Our Kansas Home by Deborah Hopkinson, PATRICK FARICY Page B

run, tail between his legs.
    â€œLion!” Charlie yelled. “Oh, I have to catch him.”
    Before Papa could stop him, Charlie pushed his way through the crowd of men.
    At the corner he stopped. He didn’t see Lion anywhere.
    It wasn’t Lion’s fault,
thought Charlie.
He couldn’t help being scared.
    â€œLion! Here, boy!” Charlie yelled.
    He turned the corner and froze in horror.
    â€œBorder ruffians,” he whispered.
    I should run,
thought Charlie. But he couldn’t make his feet move.
    He was standing in front of the newspaper office. Charlie could read the sign: KANSAS FREE STATE. As he watched, four or five men smashed the door open.
    They rushed inside, whooping and shouting. Charlie heard loud crashes and bangs.
    Suddenly a chair came flying out the door. Charlie jumped back.

    Then came a desk, and another chair.
    Someone threw out a lantern.
Crash!
The glass broke into a hundred pieces.
    Next came equipment, stacks of paper, and old newspapers.
    A man came up behind Charlie. “They’re wrecking the printing press. They won’t stop until the newspaper office is destroyed.”
    A shower of black metal poured out the door. Some of the bits landed at Charlie’s feet. He bent down and picked one of them up. He turned the small piece of metal over in his hand.
    â€œWhat is it?” Charlie asked the man.
    â€œThat’s a piece of type. It’s a letter the printer uses to set a page of print,” the man told him. “Won’t be much good now.”
    Then the man walked away, his shoulders slumped.
    Charlie peered at the tiny object in his hand. It was the capital letter “L.”
    â€œWords have power,” Momma had told him, when he first learned to read. Charlie hadn’t understood what she meant. Now Charlie thought he knew.
    These men didn’t want anyone writing about making Kansas a free state. They didn’t want people to speak outagainst slavery. They didn’t want anything to change.
    One of the men came out of the building and pointed at Charlie. “Hey, boy, what you lookin’ at?”
    In a flash Charlie slipped the tiny letter into his pocket. He spun on his heel and ran hard.
    â€œLion. Here, boy,” Charlie called as he ran.
    Charlie wanted to find Lion more than ever. He felt scared to be walking alone.
    He called again.
    All at once he heard a bark. Lion came running toward him.
    Lion leaned against Charlie’s leg and pushed his wet nose against Charlie’s hand. He plopped to the ground and rolled over to have his belly scratched.
    It wasn’t my fault that big horse scared me,
Lion seemed to be saying.
    Charlie couldn’t help smiling. “Come on, Lion.”
    â€œThere you are,” said Papa as Charlie slipped in beside him. “Hold Lion close, now.”
    Charlie heard shouts and the pounding of hooves.
    â€œThey’re here,” said Ed grimly.

CHAPTER THREE
 
    â€œKansas is ours!”
    â€œLet’s see how strong the Free State Hotel really is!”
    â€œGet rid of this fort! Down with treason!”
    The shouts of the Missouri men filled the air. Charlie craned his neck. Everywhere he looked he saw men on horseback, bearing down on the hotel.
    He whispered to Papa, “There are so many.”
    â€œMaybe eight hundred,” said Papa. “But don’t worry, Charlie. They’re after buildings, not people.”
    Ed nodded. “Everyone in the hotel got out safely.”
    â€œBut can’t we stop them? Can’t we do
something?”
Charlie cried.
    â€œNot this time,” Ed said, laying his hand on Charlie’s shoulder. “Jones is still angry that we defied him last fall, when we rescued Branson. Now he has eight hundred men with him. And the proslavery government is on his side.”
    â€œBut … but … we can’t just stand here!” Charlie said.
    Papa looked at Ed Dillon, but Ed shook his head. “The