Railroad of Courage by Rubenstein Dan; Dyson Nancy;

Author:Rubenstein, Dan; Dyson, Nancy;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Ronsdale Press

CHAPTER TEN

Saving an Enemy

We stared at the burning steamboat. All of a sudden, I gasped, “I see Master Jeff! I see him in the water.” In the light cast by the fire, I saw him floating in the river. His arms rested on a wooden plank and he seemed lifeless.

I hesitated for a moment. Master Jeff was hateful but he was Miss Clarissa’s brother and I knew she loved some part of him. Suddenly, I knew I could not leave him in the river. I grabbed the pole Uncle Josiah had carried from the boat and plunged into the river. Holding the pole with one hand, I reached back with the other and asked my pa to hold tight. My pa held on to Uncle Josiah and he held on to the Birdman, making a chain of people, our hands holding tight to one another. I sank deeper and deeper into the black water of the river. I did not know how to swim but I knew I had to save Master Jeff.

I stretched as far as I could into the current, working the end of the pole under Master Jeff’s body. I pulled him closer until I could grab his arm. “I’ve got him!” I shouted. The others pulled and pulled until we were able to drag him onto the sandbar. Then Uncle Josiah and the Birdman carried Master Jeff onto shore.

Master Jeff was so limp that I thought he was dead. The Birdman shouted, “Help me turn him over so I can get the water out of his lungs.”

I remembered then that the Birdman was a doctor and knew how to heal people. He pumped Master Jeff’s back and water poured out of his mouth. The Birdman put two fingers on his neck and said, “He is alive, but barely so.”

My pa said, “You did the right thing, Rebecca, by saving Master Jeff. On the plantation, I saw some slaves turn as mean as their growers. I’m glad that didn’t happen to you.”

Master Jeff opened his eyes and stared at my pa. He croaked, “Obadiah!”

The Birdman said, “Jeff, this man and his daughter saved your life.” Jeff shook his head in disbelief. We stepped back into the shadows.

The Birdman took Moses aside. “If we leave Master Jeff here, alone, he may die; but if you stay with him, you’ll lose your freedom. You must move deep into the woods while I stay here. As a doctor, it’s my duty to care for him.”

Moses answered in a low voice. “Yes, you should stay with him until a boat comes and takes him to St. Louis. But as soon as you can, you must get to Alton, on the Illinois side of the river. Find Priscilla Baltimore, a freed slave, and ask her to send boats to carry us to Illinois. We’ll wait in the woods until we hear your owl hoots.”

The Birdman nodded. “I’ll find Priscilla and come back with boats.”

Moses said, “Thank God for you. Now be gone. Tell Priscilla to bring me a gun.

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