Mosana (The Union) - Part III

EPISODE 3

The Conductors didn’t meet in the Society, as I’d expected. It took some days for Edwin to schedule a meeting for us with the conductors, but when he did, he took us to the house of one Thaddeus Stevens, a Pennsylvania Congressman.

We were received by black people, maids and butlers, who showed us to the sitting room with great respect. I couldn’t help but compare it to the way I had first arrived in the Russell Manor after Master Wells had bought me. This time, instead of standing on tired feet, I had the pleasure of sinking my moderate behind into one of the plush cushions that decorated the sitting area. To make things extra pleasant, I, and the others, were served tea and biscuits while we waited for our host.

I looked into the eyes of the maid that served me, but couldn’t detect suffering there. She looked back at me and gave a small smile.

Thaddeus Stevens was an impressive man; and it wasn’t just because he was a Congressman. His gait spoke a lot about who he was, and the authority he commanded. The moment he stepped into the room, we all rose. But he waved his arms frantically, telling us to please be seated.

We had arrived early, before anybody else. But soon enough, while we, and by “we”, I mean Edwin, made small talk with Thaddeus, the others arrived. Meg, Mel and I were introduced to Levi Coffin, who they referred to as the, “President of the Underground Railroad”, Thomas Garrett, a famous stationmaster. His was the last station before fugitive slaves passed into Philadelphia. We also met Frederick Douglass. I recognized him as the editor of the North Star, a popular anti-slavery newspaper.

Then there was Isaac Hopper, a simple tailor, but a die-hard activist. John Brown, another die-hard anti-slavery freedom fighter, who had formed his own slave-catcher militia. There was William Still, Chairman of the Vigilance Committee of the Pennsylvania Abolition Society, and Edwin’s boss; Elijah Anderson, a light-skinned black man who could almost pass for an albino. I could already tell how useful he would be. You could hardly tell that he was a black man – he could pose for any white slave owner any day. Finally, we were introduced to William Seward, a Secretary of State. Meeting him was the most shocking of introductions. If only the President of the United States knew that his own Secretary of State was an abolitionist…

Out of the 10 men there, only 4 of them were black. That fact was very telling. Only Araminta Ross, AKA Rossie, was absent from their midst; no doubt on one of her rescue missions in the South.

We were surrounded by important people, who had dedicated their lives to free slaves in the United States. I suddenly felt very small in their midst.

Once everyone had seated and had refreshments, Edwin began our tale. He told of where we came from, and how we had escaped the Russells. Then he explained my proposition and why we were there. When he was done, there was silence for a while, broken only by a maid who came to refill our cups with more tea.

Isaac Hopper spoke first. “I agree it is an ingenious idea. But a little on the dangerous side, especially for three inexperienced women.”

I replied him instantly. “You don’t know half the hell we’ve been through, sir. I say you give us a chance.”

At that, a man that had been introduced to us as Levi Coffin, laughed. “You speak of hell. We’ve all been there and back, time and again. As a matter of fact, we are living in it. But I appreciate your spirit. It’s just that this work is too dangerous. As we sit here, our enemies could be moving in on us. All they need is our location, and we could all be rounded up and hanged. We are at a risk simply by converging in one place. But Edwin said the matter was of grave importance, and so here we are.”

“Seems to me like you lot are in dire need of information then,” I retorted, staring Levi dead in the eye. I was going to get what I wanted, come hail or hell fire.

I spoke to the rest of the group, making eye contact with them one after the other. “How many have come forward to volunteer for this mission? No one, I’m guessing. You yourselves cannot spare anyone else, because you’re all so important. Yet you worry about our inexperience. Well, I say you’re running out of options. So, you can either sit here in your fancy suits and hope that the law doesn’t catch up with you, or you can send us and be assured of knowing your enemies’ next move.”

I crossed my arms and sank down in my armchair, praying to all the gods I knew that they would see to reason. My reason, that is.

I counted 13 seconds before Edwin’s boss, William Still, spoke up. “Excuse us, ladies.”

Edwin ushered us to an adjacent room before going back to join his fellows. The moment the door was shut, I put my ear to the door. But I could only hear muffled sounds. They were obviously conspiring in low tones. I turned to the girls. Nothing to do but wait.

“What if they say no?” Meg asked.

“Then they’ve doomed themselves. They need us; I saw it in their faces.”

“They’re just afraid of getting us killed.” Mel added in a low voice.

“We’re not going to get killed.” I said, after hesitating.

Mel didn’t say anything else, but I could guess what she was thinking. Judy had been killed on my watch, because of my harebrained schemes. Now I was onto another one, and who knew what might happen?

“You can stay if you want,” I said into the air.

“We’re going with you,” Meg said.

Mel said nothing.

A few moments later, Edwin came to get us. We sat down as we had before and waited to hear their verdict.

Levi spoke, without mincing words. “We have made a decision to let you ladies do this for the Society. However, we must remind you that this is dangerous business and give you one last chance to change your minds.” He waited for us to speak while I looked at Margaret and Melinda.

“We’re in,” I said, when I got nothing from them.

Levi continued, “Alright. Now listen carefully. This is how we intend for you to carry out your mission. Now that the Fugitive Slave Act has been passed, there has been a surge in the number of fugitive slave hunters. We need every information we can get on who they are, how they operate, the routes they take, and how they’re able to recover slaves the way they do. For your first mission…” Levi paused to see if his words were sinking in.

“For your first mission,” he continued, “you will be going back to Maryland, a bit farther than where you escaped from, Mosana. You will be found wandering along the Mason-Dixon line, near the Pennsylvania border, and be picked up by our people disguised as slave hunters. You will then be sold to settlers that we have been suspicious of. It is from these households we want you to gather your information. We suspect that they are affiliated with the slave hunters who have become more organized with the Act passed. These families you will be going to might be influential people, so try not to attract attention. Go there, keep your head down, but keep your eyes and ears open.”

Levi stopped for a sip of his tea, and Meg took the opportunity to ask a question.

“Wait… did you say ‘households?’”

Levi put his cup down, wiped his moustache and continued. “Yes. Households. You will each be sent to a separate settlement to cover more ground. The faster we can gather intel, the better for us all. You will also change your names, the three of you, so I suggest you think of what those might be before you leave for the South. No one must know who you are.”

Levi paused again to confer with his fellows, and this time I asked a question.

“How will we pass across whatever information we gather?”

“You will write letters and mail them to us every fortnight. For that, you will have to learn our codewords, to avoid suspicion in case one of your letters is intercepted. If you have no intel to report, simply mail an empty paper. If you don’t mail anything, we’ll know something is wrong and send someone to check on you. Remember, you are slaves and don’t know how to read or write. You must never be caught writing or mailing the letters. You can’t trust anyone while you’re there. You only have yourself to rely on. Do you understand?”

“Yes, we do.”

“Alright then. Prepare your house, ladies. You leave in a week.”

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Hey you!

I'm sorry this is late. Today is Monday, I know. And Sundays are for Mosana. But swear for me all you want, I'll take it - as long as you read the next episode! ;-D

Bye!

Till next Sunday (or Monday ;-)

xoxo,

Ava.