Suddenly, a rustle broke the night.
Moses stiffened and moved his long legs slightly. Knowing he was scared, Rose reached over and put a hand on his leg. “It’s okay.” Her soft voice was a barely discernable whisper. Moses remained tense, but still. The rustling in the woods continued for long minutes.
Rose, sitting next to him quietly, was aware of the
tension coiling his body. She knew this young giant could ruin everything for them if he was not trustworthy. She had taken a chance. But every night she crept out into these woods was a chance. Her position as Carrie’s personal maid would not protect her if they were discovered. Every night the fear threatened to choke her. There had never been a beating on Cromwell Plantation. She didn’t want to be the first, and yet, every night she taught her school made that a possibility.
Rose shook her head firmly, willing all such thoughts and pictures out of her mind.
It would not do to let the fear take hold. That was the power, she knew. The white man ruled by fear. A people afraid were a people trapped in bondage. Break that fear and people would spring forward into freedom and liberty. That was why Rose was here. To help her people break the bondage of fear. When the time came for freedom, they needed to move forward with confidence. She would do what she could to make it possible.
“We’re all here now.”
Moses jerked as a strange voice whispered into the still night.
Rose pressed down on his leg once more and then moved her hand.
Speaking in a low, controlled voice, she said, “Good. Did you bring the light?” Rose sensed rather than saw the shape that moved into the clearing to join them. Others emerged to join the first. A match flared and shattered the darkness. A shadowy shape moved forward with a handful of dry leaves. Another deposited an armful of tiny limbs and twigs. Gradually, a fire was created as offerings were brought. Only when there was a steady blaze illuminating the clearing did everyone move forward and sink onto the ground around Rose.
Rose was aware the rest of the group was watching Moses closely.
The looks were not unkind, but neither were they welcoming. No one spoke. They just watched and waited.
Rose was the obvious leader of the group.
“We’re all here? Is William watching for us?”
“He sho is, Miss Rose.”
The response came from a slight girl who looked to be only fourteen or fifteen. “My brother will make sure we won’t be caught.”
“
Thank you, Jasmine,” Rose said absently as she looked around at the group filling the small clearing. “I’d like to introduce all of you to someone. This is Moses. He’s new among us. He came in from Richmond yesterday.”
Everyone nodded.
They all knew that coming in from Richmond meant you had just been bought at auction. The curious stares continued, along with an increased tension. Rose understood. Never before had she brought someone so new to their little school. Usually they had to prove themselves. Rose knew she had to be careful. One wrong word spoken and all of them would pay the price. In her heart she knew it was okay, but she couldn’t expect the other people to share the trust she felt for Moses— especially when she couldn’t even say why she was so sure of it herself. It would take time.
Moses gazed around the circle.
Rose smiled slightly at the surprised look on his face. What had he expected? He’d probably never known black folks who could read and write.
Seated next to him was Jasmine, the young girl who had spoken up for her brother.
Her soft, young face glowed with eagerness in the firelight. Next to her was Sadie, a much older woman whose stooped shoulders and bent back spoke of long hours at the end of a tobacco hoe in the fields. Her eyes were fixed on Rose, impatient to get on with what they were here for. Next to her was Miles, the wise man who managed the stables for the Cromwell Plantation—quite a prestigious job by slave standards. There were young and old, field hands and house help. That was one of the beauties of her school. You didn’t often see field hands mingling with house help. House help usually had a condescending attitude toward those slaves forced to labor in the fields. There was none of that here, as they were all working toward the same dream.
Rose reached deep into her cloak and pulled out a pointed stick, some pieces of paper, and what looked like a book.
She caught Moses’s look of amazement and smiled. Surely he had never seen a slave with a book. Those only belonged to white folks. Rose looked around. “We have a lot to do tonight. I figure we have about three hours. The first thing I want to do is go over all the letters again. Once you know all of those, reading is a lot easier.” She leaned over to brush away the leaves that had fallen since their last meeting, picked up her pointed stick and held it poised above the ground.
“Miss Rose?”
It was Miles’s strong voice.
“Yes, Miles?”
“I got’s somethin’ yesterday in town I thought you might like to see.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a carefully folded piece of paper. “A fella slipped this into my pocket when nobody was lookin’. I can make out some of it, but the big words I ain’t so good with yet.” His voice caught with excitement.
Rose reached forward eagerly.
It was always a special occasion to get something from the outside world. She managed, through careful listening and Carrie’s generosity, to find out much about the world beyond the confines of Cromwell Plantation, but there was still so much she didn’t know. Silence fell on the clearing as she grasped the offered paper. Then she looked at the headline and gasped. She took a deep breath and forced herself to read slowly, well aware everyone was watching her closely. She fought to control herself as the words poured into her mind. It existed! It really did exist! All the rumors were true. She had hoped and believed, but still she hadn’t been sure. But if this paper told the truth…
“What is it?”
Miles’s insistent voice broke into her thoughts. “Is it what I think it be?”
Rose looked up, stared around at them, and looked back down at the paper.
It was several moments before she began to read.
THE CONDUCTOR’S CALL
Welcome to all who want to come on board the Underground Railroad. There will be a conductor in your area soon. There are many trains running on a daily basis. Many are being carried to freedom in the North. Do you want to join your brothers and sisters who are now free?
Conductor Jamison will be visiting Cromwell Plantation. You must be on the watch for him. Let him know if you are interested in making a reservation. There are many who are working to free you.
Not a word was spoken after Rose finished reading.
The whole group sat in stunned silence.
“It’s true then, ain’t it?
We got a way to get out of here? Just like you said?”
Rose nodded slowly.
“Yes, Sadie. It looks like it’s true.” All the while she was talking she was trying to control her spinning thoughts. She had hoped and prayed for so long— even when the hoping seemed to bring nothing but despair.
“What we gonna do, Miss Rose?” Miles asked in a hoarse whisper.
Rose wanted to laugh. She had been going to ask Miles the same question. She was only eighteen years old. Still, because she was their teacher, she knew they all looked up to her. Rose waited long minutes while her brain spun furiously. Finally, she spoke. “It’s up to each of us to decide that. Assuming this Conductor Jamison actually shows up, I could have him come to our school to meet with us.”
“How?”
This question was from Moses. “I don’t know nothin’ bout no underground railroad, but how you gonna get a stranger through these here woods?” His voice clearly said that she must be crazy to even consider it.
Rose shrugged and smiled weakly.
“I don’t know. I’ll have to figure something out.”
Silence fell on the clearing once more.
Visions of freedom floated through the air, tempting and tantalizing the hearts and minds that had recently awakened. Close on their heels were the voices of fear that had controlled them for so long. What if they were caught? What if these people who spoke of freedom were not really friends? And what if they ran away only to find their new lives were no better than their old?
“Rose?”
Rose turned to Moses and smiled up into his confused eyes. “It’s the Underground Railroad!” She correctly interpreted his blank look. “They help slaves run away to freedom. I’ve heard about them for so long. There isn’t really a railroad. The name just stands for a lot of people who give up their homes and their time to help slaves reach freedom in the North. I’ve heard there are people who want to help us, but it’s just so hard to believe. I don’t know much, Moses. Everything is kept very secret. But I’ve heard about slaves who run away. And I don’t hear about them being brought back. That means somewhere they’re free!”
Visions of freedom pushed the dark specter of fear further from the dwelling.
“I kin hardly ‘magine what it would be like to be free
.” Jasmine’s voice was a mixture of disbelief and fervent longing. “Maybe I could get me hitched to a man and not have him sold off.”
The visions grew stronger as each one there dreamed of what freedom could mean to them.
“We’d be in a heap o’ trouble if we done get caught.”
Miles’s words caused the fear to come charging back into the clearing. The visions began to fade. Fear crept closer.
Rose spoke firmly.
“It’s what all of you want isn’t it? To be free?” She waited until all eyes were fixed on her—all heads nodding. “Our people have been controlled by fear for too long. Maybe this Conductor Jamison won’t even come. But if he does, we can’t let fear rob us of our dreams. All of us have had to fight fear every day of our lives. Fear of being beat. Fear of being sold. All of you have had to fight fear to meet here to learn how to read and write. I suppose all of life is fighting one fear after another.” She paused and looked around. “But my mama says that the only way to live is to fight those fears and do what comes to you. She says if you’re not fighting those fears, you’re not living. You’re just existing. That’s why all of us are here. Because we want to live.” She paused again to let her words sink in. Then she continued, “I say we hear this Conductor Jamison out. If he shows up. We’ll know whether we can trust him or not. If we get in trouble for it, well, at least we’ll have been doing something to fight our fears.”
Rose’s words pushed back the remaining fear until it faded into the dark shadows.
With visions of freedom filling the hearts and minds of all present, it was agreed Conductor Jamison would be invited to their next secret school meeting.
With that taken care of, Rose forced herself to the business at hand.
If freedom was indeed imminent for some of her friends, she wanted them to go forth as prepared as possible. With great effort, she forced down her own boiling emotions. Now was not the time to deal with them. She looked up and caught Moses watching her thoughtfully. Rose looked away quickly, but in just that one brief moment she realized Moses had the ability to read her heart—to see beyond the surface to what was boiling just underneath. The knowledge both unnerved and intrigued her.
“Let’s see your alphabet, Jasmine.”
Rose sighed with relief when the eager girl produced a stick and began to draw her letters in the soft dirt. Activity was always her refuge when things became too overwhelming. She welcomed the distraction, especially now.
Moses leaned forward to watch Jasmine’s intense features as she carefully drew.
Rose knew the symbols she was drawing made no sense to him.
“Excellent, Jasmine
. I can tell you’ve been practicing.”
“Yes’um.
At night when no one be watching. I do them only one at a time so I can scratch if out if anyone sees me.”
Rose smiled her approval and the girl’s face glowed.
There were only three years separating the two, but the gap seemed much larger. Rose knew the gap would lessen as Jasmine fed her eager thirst for knowledge. She turned next to Miles. “How about you, Miles?”
The old man smiled proudly.
“I ‘bout got dem all. I tells you though, Miss Rose, I sho be tired of writing letters in the dirt. I want to be doin’ some readin’!”
“And you will be soon, Miles.
But reading isn’t much different from training one of your young horses. I’ve watched you work with them. You have to lay a solid foundation before you can ride them. Isn’t that right?”
“Yes’um.
That’s right.”
“Well, reading is the same,” Rose said seriously, staring around the circle at everyone.
“If you don’t lay a solid foundation, you’ll never be able to do it right. Once you learn all those letters, you’ll know how to move forward. You’ve got to get the basics right.” Then she laughed. “I understand, though. I wanted to read the very first day Miss Carrie and I had a book set in front of us. I could hardly wait to know what all those shapes meant.”
Rose lifted the sheets of paper she held in her hands and turned to Sadie.
“Read this for us, Sadie.” Sadie had been her first student and now she read beautifully.