of the moon gave her away. “You’re scared,” Caleb said. “You’re scared that Riggs will come on board and find Jordan.”

  “Well, doesn’t that frighten you?” Libby asked.

  “Nope,” Caleb answered.

  “What do you mean, nope? Pa is captain of this boat and owner too. Don’t you care that he could be arrested for hiding a runaway slave?”

  “Of course I care!”

  “You don’t sound like it!” Libby felt upset now. “You know what would happen if Riggs found Jordan on the Christina. It’s the law of the land that Pa could be found guilty for hiding a fugitive. He’d have to pay a big fine!”

  “Is that all you’re worried about?” Caleb asked. “The fines? The money?”

  Libby stared at him. “What if Pa can’t pay the fines? He would lose the Christina!”

  “Yup! He would.” Caleb didn’t sound too upset.

  “What’s worse, Pa could go to jail! Wouldn’t you be scared if the captain were your father?”

  Caleb sat with his back to the moon. Darkness shadowed his face, but Libby saw the shake of his head. “There’s something that bothers me a whole lot more,” he said.

  “What’s that?” Libby asked. More than once she had found it hard to understand this strange boy. “What could be worse than Pa going to jail?”

  Before Caleb could answer, Jordan leaped up. “Don’t you worry none,” he told Libby. “First stop we make, I leaves the boat.”

  “No!” Caleb exclaimed. “Don’t listen to Libby! You can’t leave now!”

  “Yes, I can. I ain’t goin’ to hurt Libby’s Pa.”

  “That’s true,” Caleb answered. “You aren’t going to hurt Captain Norstad.”

  “But you heard Libby.”

  “Yup, I heard.” Caleb sounded angry. “And I won’t let you hurt her pa. I’ll keep hiding you for as long as you need to be hid.”

  Jordan shook his head. “I was wrong to ask Captain Norstad if I could stay.”

  “He gave his permission,” Caleb answered. “Remember?”

  “I remembers. And he gave me a job.” Jordan’s shoulders shifted as though the idea of working for pay gave him pleasure.

  “Don’t forget the reason Captain Norstad said you could stay.”

  Jordan straightened. “’Cause I wants to find my daddy. I wants
to be my momma’s hands. Momma is mighty strong. But if she runs away, she ain’t got enough hands for my sisters and my brother.”

  In the moonlight Jordan stood sure and tall. “Momma don’t know if I is dead or alive. She be moanin’ and weepin’ for me, and here I is—free as a bird from a cage!”

  For the first time since seeing Riggs, Jordan’s gaze met Caleb’s. “When I leaves this boat, I is goin’ to the place where Momma lives. I is goin’ to help my momma and my sisters and my brother escape!”

  “You want to go there now?” Caleb stared at Jordan. “You can’t do that! On every tree and building, there are posters about you! Every slave catcher on earth wants to collect that big reward!”

  But Jordan was wearing his proud look—the look that reminded Libby of royalty. With his head high, he spoke. “When I was just a little boy, my momma told me, ‘Jordan, you is goin’ to lead your people to the Promised Land. You is goin’ to take them to freedom!’”

  “That’s right,” Caleb answered. “You will lead your people to freedom! But if you try now, you’ll lose your freedom.”

  When Jordan blinked, Caleb rushed on. “Have you got a plan figured out? Do you know a way to disguise who you are?”

  Jordan shook his head.

  “Do you know how to get to where your mother is?”

  Again Jordan shook his head. “I ain’t never seen where Momma lives now. When I gits there, I’ll know what to do.”

  “Then let’s think of a way you can get there without being caught,” Caleb said.

  Looking as though he didn’t want to listen, Jordan dropped back down on a crate. “We gots to figure out that plan real soon,” he said. “I ain’t goin’ to wait for something more to happen to Momma.”

  As if Libby were no longer there, Caleb leaned forward, speaking to Jordan. “I want to help you find every member of your family. You tell me what to do, and I’ll do it.”

  “I tell you what to do?” Again Jordan leaped to his feet. This time his eyes blazed. “You is foolin’ me, sure enough! There ain’t no slave boy that tells a white boy what to do!”

  “I know what to do if I find a runaway slave,” Caleb said. “I know how to hide a fugitive who comes near the Christina. What you need to do will be a whole lot harder.”

  Standing as still as a stone, Jordan seemed to consider Caleb’s words. Finally he turned. “You thinks I can lead my people to freedom?”