Allegheny Hideaway. Kimberly Tanner GordonЧитать онлайн книгу.
for a storm?”
“Ma’am,” the captain answered, smiling at the pretty young woman. “You do not need to be alarmed. Our ship will slip through the waters of the Chesapeake without trouble.”
“But, there is a storm brewing, is there not?” she questioned again.
“You are very bright, ma’am. Yes, there is a storm coming. Enjoy your stroll along the deck for another hour, then I would go below,” he suggested.
“Thank you sir.” Iris dreaded the day and went below to warn Hattie. Hattie determined to remain in their stateroom until the ship arrived in Baltimore.
“But it’s nicer up on deck, Hattie, really,” Iris urged. Surely Hattie preferred fresh air to stale cabin air. “That last trip was so awful for you because you were locked below. This time, you can come up with me. It’s a privilege Hattie, don’t pass it up. The captain said we have an hour before the storm comes.”
With persuasion, Hattie joined her mistress on the upper deck. They watched as winds whipped up white caps on the water in the enormous bay. Iris visited with fellow passengers, telling them all how excited she was to be meeting up with her husband, George Whitfield, in Baltimore. Hattie grimaced every time the ship rocked.
“Mistress, I must go below,” Hattie spoke fearfully after about forty minutes on deck.
“Very well. I’ll be down shortly.”
The storm lasted two hours. The ship rocked back and forth in the water. Lightening cracked and thunder boomed overhead. Hattie was sick more than once. Iris sat on a nearby chair and sang quietly to calm her fears. It would all be worth it, she told herself over and over.
By the time the storm ended, Hattie was in tears. “Please ma’am, no more ships,” she begged. “I don’t like ships.”
Iris patted her on the shoulder. “No more ships, I promise. We’re almost there Hattie, to where we are going. Only one more day.”
“Really?” Hattie asked, relieved. “Can you tell me where it is?”
“Not yet, but I will tell you it’s near some mountains. Have you ever seen a mountain?”
Hattie shook her head. “No, ma’am. You know I ain’t.”
“Haven’t,” she corrected. “Neither have I. But we will, soon.”
When the sun finally came out from behind the storm clouds later that afternoon, an enormous rainbow stretched across the eastern sky. “Have you ever seen anything like it?” Iris asked her maid.
“No, ma’am. Never that big.”
“It’s a sign,” Iris said with a smile. “Good things are ahead. Good things! It’s a promise from God.”
The ship pulled into the bustling city of Baltimore right about the time the sun touched the top of the treeline to the west. It cast both warm yellow light and long shadows across the streets and buildings. All the passengers eagerly walked onto dry land. Iris found a comfortable hotel and had her trunk sent ahead. While she and Hattie walked into town, Iris whispered, “It’s as busy as Charleston. I think I could quite like it here.”
“Is we stoppin’ now?” Hattie asked hopefully.
Iris shook her head. “Not much further. Only a day, I think. I need to find a library so I can look up something on the map. I hope they’re still open.”
Both women worked their way through the busy streets on their way to the library. A kind man had pointed them in the right direction. Iris needed to find out exactly where Williamsport was on the map. She had written down the name of the town before leaving Lexington. That seemed so long ago …
In the library, an older gentleman came to her aid. “How may I help you, ma’am?” he asked.
“Miss,” she corrected falsely. “Miss Mamie Mayfield.”
“Miss Mayfield, I am Donald Jackson. Are you looking for a particular book?”
“I am in need of a map of Pennsylvania, sir. I’m off to visit a friend in Philadelphia and I want to learn more about her state. Can you help me with that?” she asked in a sweet southern voice.
The gentleman smiled. “I’d be delighted, miss,” he replied. He led her to an enormous cabinet with twenty narrow drawers. “You’re not from around here.”
“No sir. Alabama is my home.”
“How did you end up with a friend way up in Philadelphia?” he asked curiously, making conversation.
Iris took a deep breath to stall for time while she thought up a good reason. “Well, you see sir, this great aunt of mine in Atlanta is forever trying to find me pen pals all over the country. About five years ago, she found me one in Philadelphia named Sydney Callaway and she and I have been writing like best friends ever since. She’s getting married in April and I’m going up for her wedding,” she finished, pleased with her answer.
“My!” the man answered, finally finding the right map in a drawer.
Iris took the map to a table and borrowed pencil and paper from another patron. She copied the map crudely, jotting down towns and streams between Baltimore and Williamsport. She had been correct, their destination was not far away. Pleased, she thanked the gentleman for his help, and left with Hattie at her heels.
“I don’t know how you do that,” Hattie remarked on the sidewalk. “How’d you come up with those tales?”
Iris shrugged, answering, “They just pop into my mind.”
Back at the hotel, Iris signed the registry as Miss Mamie Mayfield. She and Hattie went up to the room to study their map. Iris finally showed Hattie where they were going.
“See, we get up to Harrisburg, then go north along the Susquehanna River to Williamsport. And that’s where we stay,” she assured her friend. “Before we left home, I met a nice young man who told me about it. His grandmother lives there. We will find her and be her friends. All I know, is that her last name is Reed.”
Hattie nodded her head. “Where will we live?”
“I will find us a house and buy it,” Iris promised. “I’ve enough money and mama told me to invest it. If I get a house with extra rooms, we can rent them out. That will give us an income so I won’t have to touch our extra money.”
Hattie’s stomach growled loudly. Iris smiled.
“I’m hungry too, Hattie. Let’s go find some food. And, you know something? I think we will stay here an extra day and rest. I want to sell some jewelry too. In a town this size, Johnathan would never be able to track me down, if he even does get this far, which I doubt.”
On a beautiful spring morning two days later, Iris and Hattie found themselves on a fast moving train heading north to York, Pennsylvania. Both women found it exciting to be so far from home, yet so close to home. Iris wore her mother’s blond wig and felt like a new woman entirely. Hattie felt a little new too. She knew that colored people were free in the north. She was hopeful about her own possibilities.
In York, the two women enjoyed a brief stop before traveling east to Wrightsville. From there, a coach carried them across the bridge over the Susquehanna River, then north into Harrisburg. After a good meal in a thriving teahouse, they caught another train north.
By the end of the day, Williamsport became ever closer and the mountains grew more beautiful. Both mistress and slave were thrilled at the view. At long last, the final train turned west along the riverbank tracks and headed into town.
3
Williamsport, Pennsylvania
The train whistle blew as the large machine pulled into Williamsport. Iris and Hattie were both eager to look through the glass windows at their new surroundings. The small town came into view, with scattered buildings and about