by Diane Roads
CHAPTER16
When Jasper pulled up to the Twilliger's, Mark and Harry were out front talking about the Civil War days and the Underground Railroad. It seems both of them were history buffs, and it was all Jasper could do to keep them from going into the tunnel. Director Jack Riley drove up with four other agents from the FBI. When they all got to the door, George Carter was there to meet them.
"Jasper, I don't understand this. I checked my map, and nowhere does it show that the Underground Railroad came this far south or west for that matter," said Mark.
As George walked up Jasper said, "I told you it was a family secret. Hi, George! Did your dad tell you we were coming?"
"Yes Sir, and he reminded me how to get into the tunnel, also, I just checked it out to see if I could really open the door, and it works. I got some brooms out so you could knock some of the cobwebs away, and there are some lanterns and flashlights on the counter in the kitchen. If you need anything else, let me know."
"Great, thank you George."
Jasper and Director Jack Riley walked into the mauve colored kitchen. The kitchen had plum accents, and cream colored starched curtains, with the same plum color on the lace, lined the windows. With its highly polished oak tile floor, built-in dishwasher, stove and refrigerator… this was a modern kitchen. This house had been built over 150 years ago, but there was not a cobweb in sight. In fact, this room had probably never seen one in over twenty years. It had all the comforts of home.
The pantry had a wide door with a brass doorknob. There were three shelves on each side of the pantry. Looking straight ahead, on the opposite wall was the Quagmire Coat of Arms, dating back to the 14th century. It was a proud shield with crossed swords on it.
Looking at it, no one would ever know that it slid to the left, making an opening to the tunnel, a tunnel that had spelled freedom over a century and a half ago for several people, people whose only curse was that their skin was dark.
The limestone steps had stood the test of time. Thick, hand-cut, rough timbers lined the walls down the steps and through part of the tunnel. The rest was just the dirt walls. The cobwebs were so thick that Jasper had to stop and pull his collar tight around his neck. The tunnel was about four feet wide, and barely tall enough for someone to walk through. It was not the place to be for the claustrophobic. Just like Jasper had said to Harry.
About a third of the way down, another, smaller, tunnel split off from the big one, and it came to a dead-end after about seven feet. There were some places where the beams had caved in, giving way to the tree roots, but for the most part, the tunnel had stayed together. Jasper got shivers thinking about all the people who might have passed through here on their journey to freedom, looking for the Mason-Dixon Line.
Everyone seemed to have a reverent feeling while they were in the tunnel. There was such a silence that you could have heard a pin drop on a hardwood floor. The air was stale with an earthy scent. Jasper could tell that the tunnel had not been used but a time or two in probably the last fifty years, until Earl Scooter had been in it. No one said a word for several minutes.
Then Mark broke the silence with..."Jasper, look at these carvings on this wall. The people couldn't read or write, but they could still speak volumes. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. This one must have been of a whole family that fled, and here's one of a man being chased by dogs and men on horses."
"Look at this one over here! What's this he is pulling behind him? I didn't think they took a lot of things with them," asked Jasper.
"They didn't. That was a tree branch they dusted the ground with, to cover their tracks, so no one would see which way they went," replied Mark.
Harry was looking at an anvil with a chisel and part of a hammer, Next to it was a pile of chains. Harry gasped at the carving on the wall of a man being beaten. His reply was, "This is the part of history I wish my family had never been a part of. Can you imagine wearing big iron bracelets and chains like these? They are tough and heavy."
"Hey! I think I found something here." (The guys were so lost in history they almost forgot what they were there for.) "Look! This is a rope ladder; looks like it came from this shaft that goes up to the garden. This must have been how he got in," said Director Riley.
"Is there anything else?" asked Jasper.
"Just some trash, empty cans of pop, cigarette butts and a flash light. Oh! And here's his cell phone and a crowbar."
Jasper was standing over a crate that looked like it hadn't been opened in a long time.
"Hey! Bring me that crowbar. I want to check this out." Upon opening it, Jasper found some books and papers in it that had been sealed up for perhaps a hundred and fifty years.
Mark pulled the first book out. His mouth dropped as he said, "This is a first edition of Uncle Tom's Cabin. Did you know that they put people in prison just for buying the book? And to find a first edition down here in this condition is incredible."
Jasper had pulled out the next book. It was written in long hand. There were several in the crate. "These must be my great-great-grandfathers journals. Folded in one of the journals, Jasper found a flyer announcing an auction. “Listen to this.............
‘Sale of Slaves. Auction date, June 22, at the corner of Barns and Grove. Seven fine mullattos, to be sold, all in healthy condition.’ Then it lists them. ‘Hattie James, age 23, very good ladies maid, does excellent lace work, and she is also very good at seeing to the needs of any bachelor. Sam James, age 7, son of Hattie James. Can be sold separately or together. Works good cleaning ash cans, and as a stable boy cleaning stalls. Joe Jones, age 18 hard worker in the field. Good with horses.’
The list goes on. The oldest is 32 years old. Says here that the owner is leaving on the 23rd for Europe. They are to take possession on the day of the sale. All sales are final."
"How cold could people be? These were families they were splitting up," said Harry.
"This was back when status and the mighty dollar ruled," answered Mark.
"Jasper, check this out. This one is a ledger of all the people your granddaddy helped," said Mark, "See, here it shows the date that people came through here, and who they were. Hey, look at this! Hattie James and her son Sam are on the list. That's why that sale bill was here. Your grandfather helped them get to safety. And look at this name! It's Harriet Tubman! Wow!"
"Harriet Tubman...Who was she? That name sounds real familiar."
"It sounds like you need a little history wake-up call. She was a slave herself who ran away to the north, but she kept coming back to help others escape. She made 19 trips in all back to the south to help others. They would leave on a Saturday night, because the slave owners wouldn't have time to get the word out until Monday morning, and they could be long gone by then."
"If they were going to go with her, they had to put their complete trust in her. If they changed their minds and wanted to go back, she told them she would kill them. She helped about 300 get to safety. And, to add to her problems, she had been hit on the head in her younger years, and was prone to fall asleep at any given time. She would be passed out for an hour, or so, at times. Now-a-days they would call it Epilepsy."
"Man, you guys really are history buffs. Well, enough with all of this. We'll leave this part of history down here. It belongs to Mr. Twilliger now. Let's just get the items that Earl Scooter left. I need to get back to the station and get the paperwork done, so Director Riley and his men can get back. Thanks for the history lesson, guys."
The men walked just as quietly out as they had came in. George was waiting for them outside with a broom to dust them all off in the backyard. He was excited to know about what was down there, but he wanted to wait until the police had a chance to go through the tunnel themselves.
"Well, was there a lot of stuff down in the tunnel, Sheriff? Did you find anything of interest, or was it all just empty? You’ve got to tell me something, I've just been dying to know ever since I found out about
it."
"Yes, we are done down there, George. It's no problem for you to go in there if you want to. There are a lot of cobwebs, so be sure your collar is tight around your neck. There is a lot of historical stuff in there. Some books, chains, tools, and other things. You be sure and tell Mr. Twilliger when he gets back. He may want you to bring it all out of the tunnel."
"Okay, I'll be sure to tell him. Dad should be home soon. I think I will wait for him before I go down."
“That’s a good idea. You shouldn’t go in there without someone knowing it. The walls could cave in at anytime. That part of History isn’t going anywhere soon.”
The men walked back to the cars, their minds going back to days gone past. The things they read about in history books were nothing compared to what they saw here today. This was a time they would never forget.