Midnight Rescue by Lois Walfrid Johnson

night—the one who threw a rope around Jordan—”
    “You saw him?” Caleb asked. “We were just going to tell you about him.”
    “I’m sorry, Caleb,” Libby said. “I’m sorry for losing my temper, for saying the wrong things, for talking too loud.”
    But Libby knew this was much bigger than the argument between the two of them. Caleb wasn’t just any boy. Since the age of nine, he had risked his own safety for what he believed about the freedom of slaves. He had built up a reputation as someone other people could trust.
    As a lump formed in Libby’s throat, she swallowed hard. “I’m sorry, most of all, for betraying a secret.”
    Fighting against tears, Libby turned to Jordan. “I’m sorry,Jordan, for giving you away. For hurting your chances to rescue your family.”
    “I forgives you, Libby,” Jordan said simply.
    “You forgive me?” Libby asked. “Just like that?”
    “Yes’m. Just like that.”
    “But that man who threw the rope around you—it was my fault, Jordan. He must have heard me talk. How can you forgive me?”
    “I ain’t got no choice,” Jordan answered.
    I ain’t got no choice
. Like a spinning wheel the words went round and round in Libby’s head. As if she were still standing there, she saw Jordan at the auction where he was sold as a slave. She remembered the names he was called. In the weeks between then and now, she had come to a better understanding of how much those names hurt.
    Unable to shake the grief in her heart, Libby remembered another time—when Caleb washed the great open wounds of the whip marks across Jordan’s back. That was the day when Jordan told them what his daddy had taught him.
“Jordan, hatin’ robs your bones of strength, makes you blind when you needs to fight. If you forgive, you be strong.”
    Now Jordan leaned forward, as if wanting to be sure Libby understood. “Long time ago my daddy say, ‘It ain’t how people treats you on the outside that counts. It’s what you is on the inside. You gots to be sure that be good, ’cause you can’t run away from yourself.’”
    Libby stared at him. “I can’t run away from myself?”
    “Wherever you is, you is the person you is goin’ to be with.”
    Libby thought about it. “I don’t have any choice about beingwith Libby Norstad.” It almost struck her funny. “I
have
to be with myself!”
    Jordan grinned. “You got it!”
    In that moment Libby felt as if a weight had fallen off her shoulders. “Okay,” she said. “I can’t run away from knowing that I did something wrong.” Libby looked from Jordan to Caleb. “But I want to be different. I want God to help me start over again.”
    As Libby stood up to leave, she noticed a well-dressed man standing along the rail. He seemed to be looking out across the river. But Libby had been so busy talking that she hadn’t noticed when the man came on deck.
    What did he hear?
Libby wondered, feeling frantic again. It wasn’t hard to tell that he had been listening.

    By the time Libby reached the texas deck she remembered Caleb’s words. “We’ll be leaving soon,” he had said. Like a toothache Libby felt her disappointment that she wouldn’t be going along.
    Inside her room Libby found the newspaper she had dropped on the floor the night before. Taking the scattered pages, she spread them out on the floor to read.
    Once again she saw the article about their accident. Nearby was another article, one Libby had missed.
MAN FLEES STILLWATER PRISON
    The well-known and dangerous prisoner known as Sam McGrady escaped the Minnesota Territorial Prison yesterday. Before being captured, he was part of a gang that robbed a number of banks inMinnesota Territory and the state of Iowa. During the last holdup before Sam’s imprisonment, a bank teller was seriously hurt.
    The outlaw is known for his ability to do rope tricks. It is believed that at some time he worked on a ranch in the West. He has been called light fingered because of the way he makes