30. TIDBIT'S FAREWELL

POLLY SHOOK HERSELF AWAKE AS SHE HEARD voices outside the smokehouse. Sunlight filtered through the slats of the wooden structure.

"Isabelle will recover quickly from the trauma of having a stillborn baby," she heard Mr. Derby say. "Already she speaks of us having another child."

The doctor's voice sounded unconvinced. "Yes, of course. Make sure she gets plenty of rest."

"I intend to keep a close eye on her," Mr. Derby replied, his voice laced with barbs.

Polly poked Amari, who was still asleep on Teenie's shoulder. Startled, Amari looked around in fear. Teenie, who perhaps had not slept at all, was whispering to Tidbit.

"You remember all them stories I tolt you 'bout my mother and the Ashanti and the monkey and spider stories?" she asked the boy, desperation in her voice.

"Yes'm," the boy replied, sounding as if he wasn't sure why his mother was telling him all this now.

"You remember the drums that talked like thunder? And the sun that shone like copper over the valley? You remember what I tolt you 'bout my mama and how she grabbed a piece of her own mother to take with her?" Polly heard Teenie saying.

"Yes, Mama, I remembers," Tidbit said, a whispering dread in his voice.

"You takes this piece of cloth, you hear, boy? Keep it safe, 'cause all my memories be tucked in it. You promise me you will never forget?" she asked him plaintively as she hugged him close to her. Polly watched her tie a leather string around the boy's neck. A tiny leather pouch hung from it. Teenie tucked a colored piece of fabric into the packet and closed it tightly with a drawstring.

"I remembers it all, Mama," Tidbit said, his voice sounding truly frightened now.

"You gonna grow to be a man-a free man."

"I don't wanna be no man," Tidbit protested. "I just wants to be yo' lil boy."

"You gonna always be my baby boy," Teenie said, though her voice was thick with grief. "Always."

Polly thought back painfully to the night her mother died, how she had whispered to Polly with her last bit of strength, "You make yourself a lady, you hear, my darling? I will always be with you." Polly knew that Teenie's heart felt as if it were being slashed into pieces.

"You goin' with us, Mama?" the child asked.

"I'll be along directly," Teenie lied. "You stay close to Myna and Polly till I gits there, you hear?" The boy agreed quietly, but he seemed to sense that something was wrong because he started crying. "You mind them and do what they says, you hear?"

"Yes'm," Tidbit replied in a small voice.

They all heard the lock removed, and the bright sun shone in like a harsh surprise after the darkness of the smokehouse all night. Mr. Derby stood outside the door and called to them, "Come on out of there now. You have a long journey ahead of you, and, Teenie, I expect to have breakfast on the table in half an hour!"

"Yes, suh," she replied sullenly as she emerged from the small room. Teenie squeezed Tidbit's small hand tightly into hers. Amari and Polly came out next, blinking in the bright sunlight. When Amari reached for Polly's hand, Polly took it.

The wagon stood hitched and ready. Dr. Hoskins sat on the seat, looking straight ahead, not at the hapless group standing near the wagon. Clay was nowhere to be seen.

"My son is ill," Mr. Derby said to the doctor, "so I'll entrust to you the transactions for the sale of these three." The doctor nodded silently.

Polly and Amari exchanged looks. Evidently, Teenie's seeds had been effective.

"Would you like me to check young Clay before I leave?" Dr. Hoskins asked halfheartedly.

"No, I believe he simply drank too much wine. He will sleep it off."

Dr. Hoskins looked relieved. "I will make sure your money from the sale of these three is safely delivered to you by a courier from Charles Town. He will return with your wagon."

"It's good riddance to the lot of them," Mr. Derby replied, a look of disgust on his face. To the frightened group in front of him he yelled, "Get in the wagon-and be quick about it!"

Polly climbed in first. "Yes, sir," she whispered. It was the same wagon that she and Amari had arrived in. Amari climbed in behind her.

"Myna, take this child," Mr. Derby commanded. He grabbed Tidbit from Teenie and slung the boy onto the wagon behind Amari.

Teenie exploded in grief. "Don't take my baby! He my onliest child! Oh, Lawd, please don't take my baby from me!" Tidbit, seeing his mother so upset, began to wail, reaching for her and trying to squirm out of Amari's arms. Hushpuppy barked frantically, adding to the uproar.

Mr. Derby, his face red, slashed at the dog with his whip. It ran yelping toward the rice fields. Mr. Derby then stung Teenie with the whip as well. "Get to your kitchen and to your duties. You have no more business here!" He pushed her in the direction of the kitchen, but she continued to scream in protest, inconsolable.

Polly huddled in the wagon, wishing she knew a way to vent the anger that she needed to expel. But she was as helpless as the others.

"I believe it best if I leave quickly," Dr. Hoskins said over the noise.

"I agree," Mr. Derby replied. He smacked the horse on the rump. It whinnied, then began to amble on its way. The doctor directed the wagon toward the road. Tidbit shrieked as he realized that he was really being taken away from his mother. Teenie fell to the ground, yelling her grief to the sky. Mr. Derby whipped her again and pulled her to her feet. He half dragged, half walked her back to the kitchen. Hushpuppy continued to bark frantically in the distance.

"Mama!" Tidbit screamed hysterically. "Mama!"

They turned past a bend in the road, and although she could still hear Teenie's anguished cries, Polly could see her no more. Amari held Tidbit, trying to soothe him, but Polly knew that nothing she could say or do would make the child feel better.

PART SEVEN.

AMARI.

31. THE DOCTOR'S CHOICE

THE WAGON LUMBERED SLOWLY DOWN THE ROAD. Most of the leaves of the trees, Amari noticed, were turning golden and copper with rusty hues. The sun shone brightly over, the wind blew gently from the east, but a storm of turmoil hovered over the small wagon in which they rode. Polly sat with her arms wrapped tightly around her body. Tidbit still cried for his mother, burying himself in Amari's arms. Amari, feeling bereft and empty inside, held the child and stared at the thick woods on either side of the road.

I'm to be sold once more? Is this the way it will be forever? To be passed from one owner to another like a cow? Afi had constantly talked about her bright spirit and her future. But Amari could see nothing but the darkness; she found she did not have Afi's strength.

After an hour or so Dr. Hoskins, who so far had said nothing at all to the passengers in the back of the wagon, slowly pulled over to the side of the road. The horse snorted and grabbed mouthfuls of soft grass.

The doctor was silent for a moment, then he turned around to look at his three passengers. He took a deep breath, then said quietly, "I am ashamed to be a human being this morning. I witnessed not just murder last night, but violence and cruelty and vicious hatred. By saying nothing, I feel I am as responsible as my so-called friend who pulled the trigger."

Amari and Polly exchanged stunned looks.

Dr. Hoskins continued. "I am just one man. I don't know how to fight everything that is happening around me. I don't understand how one man can own another. And I don't know how to stop it." He looked around at the deep woods and the darkness within them. "But I can help the three of you."

"How, sir?" Polly asked immediately.

"I plan to give you at least a fighting chance." He kept looking around him, as if someone would come down the road and discover what he was doing. "I have a little money and some food that Lena made up for our journey this morning." He pointed to a small bundle beneath the seat of the wagon.

"You not take us to town to be sold?" Amari asked, her voice hopeful.

"No, child. I'm not."

"What do we do, sir?" Polly asked.

"The Ashley River runs parallel to this road," he said, pointing to the west. "Find the river and follow it north. You will have to stay hidden during the day and travel only at night. Can you do that?"

"Oh, yes, sir!" Polly replied with enthusiasm.

"You'll have at least a day before they discover you're missing. I'll wait until tomorrow evening before I will be forced to report your 'escape' to Mr. Derby. If I could come up with the money to pay the purchase price for the three of you, I'd do it gladly," he said, "but unfortunately, I have no such means. All I can give you is time."

Amari frowned as she tried to make sense of the doctor's words. He spoke very fast, and she had to take her time to make sure she understood.

"How we gonna 'scape?" she asked, still unsure of the doctor's plan.

"I am setting you free," the doctor replied.

"We be free?" Amari asked, hardly daring to believe it. The word itself stunned her.

The doctor replied, "Well, I'm going to try to give you one small chance to be free. It's up to you and to the spirits of hope and possibility."

That much of the conversation Amari understood clearly. She thought of Afi and her unfailing faith in the future.

"We are so grateful for this opportunity, sir," Polly said, her voice breaking. "You are saving our lives!"

"This could just as easily destroy your lives," he warned. "There will be patrols out and documents posted for your arrest and dogs following your trail."

"How do we hide from dogs?" Amari asked.

"You can't. Dogs are trained to trace your smell and attack you when they find you. I'm not going to try to sugarcoat the danger."

"What happen to you when Massa Derby know you help us?" Amari asked.

"Me? I'll tell him we were attacked by highwaymen. I'll fake an injury to make it seem real. Don't worry about me-I'll be fine." Amari stared intently at the kindly, silver-haired doctor; she never would have imagined a white man willing to help her.

"You gonna tell Teenie her chile not get sold?" Amari asked as she held Tidbit's hand.

"Of course. But it won't be soon," he warned. Amari breathed a sigh of relief. She couldn't bear to think of Teenie's misery.

The doctor looked sadly at the three young people in the wagon. "You're just children," he mused, shaking his head. He reached under the seat and pulled out an old feed sack. From it he took a small bundle of food, a couple of coins, and a flintlock musket. Amari gasped at the sight of the gun.

"Use this only to save your life-not for hunting. You do not want to draw attention to yourself."

"How it work?" Amari asked.

Polly spoke up quietly. "I know how to use it-my father taught me. You half cock the hammer, pour in the gunpowder, wrap the lead ball, then stuff it into the barrel and fire." Amari was impressed.

The doctor nodded with approval. "Are you a good shot?" he asked.

Polly looked away. "No, sir, not very. My father tried to teach me, but I could not shoot straight."

The doctor shook his head. He gave Polly a small pouch that held the ammunition, as well as the sack. "You have enough gunpowder for only one shot. Make it count."

"Yes, sir, I will. Thank you, sir." She carefully replaced the gun into the bag and hoisted the sack over her shoulder.

"Hurry," the doctor said, glancing around worriedly. "Get out of the wagon and as deeply as you can into the woods."

Amari looked up at him and smiled as she and Polly climbed out of the wagon. They both helped Tidbit jump down. "Thank you, sir," Amari said. She never thought she'd be thanking a white man!

"May God have mercy on all of you," the doctor replied. The wagon disappeared into the distance. The three children stood wordlessly for a moment, watching it, then, realizing their danger, darted into the darkness of the woods.

32. THE JOURNEY BEGINS.

AMARI, POLLY, AND TIDBIT MOVED SLOWLY BUT steadily through the woods, as if they knew where they were going. Although the road had been brightly lit with the sunshine of the morning, the woods were shadowy and dim under the thick canopy of trees. Amari, somehow feeling very much at home among this greenery, led them deeper and deeper until they reached a point where no path was apparent, and the trees and bushes grew so closely together that not even Tidbit could squeeze between the thick green growth.

"Myna, let's stop for a bit and get our bearings," Polly suggested.

Amari nodded in agreement, and they all sat down on the ground and caught their breath. Finches and swallows chirped high above them, but otherwise the forest was surprisingly silent. Polly closed her eyes and leaned against an oak tree.

Tidbit whispered, "Myna, I got to pee!"

Amari looked at the boy fondly. "Go quick-behind that tree." The boy ran and returned shortly to the security of Amari's arms. Amari gave him a reassuring hug, then she looked at Polly, who sat next to her, scratching the mosquito bites on her arm. "My name be Amari," she informed the two of them.