Free Mysterious Signal by Lois Walfrid Johnson Page B

someone.
    As she watched from above, Libby’s fists tightened with nervousness. “Caleb!” she wanted to cry out. “Close the doors!”
    In the next minute he did, but then Libby had a new fear.
What if someone opens the doors when Jordan and Micah are climbing into the barrels? What if Dexter sees them?
    Closer and closer Dexter came. As he reached the wide path leading to the barn, he stopped. In that moment Libby remembered.
I haven’t seen Peter this morning. Where is he?

CHAPTER 9
Libby’s Shopping Trip

    A s though someone had tipped him off, Dexter stood in the path, waiting and watching. After a few minutes he started toward the barn. He was halfway there when the large double doors opened.
    Caleb?
Libby wondered.
    But Caleb was nowhere in sight. Instead, the driver walked out, alongside his horses. With one glance at Dexter, he left the doors open, climbed to the high seat, and called, “Giddyup!”
    When the horses drew close, Dexter had to step out of the way. Yet he seemed to count each barrel. As the wagon passed into the street, Dexter turned to the barn.
    Through the open door, Libby saw stalls for horses off to one side. At the back of the wide space where wagons unloaded hay, two barrels sat on the dirt floor.
    Dexter had reached the barn when Annika hurried out of the house to ask, “May I help you with something?”
    Dexter stopped in his tracks. “Just wondering about those barrels.”
    “The barrels,” Annika answered. “Oh yes, the barrels.” She sounded as if she was stalling for time. Walking over to the barn, she closed one door. “Are you a barrel lover by any chance?”
    The question seemed to throw Dexter off balance. For a moment he hesitated, then said, “Yes, I like barrels. Could I see how yours are made?”
    Annika laughed. “Oh, you’re trying to tease me. You wouldn’t really want to see our barrels. They’re just extras for the people who live here.”
    Closing the second door, Annika dropped the wooden latch in place. “It’s good to meet you, Mr.—” She paused, waiting.
    Instead of giving his name, Dexter lifted his hat. “Good day, miss.”
    As he turned toward the street, Annika started for the house. Yet she stood on the side steps, waiting, until he was a block away.
    I wonder if he’s going for a search warrant
, Libby thought.
Annika made sure he stayed interested in those barrels
.
    When Annika calmly entered the house, Libby turned away from the window.
Peter
, she thought.
I’ve got to find him this minute
.
    To Libby’s relief Peter was sitting at the kitchen table. When Libby saw the late breakfast Annika was making, she sat down at the table next to Peter. Seeing how happy he looked, Libby put off telling him about Dexter. Instead, she watched Annika work.
    Libby felt curious about her. “Where is your husband?” she asked.
    Annika stiffened. “My husband?”
    Uh-oh!
Libby thought.
I asked the wrong question
.
    Then Annika smiled, and the tension between them broke. “I haven’t married,” she said.
    “But you’re so pretty,” Libby blurted out.
    “I’m only twenty-six. Plenty of time to get married yet.”
    Still, Libby wondered about it. She knew girls who had married long before they were twenty-six.
    When Libby didn’t answer, Annika laughed. “You’re wondering if I’m an old maid.”
    Libby felt uncomfortable now. That was exactly what she had been thinking.
    Annika’s eyes turned serious. “I don’t want to marry unless I find a man of God—a man who loves and cherishes me the way I want to cherish him.”
    Libby had never heard someone put it like that before. Sure, Pa was a Christian. And Ma had been one too. But to give that as a reason for getting married?
    Annika’s breakfast was as mouth-watering as it looked. In spite of all she had eaten the previous evening, Libby heaped her plate with pancakes, eggs, and ham, then took a second helping. She always had a good appetite. Now since she looked like a boy, she felt