Read Online Underground to Canada by Barbara Smucker - Free Book Online Page B

will fight and protect us from slave catchers, but he won’t slow down.”
    Julilly listened to the plodding steps of gentle Adam behind her. “Adam and I will carry her if she gets more sickly,” Julilly reassured herself and walked steadily forward along the path that Lester made for them.
    It was still dark when the four of them came at last to a sign printed on a large high board beside the river. Lester read aloud—TENNESSEE.
    They stopped beside it. The open road settled far enough into the canebrakes, so that anyone passing by would never guess they were there. Two men on horseback galloped by, one on either side of the road. The moonlight outlined their figures. One of them was fat and carried a whip; the other one had a gun.
    The four slaves sat immobile as stunned rabbits until the sound of hoof-beats disappeared. Adam was the first to speak.
    â€œThat fat man sure did look like Sims.”
    â€œHe could be Sims,” Lester agreed. “The way he beat his horse and waved his whip made me wonder.”
    â€œWe’d best stay right where we are for a long time,” Liza cautioned.
    Julilly heard another noise. It was the clatter of wagon wheels. It might be Massa Ross. If the fat man was Sims and he turned around and rode back, he would recognize him! The four of them shared the same thought without speaking it. They moved farther back into the cane-brakes.
    The wagon came closer. When it reached the Tennessee sign, it stopped. There was silence. Then, three soft calls of the whippoorwill filled the air. It was their signal; but they had to be certain with the possibility of Sims so near.
    Julilly knew at once what she had to do.
    â€œListen,” she whispered to the others, “if it’s somebody trickin’ us from the Riley plantation, they’d right away know Lester and Adam and maybe Liza with her bent-up back. They wouldn’t know me. I’m just a big, tall nigger boy the way I’m dressed now. I’ll go first.”
    Lester hesitated, then nodded his approval.
    Julilly took a deep breath like she was going to jump into the Mississippi River, and walked into the open.
    She stood at the edge of the road and spoke hoarsely.
    â€œWho is you?” Her voice quivered. She couldn’t risk revealing the password.
    â€œFriends with a friend,” the man on the wagon answered. It wasn’t Massa Ross, but this man knew the right password. Liza, Lester, and Adam came from the shadows. The man relaxed the reins and leaned over the side to see them better. He was brisk and small. It was hard to see his head because a wide-brimmed hat covered most of it. His lips smiled kindly above a white looped-over collar.
    â€œYou are the friends of Mr. Ross,” he said simply. “The good man has been put in prison in Columbus, Mississippi, and we pray no harm will come to him. I’ve been sent in his place.”
    â€œOh, Lord, help him,” Liza prayed aloud.
    â€œMassa,” Lester interrupted, “two slave-hunters just passed by this way goin’ north. We think they are from our place—the Riley plantation.”
    â€œThen we must hide you at once and talk later.” The little man jumped to the ground. He threw back a large canvas that covered the wagon. Underneath was a thick layer of fresh straw.
    â€œYou must crawl under the straw toward the centre.” He spoke swiftly like someone familiar with his task. “Then I will cover you with the canvas. If we are stopped, remain silent. I will do the talking.” The kindly smile remained on his lips.
    Julilly and Liza crawled in first and lay close together. Lester and Adam followed. It became pitch black when the little driver pulled the canvas over them.
    â€œI can’t see your face,” Liza whispered.
    Julilly didn’t answer. She was grateful that Liza was there. She wondered about the small man who drove the wagon. Was he one of the Quaker Abolitionists?