A Quilt for Christmas by Sandra Dallas Page B

woman when she said the name.
    â€œYour daughter is young,” John said, looking at Luzena, who had crept into the house. “Can you keep a secret, girl?”
    â€œYes, sir.”
    â€œYou have kept other secrets?”
    Luzena nodded.
    â€œWhat secrets?”
    Luzena raised her chin. “I won’t tell you, sir. They’re secrets.”
    John laughed. Then he spied Nance, who was hanging on to Luzena’s skirt. “What about that one? She’s too young to understand about secrets.”
    â€œOh, that’s all right,” Missouri Ann told him. “She don’t talk yet.”
    *   *   *
    John said he and Print must leave, for they didn’t want to alert anyone that they had stopped for more than a short visit at the Spooner farm. Sukey—Clara, he corrected himself—would be all right in the house as long as no one came looking for her, but they must find a hiding place for her just the same.
    Missouri Ann suggested the soddy, where she and Nance slept, or the root cellar, but John told her anyone hunting the woman would look in those places.
    Eliza said Clara might roll beneath the bed or under the straw in the barn, but John said men would check there, too. Then Luzena spoke up. “There’s a hidey-hole in the haystack next to the barn. I use it when I hide from Davy”—she glanced at her mother—“and Mama. Clara could go there.”
    Eliza nodded. “There’s also a small hole under the floorboards where Will hid our valuables, but it’s no bigger than a coffin.”
    â€œWe’ve hidden contraband in smaller spaces, and it’s better than no hiding place at all,” John said. Then he cautioned, “You must not worry too much. The chances are good that no one will come here, but it is best to be prepared.”
    â€œBest for all of us,” Eliza told him.
    â€œYes, it could go hard on you if the Starks or others found you had hidden her. I will come around when I can to check on Clara and inform you of the plans for her removal, but my visits might cause suspicion, so I must be judicious. Print has agreed to come in my place.” He turned to Missouri Ann and said, “Please forgive my presumption, Mrs. Stark, but I think it might be got about that these are courting visits. That way, there will be no cause for comment.”
    â€œExcept from those who might find the courting of a young widow offensive,” Eliza told him. “But better we be gossiped about for lack of propriety than for hiding an escaped slave.”
    â€œI don’t mind if Mr. Ritter don’t,” Missouri Ann said.
    â€œWhy, no, ma’am,” he replied.
    â€œThat is good of you,” Eliza said, then turned away to hide her smile. John Hamlin seemed to be the only one in the room who didn’t know that Print had already begun to court Missouri Ann.
    From the doorway, Eliza and Missouri Ann watched as Print mounted his horse and John climbed into his wagon and both started down the lane to the road. Then the two women turned to Clara, who was lying on the bed, her eyes darting about. She was still afraid, Eliza knew, would be afraid until she reached Colorado, afraid until the terrible war was over. She might live in fear the rest of her life.
    Davy came into the house with a pail of milk, and Clara gasped when she saw the boy.
    â€œMy son. He won’t harm you,” Eliza said. Then she explained to Davy why Clara was there.
    Davy grinned. “This is as exciting as fighting Rebs. Any slave catchers come here, I’ll shoot them.”
    Eliza said she hoped it wouldn’t come to that. Clara would be there only a few days. Their job was to tend her and keep her safe. If any men came onto their land, Eliza and Missouri Ann would hide Clara in the haystack near the barn or in the hole in the floor. Eliza accepted the pail of milk from Davy and set it on the table. Then she took a dipperful