The Swindler's Treasure (17 page)

O
n the way to Monticello Seminary, Caleb told them why Benjamin Godfrey had started the school for girls. “One day he noticed how much his five daughters learned from their mother. He decided, ‘I'm going to educate my girls because mothers teach the rulers of the world.'”

Caleb grinned at Libby. “So you see how important it is that you're smart?

Libby made a face at him. “What if the swindler leaves Brighton before we get there?”

“If we need to take a train, do you have money?” Caleb asked.

“You know I don't.”

“Mr. Godfrey was the managing contractor and builder for the St. Louis, Alton and Chicago Railroad. I'm going to ask him for railroad passes.”

“He'll give you a pass, just like that?” Libby snapped her fingers.

“He and Elijah Lovejoy were friends. I suspect that Mr. Godfrey would like to see Micah Parker reach freedom.”

When the driver stopped the stage, Libby climbed down and stood in front of a building so tall that she counted the windows. Six stories high!

As the stage rattled off in a cloud of dust, Jordan walked boldly up to the entrance. When he knocked on the large oak door, a woman opened it partway. But she waited before inviting them inside.

Jordan quickly explained. “I am looking for my daddy. Me and Momma and my sisters and my brother need to find him.”

“Do you know if he came this way?” the woman asked.

“We think he swam the river to get away from slave catchers.” Jordan spoke quickly before the woman could shut the door. “Me and my friends forgot to ask the password. But I know Priscilla Baltimore.” Jordan motioned toward the others. “They know Major Hunter and his wife.”

Caleb stepped forward. “Mrs. Hunter told me to ask for Benjamin Godfrey.”

Convinced now, the woman led them to the nearby Presbyterian church. Instead of passing under the tall pillars at the front of the beautiful white building, she took them around to a more hidden entrance. When Jordan and Peter disappeared inside, Caleb and Libby went on to Mr. Godfrey's house.

Mr. Godfrey listened to Caleb, then said, “There are five of you, counting Jordan's father? I'd be glad to give you passes. Then you can get on or off one of our trains whenever needed.”

Sitting back in his chair, Mr. Godfrey rubbed his clean-shaven chin, as though thinking hard. “You're looking for
both
a swindler and a runaway slave? Sounds like you might need help somewhere along the way. Have you met the detective Allan Pinkerton?”

Libby and Caleb had only heard about him. While living in the little village of Dundee, Illinois, Mr. Pinkerton and his wife had become involved in the work of the Underground Railroad. At all hours of the day and night they opened their doors to help runaway slaves. After moving to Chicago, Mr. Pinkerton started the Pinkerton Detective Agency.

“Keep on the lookout for him,” Mr. Godfrey said. “He has an Irish accent. That may help you find him. He's riding our trains now to stop any trouble that might come up.”

When Libby and Caleb returned to the church, they found a number of runaway slaves, some of them with families, waiting until it was safe to go on. Jordan had been busy talking to church members who brought food and clothing for fugitives.

“No one has seen my daddy,” Jordan said. “But I found out where to look next. In Brighton there's a man named Dr. Thomas Brown. His house is the main Underground Railroad station in town. Maybe we'll find Daddy and the swindler too.”

As soon as it was dark, Underground Railroad conductors began coming to the room. The conductors led fugitives from one station, or safe place, to the next. Now and then they took a larger group in order to keep a family together. More often they led only a few fugitives at a time because it was easier to avoid being seen.

When the night wore on and no one came for them, Libby grew tired of waiting. “Can't we just go on by ourselves?” she asked.

But Caleb shook his head. Though he had been a conductor in Missouri and southeastern Iowa, he didn't know this area. “If it was just you and me and Peter, we could go alone,” he explained. “But with Riggs around, I'm afraid what might happen to Jordan.”

Finally Libby leaned back against a wall. When she fell asleep, she dreamed that she was back on the
Christina
. Tied up at a waterfront, the boat rocked gently, soothing Libby. But when she wakened, she felt confused about where she was.

Then she remembered.
It's Sunday
.

It made her lonesome for Pa. On Sunday morning he often stopped at a town to let the passengers and crew go to church. Other times Pa led worship services on board the
Christina
.

Now Libby wished that she could go to one of those services. It seemed hard to believe that a week had passed since she and Caleb and Peter visited Jordan's church.

Standing up, Libby stretched and tried to throw off the weight she was feeling.
We're not doing too well
, she thought.
We can't find Jordan's father. We don't know how to catch the swindler
.

The more she thought about Edward Dexter, the more discouraged Libby felt.
The loan is due in only thirteen days. Will we ever find the money stolen from Pa? And how can we possibly clear Jordan's name?
Libby knew that Jordan would never feel satisfied until he proved he could be trusted.

At last an elderly man with thick white hair came for Jordan. Libby, Caleb, and Peter followed them out of the room. The Underground Railroad conductor led them toward a stairway. “Sit in different places around the church so it's not so obvious that you're strangers,” he whispered as they started up. “At the end of the service, find me near the front door.”

Libby and Peter stayed together, but the others scattered.
It's daylight
, Libby thought as she and Peter found a seat.
How is that conductor going to protect Jordan?

During announcements Libby wrote a quick note on Peter's slate. When he learned the plan, he gave his sign for “All right! Yes! Yes!”

As soon as the congregation began singing, Libby's tiredness fell away. With each hymn they sang, she felt better, and she was glad they sang all the verses. But when the pastor started preaching, Libby wished she knew more sign language so she could tell Peter what he said. Then, to Libby's great amazement, the minister spoke on the verse Caleb had given her: “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?”

“What is the pastor saying?” Peter whispered.

In that moment Libby felt good all over. So far, she could sign only a few words, but she knew the ones she needed. Turning, she faced Peter so he could see her hands and signed, “The Lord is my light.”

Reaching into his pocket, Peter pulled out his candle. Holding it up, he grinned.

Libby smiled back, but it made her wonder. Did Peter have more than one reason for carrying a candle? Did the flame remind him of God's love for him?

When the service was over, Libby and Peter found Caleb, Jordan, and the Underground Railroad conductor waiting in the crowd by the door. With the elderly conductor leading them, they went through the line, shaking hands with the pastor.

Outside, the man took them to his two-seater buggy. In a low voice he spoke to Jordan. “There are slave catchers in the area. Pretend you usually drive us.”

As though he was well acquainted with the horses, Jordan walked forward. Talking quietly to them, he untied their lead rope, then climbed up into the front seat. The Underground conductor sat next to Jordan, and Libby, Caleb, and Peter took the second seat.

Soon they fell into a long line of buggies and farm wagons returning home for Sunday dinner. Looking back, Libby gazed at the beautiful white church until the cross on its high steeple disappeared from sight.

Each time Jordan needed to make a turn, the whitehaired conductor spoke in a low voice. Gradually the number of buggies and wagons grew less and less. As they traveled through a wooded area, the man gave them instructions. “I'm taking you to the Hill House, a stagecoach inn in Brighton,” he said. “There will be a lot of people coming and going. You won't be so noticeable coming in there.”

The conductor turned to Libby and the boys in the backseat. “When Jordan stops the horses, the rest of you go into the inn with me. When I sit down at a table, walk through the inn and out the back door, as if you want to use the outhouse. The Brighton train station is about two blocks away—the station for the
real
railroad, I mean. It would be a good place for all of you to meet.”

“Where does Dr. Brown live?” Caleb asked.

“Three blocks beyond the railroad depot. There are woods across the street from his front door. You'll know you have the right house if you see a lantern sitting on a post in the backyard. If you have trouble, hide in the woods until someone lights the lantern. That's your signal that it's safe to knock on the door.”

When they stepped down from the stagecoach at the Hill House, Libby saw that the conductor had made a wise choice. At the front entrance, there was so much activity that no one seemed to notice a few more people.

Libby, Caleb, and Peter followed the conductor up the steps. As they entered a large dining room, Peter was the first one behind the man who was helping them. Suddenly Peter turned around. With his back to the room, he signed
Danger ahead!
then pointed toward one of the tables.

Uh-oh!
Libby thought as she looked in that direction.
The swindler. Just exactly who we wanted to find. But not now, not yet. We need to watch him, not have him see us
.

Whirling around, Libby almost stumbled into Caleb. “Dexter!” she whispered.

She didn't think the swindler would recognize her, but what about Peter? He had seen the man in Galena, then in Alton. And what if Dexter looked through a window and saw Jordan?

As though she were still seeing him, Libby remembered how Dexter held up his clenched fist. “I'll get even with you!” he had told Pa. Could one of those ways of getting even be to make trouble for Jordan?

“What do we do?” Libby asked Caleb.

“Follow me,” he whispered and led Libby and Peter back through the front door.

Once outside, Caleb slipped behind a stagecoach that had just come in. Being careful to keep something between them and the inn, Libby and Peter followed Caleb to the side of the building. When they worked their way around to the back, they saw Jordan near the stable.

As he glanced their way, Peter signed
Danger ahead!
Jordan disappeared into the stable. With their faces turned away from the windows of the inn, Libby, Caleb, and Peter crossed the backyard.

When Caleb was sure they were out of the swindler's sight, he picked up his pace. All the way to the railroad station, they walked fast but tried to look as if they weren't hurrying.

The minute Jordan caught up with them, they turned toward the home of Dr. Brown. On the way there, Caleb suddenly stopped in the middle of the road. “Jordan, is that your stomach I hear rumbling?”

Jordan stopped next to him. “My stomach is growling like a hound dog. I feel like I ain't had nourishment in days.”

Just thinking about food, Libby felt starved. “Maybe Dr. Brown will give us some lunch.”

About three blocks from the depot, Libby saw a brick house with a shed attached to the back side.

“That must be it!” Libby exclaimed. “If Dr. Brown is a leader in the Underground Railroad, he'll know what we should do next.”

Across the road in front of the house was a thick woods. Caleb started toward the trees, and the rest of them followed. They were partway there when Libby heard the sound of horses trotting along the road.

Instantly Libby and the boys raced for the woods. They had barely slipped inside the line of trees when a buggy of the kind used by doctors came into view. When Libby noticed a medical bag at the driver's feet, she felt sure it was Dr. Brown. Beside him sat a woman wearing a long black dress, white gloves, and a hat.

Dr. Brown stopped on the road in front of the house. Quickly he climbed down and walked around to the woman on the other side of the buggy. When he offered his hand, she stood up.

She's tall for a woman
, Libby thought, watching her.
And awkward, too, about handling her skirts
.

A veil covered her face, no doubt making it hard for her to see. She had difficulty on the step down.

Reaching the ground, the woman started toward the house with the doctor walking beside her. Leaving Libby and Peter in the woods, Caleb and Jordan hurried toward the house. They had crossed the road into the front lawn when Libby heard the pounding of hooves. As though the woman also heard the galloping horse, she turned around.

In the direction from which the doctor had come, a cloud of dust rose along the road. Within moments a rider galloped into sight. Two more riders followed not far behind.

For one second Jordan froze. As though forgetting where she was, the woman stared at him. Then Caleb grabbed Jordan's arm, and the boys broke into a run, heading back to the woods.

Again Dr. Brown and the woman hurried toward the front door. Before they reached it, the lead rider reined in his horse. When Libby saw his face, she knew the worst had happened.
The slavetrader, Riggs!

Then the man kicked his horse and rode straight toward Jordan. “I said you'd never get away!” Riggs shouted at him. “Now I've got you, boy!”

His eyes filled with terror, Jordan looked up. In that instant a man's voice cried out, “Run, Jordan! Run!”

CHAPTER 14