Isaac’s only friend is a passenger pigeon named Bandy. He deludes himself in believing the bird talks to him. Bullied, he is resigned to a life of being the misunderstood bookworm by neighboring boys until a disastrous fire kills his parents and little sisters, sparing only his younger brother, Thomas. He and Thomas are taken in by their Uncle Raymond, an abolitionist, who plans to send Isaac to Virginia to buy Joy, a young slave with debilitating health, from her slave owner, Wil Jericho. Shortly after arriving in Virginia, Isaac learns the ugly truth. The butler who accompanied him on the journey killed his uncle before leaving and plans to do the same to Isaac to steal Raymond’s estate.
Isaac, with Joy, escape into the backwoods of Virginia. Discovering passages of the Underground Railroad, stowing away in carriages, hiding in churches, and outwitting the mercenaries hired by Jericho, the two teens fight tooth and nail to make it to Boston before they’re caught. Will Joy be taken from this life by sickness before she’s found freedom? On their journey, they learn a lot about each other. Isaac promises to bring Joy to Bandy's pond, a heavenly place where peace and serenity reign.
They walked in silence for a while, each one wrapped in their own thoughts. Joy felt like crying. Jericho Plantation was all she had ever known. She would miss Moses and even Mother Etta, who treated her kindly. However, she knew in the back of her mind that this day would eventually come. It was as if she had a premonition.
At Jericho Plantation she would always be a slave, at the subjective whim of whoever was master of the house. Now, at last, she was free, finally unencumbered by the tight yoke around her neck. She knew her time was probably limited, but if she could spend her remaining days with her sister, living free, it would be worth it. Also, there was always the chance of this doctor in Boston.
What if he could do something for her?
And then there was this mysterious boy who seemed to have arrived out of nowhere. She had only known him for a day but felt like she had known him for a lifetime. He was brave and had rescued her against all odds from a tyrant that might have beaten her to death. He was walking a few steps ahead of her, his long hair sticking out from around his soft wool cap. She had never met anyone like him.
Isaac interrupted her train of thought. He stopped and held up his hand. “I think that I hear something.”
She heard it, too— a soft but penetrating ring. There was a train coming!
He took her hand, and they hurried down the embankment and crawled into the switchgrass, making sure to keep low. After a few minutes the low ringing turned into a loud rumble and the unmistakable sound of train wheels as the flanges pushed against the rail.
Isaac looked up and could see a plume of heavy dark smoke towering into the sky as the engine rumbled by, trailed by its heavy load. It was a freight. Isaac had an idea but quickly dismissed it. Attempting to board a moving box car was tempting but extremely risky. He would be able to do it, but in her weakened condition, Joy would not. There was also the chance someone might see them and then the game would be up.
No, they would have to make the journey on foot.
When he deemed it was safe, they climbed back up the embankment and started again. He tried to remember landmarks from his train ride the day before. He wished that he had paid more attention. He didn’t remember any large towns they’d traveled through, though there were houses and farms and places where the track snaked its way through a forest. There was no way they would make it to Norfolk today. It was almost noon, and at some point, they would have to find a place where they could conceal themselves for the night. That would take time.
He prayed that the rain would hold off, but the sun had once again hidden itself behind an overcast sky. To the northeast, the dark clouds looked ominous. They walked for what he determined to be about three miles into an area where there was forest on both sides of them.
Then the rain came.
Craig R. Hipkins
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