The Swindler's Treasure (4 page)

T
hen Pa reached out and pulled Libby close in a hug. “It's the people who work for me I'm most concerned about. People like Caleb's grandmother. My whole crew. How am I going to pay all of them?”

Libby felt as if a lump had formed in her throat. “If the swindler makes you lose the
Christina
, he'll be taking our home. He'll be taking the way you earn our living.” Libby lowered her voice. “And you won't have a way to help runaway slaves.”

“That's what would bother me the most.” Pa shook his head, as though still not believing what had happened. “When Dexter tried to swindle the immigrant, I couldn't arrest him. Now I could arrest him for being a thief. But I don't know where he is.”

During the four long years after her mother's death, Libby had lived with her aunt in Chicago. Libby always felt glad she could be with Pa again. “I thought the
Christina
was paid for,” she said in a small voice.

“It was,” her father answered. “Last fall, before you came to live with me, we had a lot of ice damage. I needed to have the entire hull rebuilt. When we get to Galena, I'll talk to the man who loaned me the money.”

Galena. The city in northwestern Illinois that was settled early because of lead mines in the area. The town had become a legend because of the lead shipped from there to St. Louis. Some riverboat captains had made their fortunes in the trade. But now, because of the swindler, Captain Norstad faced enormous debt.

What if Pa loses everything he's worked for?
Libby couldn't imagine such a life. Even more, she couldn't imagine Pa not being able to do what he believed in—helping fugitive slaves.

Early the next morning, the
Christina
entered the Galena River. Here and there clumps of birches grew along the banks. Willow branches hung low, and Libby caught the scent of wet earth and new growth. Before long, the steamboat reached the city of Galena. Throwing out the lines, or ropes, deckhands tied up between two other paddlewheelers.

Though he was usually tall and strong looking, Pa's shoulders slumped with discouragement as he walked down the gangplank.

An hour later he was back. “Tell Jordan I have a place for his family,” Pa said to Caleb. “Tell them to leave now, a few at a time, while we're unloading freight. The market is busy, and they can find each other there. After they walk around awhile, they should follow you at a distance to the right house.”

“C'mon, Libby,” Caleb said when Pa finished giving directions. “Let's go talk to Jordan.”

They found him in the cargo area. When Caleb told the good news, an excited light shone in Jordan's eyes. Then Caleb clapped Jordan on the back. Watching Caleb, Libby knew it was hard for him to say goodbye. The two boys had become good friends, in the way Libby had hoped she could get to know Serena.

But Jordan had one more question. “Do you know how I can find my daddy?”

Caleb glanced over his shoulder, then lowered his voice. “Libby's pa said there's a way. But it's dangerous.”

“Can I do it?” Jordan asked.

Caleb shrugged. “Captain Norstad didn't tell me. I just know there's a big risk. He wants us to ask around first. One of us might hear something.”

Leaving Jordan in the cargo area, Libby and Caleb found a place to sit near the bow of the
Christina
. From there they watched Jordan's family begin their new life.

His mother, Hattie, went first, carrying little Rose. A few minutes later, Serena and Zack slipped down the gangplank. Jordan was the last to go. He glanced toward Caleb and Libby with one quick grin. It was easy to see Jordan's excitement about what was ahead.

“Will he be safe?” Libby asked Caleb.

“I hope so.” Caleb waited till his friend disappeared in the crowded marketplace. Then he, too, left the
Christina
.

Not until Caleb returned and the steamboat headed back down the Galena River did Libby get a chance to talk to Pa. Standing next to the railing on the boiler deck, he told her what happened.

“The man who holds the loan was good to me,” Pa said. “Up till now I've paid on time. He said I could make a double payment on August fifteenth.”

“Three months from now.” Libby felt relieved. On that May evening, August fifteenth seemed a long time away.

But Pa wasn't finished. “If I can't make the double payment, I won't get another chance. I'll lose the boat.”

“Lose the
Christina
?” To Libby it was unthinkable. “You named the boat for Ma!”

Reaching out, Libby ran her hand along the smooth railing. She had always believed the
Christina
was the most beautiful steamboat on the river.

“After all your hard work?” she asked. “It's not fair!”

Pa smiled. “Sometimes life isn't fair, Libby. That's not what counts. I'll pray and work my hardest so we don't lose the
Christina
. But even if we do, the Lord will be with us.”

“Even if we do?” Libby swallowed hard, just thinking about it.
Even if the Lord is with us, I can't think of anything worse than losing the
Christina. But she didn't dare say that to Pa.

“Wherever we go, we'll look for the swindler,” her father promised. “Maybe we'll find both him and the money he stole.”

Libby pushed her frightened thoughts away. “If you have a good season—”

“And the Lord's protection,” Pa said. “Let's pray for both.”

But Libby knew all the dangerous things that happened to steamboats. They exploded or caught fire or struck the hidden roots of old trees and sank within minutes.

Finding the treasure of all that savedup money? Even the idea seemed impossible.

On the way back down the Mississippi River, Pa stopped at Fairport, the town where he had let Edward Dexter off. No one remembered seeing a man of his description. The swindler had probably taken the next steamboat that came along.

At several other places, Pa asked about him. Somehow Edward Dexter had vanished into thin air. That bothered Libby even more.

During the months of June and July, Libby and Caleb talked often about Jordan's family. To their great disappointment, the
Christina
did not visit Galena even once. Pa had gotten several good jobs hauling freight close to St. Louis instead.

Always Libby watched the money that was taken in. By the end of June, Pa was able to pay the money he owed the crew. In July he started building up the profit needed to make one payment. But a double payment? Libby was afraid to ask about it. She only knew her father was losing weight from working so hard.

August fifteenth
, Libby thought more than once. Often she counted the days. Without doubt she knew Pa didn't have the money he needed.

Then, less than a month before the loan was due, Pa told Libby they were going back to Galena. Early Saturday morning, on the fourth weekend in July, they again steamed up the Galena River. Libby and Caleb sat high on the hurricane deck to watch all that was going on. From the steamboat ahead of them came the slap of great paddle wheels against the water.

“How do you think Serena is doing?” The morning sunlight touched Libby's deep red hair, bringing out the gold. “Remember how excited Jordan looked the last time we saw him?”

Both Libby and Caleb could hardly wait to see Jordan and his family. But now Caleb said, “I hope we find Jordan in Galena.”

It had never occurred to Libby that he might not be there. “Where would he go?”

Caleb shrugged, but he looked uneasy.

“Jordan's smart,” Libby said. “He wouldn't go off without a good reason.”

“He's got the biggest reason of all—finding his father.”

When Caleb grew quiet, Libby's thoughts tumbled on. “His father. If someone told Jordan he knew something about his father. Where he is, for instance—” Libby hated to even say what she was thinking. “Remember? We talked about it.”

Caleb remembered, all right. “The one time when Jordan doesn't use good judgment is when he gets scared about his family.”

When the
Christina
tied up at the busy mining city, the waterfront swarmed with activity. Caleb, Libby, and her dog, Samson, stood on the main deck, watching the steamboats around them. The great black Newfoundland had been a present from Pa when Libby came to live on board. As though eager for a good run, Samson kept edging toward the gangplank.

The moment he touched land, the dog raced off. Picking up a stick in his mouth, he brought it to where Libby stood on the riverbank. Each time she threw it out, he tore after it.

“Let's hunt up Jordan,” Caleb said as Samson brought back the stick. But someone called to Caleb.

“Go ahead and look around the market,” he told Libby. “I'll catch up.”

A few blocks away from the river, Libby came to the marketplace. Farmers from the surrounding area stood alongside their wagons, selling whatever produce they had and swapping stories. For a time Libby looked at their horses—large draft animals with great hooves and strong bodies.

Then Samson became restless. Instead of staying beside Libby, he kept roaming, sniffing his way into anything he could find. Libby decided to start walking.

Standing at the edge of Commerce Street, she waited while two wagons rumbled past. Across the street a blond boy hurried up a side street leading to the main part of town. Thinking it was Caleb, Libby started after him.

Just then she heard the clip-clop of a swiftly moving horse. Edging back from the street, Libby turned to see a buggy coming from her left. As she watched, the young driver lifted a whip. When it snaked out above his horse, the buggy picked up even more speed.

Close to Libby, the driver seemed to change his mind. At his signal the horse started to turn left. The buggy wobbled, then swayed as if it would tip.

Seeing the danger, Libby called out, “Caleb! Behind you!”

In that instant Samson broke away from Libby, racing ahead. Without looking around, the boy still hurried along the side of the street.

The next moment the buggy made the turn. Swinging wide, the horse headed straight toward Caleb.

“Hey!” the driver shouted. “Get out of my way!” But the blond boy did not look back.

Again the young man shouted. “What's the matter with you? Get out of my way!”

Closer and closer rolled the swiftly moving buggy. “Run, Caleb!” Libby screamed. “Run!”

CHAPTER 4