The Fiddler's Secret by Lois Walfrid Johnson Page B

his head. “If you find my violin, it is gut. I will be grateful forever.”
    He’s afraid again
, Libby thought.
He’s trying to say we can trust him. At the same time, he doesn’t trust us. I wonder why?
    Libby felt sure it had something to do with Shadow Man. Since the concert, Libby had kept looking for the man in the long black coat. Because his hat shadowed his face, Libby wondered if she would ever recognize him. But she wanted to cry out to Franz.
Caleb, and Jordan, and Peter, and Pa, and me. We’re different! You can trust us!
    Knowing that, Libby felt the warmth of having a family that gathered together, caring about her. Caring about peoplelike Jordan and his family and the others who came for shelter on the
Christina
.
    Then, remembering all that had happened, Libby suddenly thought about the people she
couldn’t
trust.
    My head feels tired
, she thought.
Confused. How can I sort it all out?
    Again Libby thought about the three men who had been on the
Christina
—the three men who frightened her. The three suspects.
    One
. Libby said to herself.
Shadow Man
. The tall man in a black overcoat at the concert in the main cabin.
    Two
. The short, thin man with the high collar. The man on the main deck who said he knew Jordan’s owner, Riggs. The man they now knew as the pawnbroker. Jordan saw him and fled.
    Three
. The tall man on the first-class passenger deck.
The man with cruel lines around his mouth. The man whose face I drew. The man who wanted that drawing. Who probably searched my room. Mr. Trouble
.
    Then Libby had still another puzzling thought. To make matters worse, who was the person looking in the window of Pa’s cabin when they had school?

    Soon after their return to the
Christina
, Annika found Libby. “Would you like to go with me to find Harriet?” she asked. Known as St. Paul’s first schoolteacher, Harriet Bishop was also Annika’s friend.
    â€œDid you find out where Miss Bishop lives?” Libby asked as they crossed the riverfront.
    â€œNo, but everyone knows her. We won’t have any trouble.”
    As it turned out, the search proved more difficult than either Libby or Annika expected. While it was easy to get directions, it was difficult to follow them. Directly up from the Lower Landing was Jackson Street, and a creek ran alongside it.
    After backtracking to the bridge over the creek, they discovered streets that twisted around until both of them felt confused. Whenever she came to an open view, Annika looked toward the river to be sure they headed in the right direction. Often the construction work on streets forced them to make long trips around. As the August sun beat down upon them, Libby grew more and more tired.
    â€œThey must have had a good rain before we came,” Annika said finally. Holding up her skirt, she walked around another mud hole.
    After coming up the Mississippi in low water, neither of them wanted to complain about rain. But even Annika seemed overwhelmed by the mud. “There’s a tree with a bit of grass under it. Let’s sit down and rest.”
    The shade was welcome to both of them, and soon Annika asked, “Libby, what was your mother like?”
    Libby smiled. “Kind. Fun. You know how Pa asked us to think about what we want most? What we care about? Ma wanted to help people. Auntie wants things. That’s one of the reasons Pa had me come back to live with him.”
    Now Libby felt grateful for that hurtful night in Burlington, Iowa, when Pa made up his mind. “At first, after Ma died, Pa knew I was too young to live on the boat without a mother. Then he knew he had no choice but to have me with him.”
    â€œWhat happened?” Annika asked.
    Libby hesitated. She had changed so much in five months that she didn’t like telling Annika what she had been like. But maybe Annika needed to know. “I was turning into a spoiled brat.”
    â€œHmmm.” Annika had