A Light in the Darkness

Winner of the 4/22/02 Writer's Cramp contest where the prompt was to write a 1,000 word story which included:

A small town secret, A federal investigator, and an "Underground Railroad".

A Light in the Darkness"

Julia waited until Jed fell asleep, then wrapped a shawl around her shoulders and grabbed the lantern. She crept outside into the moonless night and headed toward the barn, where she carefully hung the lantern on a hitching post just outside the door.

She looked around in the darkness, her heart fluttering, and ran back to the house thinking about Agent Matthew Pierce, federal investigator, who was in town from Washington, D.C.

He’d come because of a tip that Rev. Lovejoy’s home was part of the Underground Railroad movement, and he had been watching the Lovejoy home and questioning the people of Princeton.

It was the middle of winter, so any runaway slaves heading through Princeton, Illinois would be devastated not to find the signal lantern at the end of the Lovejoy property. Hopefully they’d be able to find another place to stay before freezing to death, and maybe Pierce would leave soon if he found no evidence of wrong doing.

Julia and some of the older ladies of Hampshire Colony Congregational Church had been discussing the situation at the morning quilting circle. They all suspected that the Lovejoy Homestead was part of the Underground Railroad. It was supposed to be a secret, even though many people in town knew about it, though no one dared speak to the new minister about it directly. But Pierce’s presence confirmed it for them.

That morning some worried about the runaways who might be passing through town while Pierce was there.

“Maybe they got word that it’s not a safe place right now,” Martha Johnson whispered as she bit off thread.

“Or maybe when they don’t see a lantern, they know to move on to the next place,” Hannah White whispered back.

“But it’s winter,” insisted Julia, “and they arrive at night after traveling only God knows how far already. How are they supposed to keep going? We have no idea how far the next station is!”

“Keep your voice down,” her mother Sarah cautioned. She motioned with her eyes to the other quilting group, which included the mayor’s wife, a known opponent of abolition. They all suspected that she had tipped the government about Rev. Lovejoy, as their small town was divided over the issue, along with the rest of the country.

Julia whispered, “Maybe we should just ask the Reverend if there is anything we can do to help.”

Hester Adams shook her head. “We aren’t even really supposed to know he’s doing it. And if we ask him about it, we might put him in more danger. We never know who might be listening.”

“But we have to do something!” Julia hissed. What was wrong with them? Yes, they were older than she, and widowed, but they couldn’t just do nothing. “Don’t you remember the sermon last week about doing unto others as we would want them to do unto us? If you were a runaway slave in the middle of winter, wouldn’t you want someone to help you?”

Her mother patted her hand. “Of course dear, but it’s very risky. Anyone caught helping them is arrested and fined, and some lose their farms. You have children to think about, and a husband. Jed works too hard to risk losing everything.”

Julia was shocked. Her mother had always put other people’s needs before her own, risking much in her life to help others. How could she say this?

Julia made the decision right then to do something, and so there she was later that night, peering out the window at the lantern burning on the post by the barn. Earlier in the day she’d left blankets, bread, cheese, jerky, and fruit hidden in the hay, planning to retrieve it early the next morning before Jed found it.

As she headed up to bed, she realized that it wasn’t that she thought Jed would object to what she was doing – she just couldn’t risk him knowing about it. If she were caught helping the runaways, she could honestly say that Jed didn’t know anything about it, and maybe that would save him from being implicated.

Early the next day she hurried to the barn to hide any sign of late night guests. She found the blankets and food untouched, re-hid them and went back to make breakfast, taking the lantern with her.

*****
A few days later, Julia and Jed attended a church supper. They were the last to leave because it was their turn to clean up, and after lifting their sleeping toddlers off the nest of blankets on the floor, they tucked them in the wagon and headed home.

On the way they passed Sarah's home. “Why does your mother have a lantern on her gate post?”

Julia snapped her head to the right and looked where Jed pointed. A tear tracked down her cheek as she took Jed’s hand in hers. “She lives alone now, and doesn’t like it so dark outside,” she said, smiling.

They passed Adams’ place next, then the Johnson’s, then the White’s. All had lanterns hanging from posts on their property. Jed laughed and said, “I never knew those ladies were afraid of the dark!”

Julia welled up, proud of the women for their courage, wondering why they hadn’t said anything to her, wondering if they knew about each other.

When they got home, they unhitched the horses and Julia put them in the barn while Jed carried both children inside. In the barn, she double checked the provisions, and hurried back to the house to get the lantern.

She met Jed halfway down the path carrying the lantern. She stopped short, searching his face. He smiled at her, and took her hand, as together they walked down the path to hang the light on the post.

The End

(WRITER'S NOTE: Though this story itself is fictional, the Rev. Owen Lovejoy's home in Princeton, Illinois was one of the main stations of the Underground Railrood in Illinois. And the issues of slavery and the abolitionist movement did split Princeton in two. A fiery abolitionist and preacher at Hampshire Colony Congregational Church, Lovejoy also served in Congress. His Homestead is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and is open for visitors.)