by Mikki Sadil
Without another word, the group left. Ben looked around and saw that this part of the forest didn’t seem as rugged as the area they had come from. He moved back into the brush, scraped away some brambles, and sat down to wait. After about an hour a group of women appeared with Bess and Josiah, who had on a frilly bonnet and a long lacy dress over pantaloons. Bess helped him out of the girly clothes, took off the large shawl she had draped heavily over her head and shoulders, and returned everything to the women. They nodded to Ben and left.
Josiah leaned back against a tree and rubbed his leg. Ben asked, “Is your leg hurting, Josiah?”
He looked up and smiled shyly. “Yah, but it’s okay, Ben. Just hurt somewhat.”
Ben reached in his pockets and took out the apples, cornbread, and the wrapped package that smelled deliciously of pork. He opened it and found four thick slices of roasted pig.
Josiah’s eyes lit up, but Bess stopped him from taking anything. “Wait ’til your papa come, Josiah. He be hungry, too.”
They sat huddled among the brambles and waited for Jesse. Time passed and clouds began to gather in the late afternoon sky. Eventually, Jesse appeared with several men dressed exactly as those who brought Ben out. He couldn’t tell if they were the same men or not.
As soon as they left, Ben said, “Obediah told me to keep on walking north through the forest, and we’d come to a Quaker town. People there will help us. Here, let’s eat what they gave us, before we get started.”
They ate quickly. Ben relished every bite and grinned at Josiah licking cornbread crumbs from his fingers. Finally, it was time to go.
Ben pulled the old compass out of his pants pocket. He held it out and watched the needle swing around to the “N”. He pointed toward the thickest part of the woods that he could see.
“Let’s go. That way is north.” The compass was very old, as it had been his grandfather’s, and Ben hoped it still worked correctly, especially after being soaked in the swamp. They began walking, with no idea of what lay ahead.
Ben didn’t think they were ever going to find the road that was supposed to take them into a town. They thrashed their way through the dense underbrush and thick weeds that tugged at their legs with every step. The wind came up, and slender tree branches reached out and scratched their faces. As late afternoon passed into the darker evening, something crashed loudly through the trees, causing them all to stop instantly. Their hearts pounded as several large deer raced past them, only a few feet away.
They remained motionless until Ben spoke quietly. “I think they’re gone now. Besides, they were only deer, probably as scared of us as we were of them. Let’s go.”
Bess hesitated. “Ben, you think there’s bears in this here forest?”
“No, I think the bears are probably farther north, where it’s colder.” Ben moved on, not at all sure that what he had said was true.
After a while, Josiah stopped and said, “I sorry, Mama, my leg hurtin’ somethin’ fierce. I can’t walk no more.”
Jesse hoisted him up on his back. Ben settled Josiah’s jacket as close to his body as he could. Ben and Bess adjusted their jackets, but even so, the cold wind had them all shivering.
The moon rose but it provided little light through the thick forest canopy. Several times Ben stopped to check the compass to make sure they were still heading north. He hoped they would soon reach the road Obediah told them about.
After awhile, Jesse said, “I gots to rest a bit. My boy be heavy.”
“It’s all right, Jesse, we all need to rest. This forest’s one of the worst we’ve had to get through.”
It was the first of several times during the night when they had to stop to rest, although later Josiah was able to walk by himself. The undergrowth was thick with prickly brambles and thorny vines that scratched their feet and legs at every step. Knobby roots and uneven ground caused them to stumble, and patches of wet leaves and moss made walking slippery at best. Once, Bess’s long skirt caught and twisted in sticky sap that oozed from a fallen branch and she fell. Ben helped her up, and she bunched her skirt into a knot, trying to keep it off the ground.
Rustlings in the brush, animal eyes glowing in the dark, the yipping of foxes not so far off all combined to make them nervous and jumpy. A shrill scream from some kind of prey caught by a predator scared Josiah and he fell over a downed log. Jesse helped him up but not before a sharp thorn from a bramble embedded itself in his hand.
The forest smelled of the rich earth they were trampling through, slightly sweet tree sap, and the ripe dung of the forest animals. The wind was chilly as it whipped through the trees, sometimes raining dead and dying leaves down on their heads, at other times bringing the muted sound of water racing over rocks in a creek that could have been near or far.
After several more hours, the forest began to lighten and the clouds had a gold tinge to them. The sun was not yet up when they stumbled onto a barely discernible trail that stretched ahead through the forest.
Ben stamped his feet to try to warm them a bit. “This doesn’t seem like much of a road, but we might as well see if it goes to the town Obediah told me about. We’ve got to find the town, if there is one, or we’ll have to go back into the forest. It’s getting on toward daylight.”
They started down the trail, stumbling over the loose rocks and stopping on occasion to pick burrs and stickers out of their feet and legs. Before long, the path turned, the forest ended, and ahead of them was a small town. Close by, the road was dotted on both sides with farmhouses, where cows were lowing and horses whinnying in anticipation of breakfast. In the distance, Ben could see the rough-hewn wood buildings of a General Mercantile store, the red-and-white striped pole of a barbershop, a Sheriff’s Office, and farther down, what he thought was a saloon and hotel.
He looked around carefully, but no one seemed to be out yet. He motioned to Jesse and Bess to catch up to him and started down the road. They had only gone a short distance when he stopped and pointed to a white house with a big porch running all the way around it. It sat away from the street and seemed to back up to the forest behind it.
“There’s a lamp in that back window. Maybe it’s a Quaker house, like Obediah told me about. Let’s go see…”
Bess stopped and pulled at his arm. “Ben, maybe it’s just somebodies gettin’ up for work.”
“I overheard Grammy talking to a friend one day about all the slaves that were running away. They were talking about the Abolitionists who help them, and she said sometimes they put lamps in the windows to show runaways their house was safe. We need to take the chance, Bess. We can’t just keep stumbling around in a forest forever, getting nowhere.”
Ben didn’t let on that cold goose bumps were popping up all over his arms, or that his mouth was as dry as the dusty road. If the people in this house were not Quakers, or those who were willing to help runaway slaves, all was lost. But they couldn’t go on alone any more. If they didn’t get help soon, they would be found and captured, or maybe even die, if they wound up back in the swamp.
They moved quietly to the back of the house. Ben crept up to the window with the oil lamp and scratched on it. Nothing. He scratched again. Nothing happened. The third time, he rapped gently on the glass pane, and this time, the lace curtain moved slightly. A female voice whispered, “Are thee in trouble?”
Ben whispered back, “Yes, I have some baggage with me. I’m lost and hungry. Can you help?”
The disembodied voice replied, “Yes. Get up on the porch quickly, so thee can’t be seen from the street. We’ll be there in a moment.”
Ben was a little alarmed at the “we” the voice mentioned, but it was too late now. They stepped up on the porch and hunched down in the back corner. The back door opened, and a young woman clad in a long dark blue dress came out. She beckoned to them, and they followed her into a warm kitchen. She motioned for them to sit at a large wooden table, and when they had, she lit a lamp and placed it in the middle of the table.
Ben was startled to see she was about the same age as he. Before he could speak, the girl said, “Welcome. My name is Charity Westfall. Thy faces look as if thee has come a long way. I will prepare some food and drink, then my father will show thee to a place where thee may rest. Does thee care to tell thy names?”
Ben had never before heard Quaker speech, and the “‘thee”’ and “‘thy”’ mannerisms confused him, but he knew she asked for their names. He hesitated long enough for Charity to give him a quick look. She said, with a slight smile, “Would thee be Benjamin McKenna from the Tate Plantation?”
A cold chill shimmied its way down Ben’s spine. How did this girl know his name? Had he led his friends into a trap?
Chapter Eleven
He struggled to keep the fear out of his voice. “How do know my name?”
Her smile was as warm as the cornbread and freshly made coffee she set on the table.
“Thee is not to worry, Benjamin. Thy names are on wanted posters all over, so everyone knows about thee. We are Quakers, and none of my faith believes in slavery, but not all help runaways as we do. For now, please do not worry, just eat and drink. Oh, and Benjamin, thee might wish to wash thy face.” She giggled softly and placed a large bowl of warm water and a cloth beside him.
Ben ducked his head and washed the ashes and garlic from his face and ears. When he figured he was clean again, he placed the cloth back in the bowl and handed it to her.
“Thanks. I’d forgotten I still had this mess on my face.”
Charity left them alone, and for a while, they ate without speaking. Ben turned his coffee cup around and around as he thought, Pa has “wanted” posters out on us already. I wonder how much money he’s offering? The more he’s going to give out to the hunters, the harder it’s going to be to keep clear of them.
Jesse wiped Josiah’s face free of his coffee-milk. “Seems like it’s only chillens try to help us, Bess. First Ben, now this here Charity girl. I purely not know.” He shook his head and rested it on one big hand.
As if on cue, Charity came back in with a man whom she introduced as her father, Adam. The man’s gaunt frame was dressed in a long sleeved, collarless blue shirt tucked into black broadfall pants. His long graying beard almost covered his suspenders, and his grim face didn’t seem to be very welcoming. However, when he spoke, his deep voice was low and friendly.
“Welcome. All who come to this house are friends. We ask no questions here. Come, follow me, please.”
The sun was beginning to come over the trees as Adam led them outside to a shed. He opened the door, and then a trap door in the floor. They followed him down several steps into a root cellar. He opened a door to a smaller room, where barrels and crates of what could only have been rotting vegetables and fruits were stacked high against the walls and into the middle of the room. He pushed aside some of the barrels and led them to the darkest corner of the room. There were no windows, but the lamp he carried cast its light upon piles of blankets and quilts on the floor.
“Here thee may sleep. Thee will not be disturbed. If strangers come, Charity will come and knock twice on the door above. Thee will be safe, I promise that. When it is safe again, Charity will come once more. Until she attends thee again, thee must remain here. Sleep well.”
Without any more talk, Adam and Charity left the cellar.
Jesse took a deep breath and muttered, “How we gonna sleep with that smell? It might rightly put my stomach ill.”
Ben took a deep breath, and nearly choked on the overpowering odor. He muttered, “Come on, Jesse, we’re safe for now, we’ve had something to eat and we’ve got a place to sleep. We’ve got to rely on someone else for a while. Quit complaining.”
He ignored the venomous look Jesse sent him, lay down, and covered up with one of the quilts. Sleep would not come. He was quickly learning how much their safety depended upon other people, people he knew nothing about and had to blindly trust. He knew Quakers were strongly opposed to slavery, but not everyone was of the Quaker faith. How much longer was it going to take before they reached the Ohio River, and how many other people were going to be involved in their escape? It was finally beginning to sink in that he, and he alone, was responsible for whatever happened to the four of them.
He thrashed around until Jesse growled, “Boy, you gots a tiger by the tail in them covers? You keepin’ ever’body awake with all that jumpin’ and jivin’ around.”
Ben sighed. “Sorry, Jesse. I just can’t get to sleep. I’ll try to be quiet, though.”
He pulled the quilts over his head, closed his eyes, and after a few minutes fell into a restless sleep.
Thump! Thump! The sound of heavy knocking woke Ben up. He sat up, at first bewildered by the awful smell, until he remembered where they were. Two more thumps sounded above. He remembered that if trouble came, Charity would knock twice on the door above their head. He awakened Bess and Jesse, pointed above their heads and put his finger to his lips. Time seemed to move at the pace of a stubborn mule, as they waited for whatever was to come. Finally, from above came the sound of boots stamping, the trap door opening, and heavy steps coming down into the darkness. Light flared as someone lit a lamp.
A hoarse voice growled, “What in tarnation is that dang smell?”
“Well, hold up the lamp so’s we can see. Dang it all, ’tain’t nothing here but rotten food. Smells worser than a passel of skunks in a snake pit.”
“Yeh, I’m getting outta here ’fore my stomach says hello to my teeth. Let’s go.”
The steps going up the ladder to the floor above moved at a much quicker pace than coming down, and the trap door dropped with a loud thud.
The little group below continued to lie uneasily still until the trap door opened again, and Charity’s voice floated down to them. “Hello? Are thee all right? The danger has gone, and my mother has put breakfast for all of us on the table. Please come up.”
Jesse and Bess threw the covers off and helped Josiah to stand. Ben hesitated, his stomach in a knot. Were they just going up to get breakfast, or were those same hunters waiting for them to come out of the cellar? His heart began to thud, for there was nothing else for them to do but leave the relative safety of the cellar.
They walked in to a table set with coffee, hot bread, bacon, stewed apples, and pancakes running over with butter and syrup. Charity welcomed them again. “Good morning. I hope thee have slept well. This is my mother, Abigale, my brothers Bennet and John Paul, and my sisters, Faith and Mercy.”
Ben ducked his head. “What happened this morning with the hunters?”
Charity’s mother motioned them to a long bench. “Please, sit thy selves down first. We will partake of prayers before breakfast, and then we will discuss the hunters.”
Everyone sat down and bowed their heads. Adam said a long prayer, and the family began to pass food around the table. Soon everyone was eating, but in silence. Ben, Jesse, and Bess exchanged looks but didn’t speak.
After awhile, Ben spoke to Abigale. “Ma’am, this is purely good food. I’m sorry if we interrupted your normal time for eating. It must be close on to noon by now.”
Abigale smiled. “Do not worry thy head, Ben. On the days the hunters come, we oft have only coffee and bacon in the morn, and then have our morning meal close to noontime. The hunters do not care what time they come, or what ritual they interrupt, so we adjust.”
Ben nodded and turned to Adam. “Mister Westfall, will you tell me now about the hunters? Were they looking just for us?”
“Ben, thee does not need to call me “mister.” We’re not big on formality here. Yes, the hunters mentioned thy name and those of thy slaves. But they didn’t follow thee here, if that is thy worry. They come here regularly to check up on us. They know we are Quakers, and as such, have no use for slavery. We do what we can. Now, bring thy coffee and we will go into the parlor. We must make plans.”
Ben followed him into the parlor and noticed how much more sparsely furnished it was than the one in G
rammy’s house. A round table sat in one corner, with a gas lamp in the center, and surrounded by four straight back, uncomfortable looking chairs. Facing the large fireplace was a long padded bench. Two other chairs, seemingly with little padding under the chintz covers, were on either side of the fireplace. Other than a tall bookcase filled with row upon row of books, there was no other furniture in the large room.
Adam indicated that Ben was to sit in one of the chairs facing the fireplace, which had a bright, warm blaze going. Across the opening was a long piece of iron, with a big hook at the end, which now held a large copper pot filled with soup. Even though Ben’s stomach was full, the steam rising from the pot brought a delicious aroma of meat, vegetables, and spices to his nose. His mouth watered, and he couldn’t help but hope they would get some of that soup for supper.
Ben sat down and waited for Adam to stoke his pipe, light it, and take in a deep breath of fragrant smoke.
“All right, now, thee must listen carefully. Thee and thy friends will remain here for a few days, whilst I get some plans in order. Does thee know where thou are, in terms of geography?”
Ben shook his head. “I haven’t really known where we were ever since we left the tunnel. I have tried to keep us going north with the help of an old compass I have, but I don’t really know all that much about the geography around here, so I feel totally lost.”
“Tunnel? I have not heard of such a thing. Where is this tunnel?”
Ben told him about the barn and the tunnel. “The tunnel started to collapse behind us. We were at a dead end, and the only thing I could do was to try to dig us out. When I finally got through the dirt wall, we were in a forest that led to a marsh, and then a swamp. After we got out of the swamp, we were in a forest again, and that’s where the coloreds found us.”
“The coloreds?”
“Yes sir. There were some freed slaves who helped us escape the slave hunters.” Ben continued his story about what the freed slaves did to help them and other runaways. “They told us about this town and how the Quakers would help us, too.”