The Fiddler's Secret: Volume 6 (Freedom Seekers, 6, Band 6) - Softcover

Johnson, Lois Walfrid

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0802407218 ISBN 13: 9780802407214

Verlag: RIVER NORTH, 2013

Inhaltsangabe

When winter draws near, how will the Christina escape the untimely, fast-approaching ice storm?

In the dark of night come the rapid strokes of the ship’s bell, dense fog, and the slap of paddlewheels against water—and then the whistle screams a warning. A steamboat’s coming too fast, too close. Run!

Out of the darkness and danger come the piercing notes of a gifted fiddler. His face seems to hold a secret. What is the fiddler’s challenge for the Freedom Seekers of every place and time?

How will the Freedom Seekers answer Captain Norstad’s questions: “What is most important to you? What do you really want?”

From the golden age of steamboats, the rush of immigrants to new lands, and the dangers of the Underground Railroad come true-to-life stories of courage, integrity, and suspense in the Freedom Seekers series.

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

LOIS WALFRID JOHNSON is a speaker, teacher of writing, and former instructor for Writer's Digest School. She is the author of 38 books, including Girl Talk, the Gold Medallion Book Award winning Let's-Talk-About-It Stories for Kids series, the bestselling Adventures of the Northwoods mysteries, and the much-loved Riverboat Adventures. In her exciting Viking Quest series Lois' characters travel from Ireland to Norway, Iceland, and Greenland, then sail with Leif Erickson to what is now America. Lois' husband, Roy, is a gifted teacher and idea person for her writing. They enjoy time with their family, friends, and readers who have written from more than 40 countries to say, "I love your books. I can't put them down."

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When winter draws near, how will the Christina escape the untimely, fast-approaching ice storm?

In the dark of night come the rapid strokes of the ship&;s bell, dense fog, and the slap of paddlewheels against water&;and then the whistle screams a warning. A steamboat&;s coming too fast, too close. Run!

Out of the darkness and danger come the piercing notes of a gifted fiddler. His face seems to hold a secret. What is the fiddler&;s challenge for the Freedom Seekers of every place and time?

How will the Freedom Seekers answer Captain Norstad&;s questions: &;What is most important to you? What do you really want?&;

From the golden age of steamboats, the rush of immigrants to new lands, and the dangers of the Underground Railroad come true-to-life stories of courage, integrity, and suspense in the Freedom Seekers series.

Auszug. © Genehmigter Nachdruck. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.

The Fiddler's Secret

By Lois Walfrid Johnson

Moody Publishers

Copyright © 2013 Lois Walfrid Johnson
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-0-8024-0721-4

Contents

1. Night of Fear, 
2. Secret Face, 
3. Big Bullies, 
4. Shadow Man!, 
5. Safe and Free?, 
6. Libby's Drawing, 
7. Where Is It?, 
8. The Pawnshop, 
9. Mr. Trouble, 
10. Thieves!, 
11. Riggs!, 
12. Dreaded Friend, 
13. Libby's Big Fumble, 
14. Danger Stranger!, 
15. The Worst?, 
16. Nasty Surprise, 
17. Where's Annika?, 
18. Ice Storm, 
19. Swede Hollow, 
20. Samson Again, 
21. Trapped!, 
22. Eagles' Wings, 
Study Guide, 
Sign Language Chart: How to Finger Spell the Alphabet, 
A Few Words for Educators, 
The Fiddler's Secret Folks, 
Acknowledgments, 
Excerpt from Raiders from the Sea (Viking Quest), 

CHAPTER 1

Night of Fear

* * *

In the dark of night, Libby Norstad suddenly woke up. Where am I? She wondered as she struggled to think. What woke me?

A dream? A nightmare? Whatever the cause, Libby shivered with fear.

Soon after midnight her father's steamboat had left Galena, Illinois, heading up the Mississippi River. But now Libby felt no movement, heard no engines or slap of paddle wheels against the water.

It's quiet. Too quiet. Even the night air felt heavy and strange.

Then from near at hand the ship's bell broke the silence. As rapid strokes rang out, then stopped, Libby knew it was a signal.

What's wrong? she wondered. What happened? Where's Pa?

With a trembling heart, she leaped up and changed into her dress. As she stepped onto the deck outside her room, the cold fingers of fog seemed to clutch her.

Libby gasped. Without thinking, she stretched out her hands to feel the way. As she peered into the darkness, she could not see even eight feet ahead.

"Pa!" she cried in terror. "Where are you?"

Her hand against the outer wall of her room, Libby crept forward. When she reached her father's cabin at the front of the Christina, it was empty. Feeling as if she were sleepwalking, Libby turned around and started back.

Silly! she told herself, ashamed of her fear. I'm on my father's boat. Why am I afraid?

But the bell rang again, cutting through the ragged edges of her nerves. Forcing herself to be calm, she headed for the stairway.

In the four years after her mother's death, Libby had stayed with her aunt in a Chicago mansion. For the past five months Libby had been with her father. In that August of 1857, she was still learning to face the dangers of living on a steamboat.

I want to be strong, she thought. But I just feel scared!

When Libby reached the deck below, it was even darker. Usually filled with first-class passengers, the boiler deck was just above the large boilers that heated water and created steam to run the engines. With not one person in sight, the deck was strangely quiet. Libby had only one thought—to find Pa, her friend Caleb Whitney, or someone who would help her feel safe.

Instead, Libby found the railing and followed it toward the front of the boat. Through the murky darkness she saw someone standing at the bow. Libby's heart leaped with relief. Annika Berg!

The young woman's long black hair was pulled up to fall in loose curls at the back of her head. During the past week the teacher had helped Libby and her friends in a time of danger. Working with the Underground Railroad, the secret plan that helped slaves escape to freedom, Annika had given them a place to stay. In a few short days Libby had grown to love her.

As Libby took another step, Annika heard her and turned. "Come enjoy the view with me!"

Libby giggled. "What a view! Solid fog!" For the first time since waking up, she felt better.

Annika stood at the railing, peering down. "I've been trying to see if the ropes are out. We must be tied up along the riverbank. Right?"

Libby nodded. She could barely see the line, or rope, between the boat and the small willows along the river's west bank.

Annika faced her. "We're here because the pilot can't see, your father can't see—"

"Yes." Not wanting to talk about her fears, Libby tried to cut Annika off. But Libby's thoughts leaped on. We're here so we don't run into a sandbar. So the sharp roots of a tree caught in the river bottom don't pierce our hull. So we don't run into another boat. Or another—

"Are we far enough out of the channel?" Annika echoed Libby's thoughts. "Could a boat crash into us?"

Libby's hands knotted. It was her biggest fear. If I don't admit it, maybe it won't happen.

Now she wished it were Caleb talking to Annika. Though he and Libby were now the same age, Caleb would soon be fifteen. He also managed to answer questions better. A conductor for the Underground Railroad since the age of nine, Caleb had years of practice in being questioned by people not as nice as Annika.

The teacher met Libby's gaze. "If a captain thinks he needs to keep going—"

The ship's bell broke into her words. Then Libby remembered. On a steamboat tied up in fog, its crew rang the bell rapidly for five seconds out of every minute.

When the bell was quiet, Annika waited for Libby's answer. "The lines hold us as close to the shore as we can be without hurting the paddle wheel on this side," she said. "We can't get any farther out of the channel. We're long and wide, and the stern drifts out with the current."

"And a boat that doesn't wait for the fog to lift can run into us?" Annika's blue eyes were dark with concern. "Why doesn't your father just tell people to go on shore?"

In that moment Libby felt impatient with Annika's questions. Then Libby remembered that Annika was used to taking care of people—children in her classroom and fugitive slaves. Annika was used to thinking ahead.

Just the same, Libby felt she had to defend her father. Because of her, Annika and Pa had gotten off to a bad start. I want Annika to think the best of him. To see Pa as a hero.

"If we stay on the boat, there's a danger that something might happen," Libby said. "But we hope it won't. If we go on shore in the dark, it's pretty sure we won't like what we find."

"Such as?"

Libby shrugged. "I can't see anything around us, I just know we're between towns, and there are islands in the river. If a riverboat captain finds a criminal on board and it's a long way to the next stop, the captain puts the man off on an island."

"Because it's a serious crime, and the captain has no choice?" Annika asked.

"If he knows his passengers might be harmed," Libby said.

Annika's voice was filled with respect. "I had no idea a riverboat captain has to deal with all that."

Libby smiled. Now I'm getting somewhere, she thought smugly. I'll make sure Annika likes Pa. But I'll be clever this time. From past experience Libby knew she had to be careful. Annika had already made it clear that she didn't want anyone to think she was looking for a husband.

"I don't know what else we'd find," Libby went on. "Some places there would be sink-down-deep mud, reeds, and tall grasses. Maybe floating bogs. Snakes."

"Snakes?"

"Copperheads. Timber rattlesnakes. This time of year, they live along the river bottoms."

"I see."

"Even in the fog." To Libby's surprise she already felt better. Annika could understand how Libby dreaded...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: RIVER NORTH
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2013
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 0802407218
• ISBN 13: 9780802407214
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 264
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Nicht verfügbar