Belle Read Online Free PDF

set with the local sheriff. He’s a friend, too. And if you ever have to go to court, your papers will stand up. Papa does papers for folks all over this area, and he’s never had his work questioned.”
    Back home, Belle had heard of slaves forging passes so they could escape or travel to visit family and friends, but she’d never personally known anyone bold enough or literate enough to have done it. Even though both Mr. and Mrs. Best offered assurances that the papers wouldn’t be challenged either, Belle couldn’t help but wonder if the forged documents would survive serious scrutiny. She hadn’t expected to be involved in intrigue while seeking freedom. She had naively believed that once she came North her worries would be over.
    “Are you warm enough?” Daniel asked her.
    Wrapped in the heavy cloak, Belle nodded shyly. Her sixteen-year-old heart warmed at his concern. “Have your parents been helping runaways a long time?”
    “Since before Jojo and I were born.”
    Jojo added proudly, “Mama freed herself by running away from Virginia when she was twelve. Papa was born free in Canada.”
    “Your mother was a runaway?”
    “Yes.”
    Belle found that information surprising. It had never occurred to her that Mrs. Best was slavery born, but the knowledge gave Belle hope that one day she, too could become as polished and confident as Mrs. Best. Right now, she didn’t feel polished at all, but she was a free young woman. That felt good, even if her worries about her father hadn’t diminished.
    A bit farther down the road they saw a wagon approaching. Jojo said to her brother, “That looks like Trudy’s papa’s wagon.”
    “Sure does,” he agreed.
    Belle asked, “Who’s Trudy, Jo?”
    “My best friend in all the world. She’s been gone two weeks visiting an aunt in Toledo. Drive faster, Dani. I need to see if she’s with him.”
    “I’m not risking the team just for that. You’ll have to wait until we get closer.”
    Jojo was practically falling out of the wagon as she stood, trying to get a better look. “Oh, it is her! Look!”
    Jojo started waving for all she was worth. On the approaching wagon stood a dark-skinned girl waving back with the same excitement.
    “Stop, Dani! Stop!” Jojo cried.
    Smiling and shaking his head, her brother complied. A second later, Jojo jumped down from the wagon and ran pell-mell up the road, cloak flying. Trudy did the same, running to meet her.
    Belle had no idea how it felt to have such a loved friend, but seeing them warmed her inside. “They must’ve really missed each other.”
    A nodding Daniel watched his sister and her friend hug each other in a laughing reunion, then cracked, “They’re both pests.”
    Belle laughed.
    Turning, he held her twinkling black eyes for a moment, then said, “We’re never going to get to the station at this rate.”
    Belle found she couldn’t hold his gaze very long.
    He asked then, “You always been this shy?”
    Belle forced up her eyes. “I guess.”
    “It’s okay to be shy.”
    She dropped her head again. Being with him made her so tongue-tied she couldn’t respond.
    Just then, Jojo came running back to the wagon. “Belle, I want you to meet someone. This is Trudy Carr. Trudy, my cousin, Belle. She’s staying with us.”
    Trudy was finely dressed in a sweeping green cloak and a matching velvet bonnet. Her dark eyes held a smile. “Pleased to meet you, Belle. Hello, Dani.”
    It was easy to see that Belle wasn’t the only girl sweet on Daniel.
    “Welcome home, pest number two. How was the trip?”
    “Fine,” she replied as she smiled up at him with cow eyes. “I’m glad I’m home, though.”
    Jojo rolled her own eyes at her friend’s obvious antics, saying, “Dani, do you think Mama would mind if I went home with Trudy? Her papa says he’ll bring me home later.”
    The two wagons were now side by side so Daniel looked over at Trudy’s papa and asked, “Are you sure you don’t mind, Mr. Carr?”
    He