“Oh, we must, father! We must manage to do it in some way!” She bent forward, looking at him intently, and into her face crept the expression he was beginning to see there whenever they talked or planned or worked together upon this matter, a strained, eager look, with something in it of exaltation.
“Walter Kimball and his brother Lewis would probably be able to go across and keep watch for them,” he began.
“Yes,” she broke in, “and one of them could hurry back and let Horace know, as soon as they get there, and then go over again and help the other row them across, and Horace could rush up here and tell us, so that we could be ready for them. It will be difficult to hide so many,” she ended doubtfully.
“The boys must arrange to get them here in the night and then we can manage it. I’ll get word to Chaddle Wallace to be in the neighborhood with his peddler’s wagon and he can take four of them in that. Perhaps one of the Kimball boys can drive two in our carriage.”
“Or I can, if you want me to. I’ll see that Lizzie has plenty of things cooked ready for their supper. Oh, it will go off all right, father, and we won’t need to keep them here more than an hour!”
“We’ll have to make some different arrangement now that winter will soon be here,” he said thoughtfully. “We’ll have to contrive some sort of hiding place in the house or the barn, so that we can keep them over night if necessary.”
“I’ve been wondering, father, if a sort of little room couldn’t be hidden in the woodshed, with the wood piled around it close.”
“Yes, that could be done,” he nodded slowly, “and it would be a pretty safe place. The slave chasers would hardly think of investigating an innocent-looking woodpile. That’s a good suggestion, Rhoda, and I’ll have it done, and the winter’s wood stacked all around it. Marshal Hanscomb has got a pretty keen nose and I think he’s suspicious about me anyway, just because of my sentiments. But I reckon that would be too much for Hanscomb!”
He smiled at his daughter with quiet exultation in his manner and she smiled back at him proudly and said it surely would.
“Your mother wants to make a trip down to Cincinnati soon and Charlotte, of course, would be glad to go with her.” A trace of embarrassment suddenly appeared in his manner and, as if to conceal or to distract himself from some disconcerting thought, he began looking over and sorting the letters and papers on his desk. “I’ll have this done while she’s gone,” he added abruptly.