Free Mysterious Signal by Lois Walfrid Johnson

the darkness. Then she closed the door without a sound.
    Moving slowly, she crept across the floor to the table. Trying not to bump into chairs, she felt her way around the table. When she reached the pantry door, she congratulated herself.
I made it!
    Just then she heard a noise down the hall. Stepping inside the pantry, Libby closed the door. Moments later she heard footsteps along the hallway.
Annika. Annika walking in the dark of night
.
    Libby lay down on her bed of blankets but held her head off the pillow, listening. From the kitchen came the sound of quiet movements that told Libby Annika was trying not to wake her. But then Libby heard one unmistakable sound. The big key turned, grating in the lock.
    She’ll know I was outside!
    Libby dropped her head to the pillow. As careful as she had been, it had not been enough. Annika would know that she herself had not failed to lock the door.
    When at last the teacher passed back down the hall to her room, Libby slipped under the top sheet. But she still could not sleep.
I’ve got to think of a way that Jordan and his daddy can carry the money safely
. If they were accused of stealing, what would happen to them?
    Hours later Libby fell asleep, still not knowing what to do.

    In the gray light before dawn she woke up. When she pushed aside the curtain over the pantry window, Libby could see into the backyard. Tall, lovely spikes of blue flowers grew there.
I’ll pick a bouquet for breakfast
, Libby thought.
    Then she remembered,
I’m supposed to be a boy. Would a boy pick flowers for breakfast?
Having had no brothers, Libby wasn’t sure.
    Though she hated the idea of wearing boys’ clothing again, Libby changed into the wrinkled shirt and too-short overalls. Feeling grateful there was no mirror in the pantry, Libbypulled a brush through her hair. But when she rolled up her white robe, she found black dirt along the hem, and more dirt on Annika’s once clean sheets. Getting down on her knees, Libby tried to brush out the dirt, but dark smudges remained.
    Libby sighed. It wasn’t easy to live something she wasn’t. Though she wanted to protect Peter, Libby didn’t like pretending that she was a boy. She just wanted to be herself.
    The day dawned bright and warm—so warm that Libby knew the heat would soon be overwhelming. She wished she were on Pa’s boat where she could feel the water around her. Better yet, she wished she could go swimming. Long ago Pa had taught her how in case she ever fell off the boat. Since then Libby had become a strong swimmer. But when she lived with Ma’s sister, Auntie Vi hadn’t approved.
    Once Vi had caught Libby swimming in the Chicago River. Just thinking about it now made Libby grin. At first she had wondered if her aunt thought it was dangerous. Soon Libby discovered it was more.
    “How could you?” Auntie Vi had stormed. “How could you do anything so unladylike?”
    To Libby’s relief Caleb was first to come into the kitchen. Sitting at the drop-leaf table, she told him all that had happened in the night. The worst part was her fear for Jordan and his daddy. “What if they’re found with what Dexter says is stolen money?”
    Immediately Caleb knew what to do. “When they leave here, they’ll be in barrels. But they need something that takes less room and isn’t as noticeable as a carpetbag. Two money belts would do it. They could divide the money between them so neither one carries so much.”
    “But where will we get a money belt?” Libby asked.
    Then she remembered. Sometimes Pa wore one when he needed to carry a large sum of money to the bank. “How much time do we have?”
    “The man with the barrels will come this morning. When he pulls up at the barn, he’ll open the doors and drive inside, as if he’s making a delivery. Jordan will creep into one of the empty barrels, and his daddy will use the extra large one Allan Pinkerton made for him.”
    “And the man will drive them to the train?”
    Caleb nodded.