Midnight Rescue Read Online Free Page B

wagon upright. When they found that two of the wheels still rolled,they pushed the wagon across the road, lodging it against the upward side of the bluff.
    With Nate leading the horses, Libby and the boys once more started toward the riverfront. They had walked only a few steps when a farmer stopped to ask if everyone was all right. As soon as Nate tied the lead rope for his horses to the end of the farmer’s wagon, he climbed up to the high seat. Libby, Caleb, and Jordan sat down in the wagon bed.
    Leaning against one side of the wagon, Libby covered her eyes with her hands. She wanted to blot out all memory of the runaway horses. Yet, even with her eyes closed, she saw them again. Just thinking about their frantic race down the steep hill, Libby began to shake.
I never want to ride in a wagon again!
    Then, as she felt the boards beneath her, Libby knew she was doing just that. Embarrassed by her weakness, she forced herself to look up. “What happened?” she asked Jordan.
    “The hold back broke,” he said.
    “The hold back?” Libby didn’t know what he was talking about.
    “A strap,” Jordan explained. “It keep the neck yoke tight to the horse.”
    “The neck yoke broke too?” Maybe that was one of the lurches she felt.
    “Yes’m. The wagon started runnin’ up on the horses. The singletrees—”
    “Singletree?” Libby was lost again.
    “A crossbar behind each horse,” Caleb said quickly. “They’re part of the wagon.”
    Jordan grinned. “When them singletrees start slappin’against them horses’ heels, whoo–ee! Them horses spooked!”
    Libby wasn’t sure she understood it all. Already she felt her bruises, but she also felt grateful that she was alive. Still, she was curious. “Jordan, how do you know so much about horses?”
    Jordan straightened and lifted his head in the proud look Libby had come to know. “That’s why I has value,” he said.
    “Value?”
    Jordan glanced toward Nate and the farmer. When he spoke, his voice was low. “That’s why I is worth a big reward. I knows more about horses than any other colored boy I know.”
    “Is that right, Jordan?” Even Caleb looked surprised. “How did you learn?”
    “Before my daddy got sold away he taught me. He said, ‘Jordan, you listen up now. You learn everything I teach you ’cause if you has value you has an easier life.’” Jordan shook his head. “Someday when I git my family free, I is goin’ to prove my value. I is goin’ to show my daddy how much he taught me.”
    “I thought you didn’t know where he is,” Libby said.
    “I ain’t got no idea where he is. But when Momma and my sisters and my brother is free, I is goin’ to find him.”
    The moment they reached downtown Stillwater, Caleb hunted up the village marshal to report the escaped prisoner. The marshal was glad Caleb had told him. Yet he shook his head at still another escape.
    When Libby and the boys returned to the waterfront, they found the steamboat they had seen from the top of the bluff. A smaller boat than the
Christina
, it was the kind that usually traveled up and down the St. Croix River. They had no way of knowing if it had gone into St. Paul. Nor could they tell ifthe boat had picked up passengers who might know the latest news and remember Jordan.
    When it was time to say goodbye, Nate grinned at Libby. “If you come back to Stillwater, I’ll give you another ride,” he said.
    As Libby shuddered, Nate’s eyes grew serious. “I’m sorry, Libby. Really sorry about what happened.”
    Only then could Libby smile. “It was a great view, Nate. Thanks for trying. I know it wasn’t your fault.”
    “Next time I’ll take better care of you,” he promised.
    As Libby looked up, she saw Caleb watching them.

    When Libby went on board the
Christina
, her dog, Samson, met her at the top of the gangplank. A big black Newfoundland, he had white patches on his nose, muzzle, chest, and the tips of his toes. Dropping down on her knees, Libby gave