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Authors: Sara Donati
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awkward pair of socks.
She had sent her aunt Merriweather the second pair of mitts she had finished, not to shock the old lady but as a testimonial: Elizabeth had come to New-York one kind of woman and had become another, one who could produce with her own hands at least some of what her family needed.
“You’re mighty far away in your thoughts, Boots.”
Nathaniel’s voice woke her up out of her daydreams. Galileo was humming under his breath as he whittled, Hawkeye and Nathaniel were cleaning rifles, and even Joshua had settled down to examine a trap that needed repair.
“I was indeed,” said Elizabeth. “But here I am again. I wonder why Curiosity and Hannah are so long.”
“Things to talk through,” said Galileo. “Got to know what we’re dealing with here before we send the girl on.”
Nathaniel and Elizabeth exchanged glances, but it was Joshua who spoke.
“We never meant for you to get mixed up in this,” he said, looking directly at Elizabeth. “Never meant to cause you any trouble.”
“You haven’t caused us any trouble,” said Elizabeth. “And neither has Miss Voyager. We would have done the same for anyone in need.”
Curiosity appeared at the door to the workroom, wiping her hands on a piece of toweling. “And a good thing too. The girl has got a chest full of trouble. She ain’t about to die, though, Hannah has seen to that.”
“How long before she can set out again?” asked Galileo.Curiosity spread out a hand. “A week, I’d say.”
“Unless the child comes,” added Hannah. “Maybe she should stay until it does. I don’t like to think of her out in the bush.”
“She won’t be alone,” said Joshua. “That’s one thing you don’t need worry about at all.”
Hawkeye said, “We don’t need to know where she’s going.”
“Maybe not,” Curiosity said. “But there’s things you should know, and now’s the time to tell the story. You best start off husband. It began with you, after all.”
Chapter 4
“I suppose you could look at it that way,” said Galileo. “As I was the only one to home when the first two voyagers came to Paradise. They had run off from old Squire VanHusen—you’ll know the farm.”
Hawkeye nodded. “German Flats.”
“Big family,” added Nathaniel.
“That’s right,” said Galileo. “How many children did the man have, Joshua?”
“Eighteen children of his own, and just as many slaves.”
“You know VanHusen?” Hawkeye turned to Joshua in surprise.
“I was born on that farm,” Joshua said. “My mama is buried there.”
Joshua told his part of the story in his usual deft manner: his father had been a slave of Sir William Johnson’s, while his mother belonged to Squire VanHusen; the two farms stood within a mile of each other on the Mohawk. Either Johnson didn’t want to sell Joshua’s father to the squire, or VanHusen wouldn’t buy him, but the family had always lived apart.
“We saw Daddy most Sundays, until Sir Johnson died.”
“I remember this,” Elizabeth said. “Your father told us the story of how Mrs. Johnson sold him to a farmer in Pumpkin Hollow.”
A muscle fluttered in Joshua’s cheek as he nodded. “Didn’t see him much after that. It was the next year VanHusen sold meto the Johnstown blacksmith and there I stayed fifteen years almost to the day when Mr. Hench bought me to set me free.
“The way my brothers told it, Mama got word about me getting my manumission papers and it was her who encouraged them to run. She sent them up here to find me, thinking I’d be able to help them on their way to Canada. Said she could die easy, knowing all three of her boys was free. And she almost got her wish.
“Elijah is still alive and well, but Coffee always was a little weak in the lungs, and he caught himself a fever in the bush. Passed on soon after they got here. So that’s how the whole business started.”
Nathaniel said, “Correct me if I’m wrong, but as I remember it, VanHusen has been
She had sent her aunt Merriweather the second pair of mitts she had finished, not to shock the old lady but as a testimonial: Elizabeth had come to New-York one kind of woman and had become another, one who could produce with her own hands at least some of what her family needed.
“You’re mighty far away in your thoughts, Boots.”
Nathaniel’s voice woke her up out of her daydreams. Galileo was humming under his breath as he whittled, Hawkeye and Nathaniel were cleaning rifles, and even Joshua had settled down to examine a trap that needed repair.
“I was indeed,” said Elizabeth. “But here I am again. I wonder why Curiosity and Hannah are so long.”
“Things to talk through,” said Galileo. “Got to know what we’re dealing with here before we send the girl on.”
Nathaniel and Elizabeth exchanged glances, but it was Joshua who spoke.
“We never meant for you to get mixed up in this,” he said, looking directly at Elizabeth. “Never meant to cause you any trouble.”
“You haven’t caused us any trouble,” said Elizabeth. “And neither has Miss Voyager. We would have done the same for anyone in need.”
Curiosity appeared at the door to the workroom, wiping her hands on a piece of toweling. “And a good thing too. The girl has got a chest full of trouble. She ain’t about to die, though, Hannah has seen to that.”
“How long before she can set out again?” asked Galileo.Curiosity spread out a hand. “A week, I’d say.”
“Unless the child comes,” added Hannah. “Maybe she should stay until it does. I don’t like to think of her out in the bush.”
“She won’t be alone,” said Joshua. “That’s one thing you don’t need worry about at all.”
Hawkeye said, “We don’t need to know where she’s going.”
“Maybe not,” Curiosity said. “But there’s things you should know, and now’s the time to tell the story. You best start off husband. It began with you, after all.”
Chapter 4
“I suppose you could look at it that way,” said Galileo. “As I was the only one to home when the first two voyagers came to Paradise. They had run off from old Squire VanHusen—you’ll know the farm.”
Hawkeye nodded. “German Flats.”
“Big family,” added Nathaniel.
“That’s right,” said Galileo. “How many children did the man have, Joshua?”
“Eighteen children of his own, and just as many slaves.”
“You know VanHusen?” Hawkeye turned to Joshua in surprise.
“I was born on that farm,” Joshua said. “My mama is buried there.”
Joshua told his part of the story in his usual deft manner: his father had been a slave of Sir William Johnson’s, while his mother belonged to Squire VanHusen; the two farms stood within a mile of each other on the Mohawk. Either Johnson didn’t want to sell Joshua’s father to the squire, or VanHusen wouldn’t buy him, but the family had always lived apart.
“We saw Daddy most Sundays, until Sir Johnson died.”
“I remember this,” Elizabeth said. “Your father told us the story of how Mrs. Johnson sold him to a farmer in Pumpkin Hollow.”
A muscle fluttered in Joshua’s cheek as he nodded. “Didn’t see him much after that. It was the next year VanHusen sold meto the Johnstown blacksmith and there I stayed fifteen years almost to the day when Mr. Hench bought me to set me free.
“The way my brothers told it, Mama got word about me getting my manumission papers and it was her who encouraged them to run. She sent them up here to find me, thinking I’d be able to help them on their way to Canada. Said she could die easy, knowing all three of her boys was free. And she almost got her wish.
“Elijah is still alive and well, but Coffee always was a little weak in the lungs, and he caught himself a fever in the bush. Passed on soon after they got here. So that’s how the whole business started.”
Nathaniel said, “Correct me if I’m wrong, but as I remember it, VanHusen has been
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