Blockade Runner Read Online Free PDF Page A

spot with his father. The captain’s pay was very low, and it was in Confederate money. He was deeply grateful to the Carters for keeping Esther, but for a long time he had wanted to do something to defray their expenses.
    “You’d like to do that, would you, Jeff?” he repeated.
    “Yes, and we could send all the money back to Kentucky. It would pay for Esther’s clothes and food and—why, everything, Pa.” Excited, he again forgot to use his father’s military title. “Can I go, Pa? Would it be all right?”
    “Well, I’ll think on it.”
    “Yes, sir.”
    Jeff knew better than to pressure his father, but somehow he thought it would happen.
    Later that morning, his father stopped by where Jeff was cleaning his boots and said, “Jeff, I think it might be all right for you to make that trip. It would help financially, and it would be good for the cause too.”
    Jeff was overjoyed and went at once to Captain Bier’s tent. “Captain, my father says I can go with you.”
    “Why, that’s fine, Jeff. We’ll make a sailor out of you—a short-term one. Wilmington,
Greyhound
, here we come!” He grinned at the boy, but then said, “People have been known to get hurt on these expeditions, but you’re not afraid of that?”
    “No, sir. It won’t be as dangerous as being on a battlefield, and it’ll be a lot more fun.”
    Captain Bier rubbed his chin. “Sometimes it’s fun—and sometimes not so much fun. In any case, get your things together, and I’ll show you what it’s like to be a sailor.”

4
Alarm at Midnight
    L eah got out of the buggy and held the horses while Uncle Silas descended to the street. He held on very carefully, for he was still frail and not completely recovered from his long sickness. However, he was well enough to get out and had insisted on making a visit to the
Richmond Examiner
. He and Mr. John Pollard had been friends for years, and the two had not seen each other in some time.
    As soon as Uncle Silas was safely out of the buggy, Leah wrapped the lines firmly, then leaped to the ground. She patted the mare’s silky nose, saying, “There, Susie, I’ll bring you something good before we go back home.” Then she joined Uncle Silas and held his arm as they entered the
Examiner
office.
    “I’ll bet Mr. Pollard will be glad to see you, Uncle Silas.”
    “Yes, I’ve missed some of those checker games and arguments with him about his politics.”
    Uncle Silas was her father’s uncle. He had grown so ill that Leah and her sister Sarah had come to Richmond to care for him.
    Now as they entered the newspaper office, Mr. Pollard instantly came to greet them, wearing an apron that had once been white but was now almost completely covered with ink smears. He had a strange hat shading his eyes and several pens stuck in the pocket of the apron.
    “Well, look who’s here!” he said happily. “Silas Carter!” He shook Mr. Carter’s hand enthusiastically. “Come right on back here and sit down. I was about ready to send out for some tea. We can take a break while I get your politics straightened out.”
    “You’ve been twenty-five years trying to do that.” Uncle Silas smiled. He had white hair and beard and was still rather pale. He was, however, much healthier than he had been before Leah had come to nurse him.
    “I’ll go get the tea, Mr. Pollard,” Leah said quickly. “You and Uncle Silas can talk.”
    She left the two men arguing loudly and happily over the Jefferson Davis administration. Going next door, she requested a pot of tea.
    The proprietor, a tall slender woman with red hair, covered it with a cloth. “I fixed it just like Mr. Pollard likes it,” she said, “and there’s plenty for you and your uncle too. And I made those cakes just this morning.”
    Leah smiled. “They smell very good. I’ll tell Uncle Silas you asked about him,” she promised.
    She returned to the office of the
Examiner
, and for the next hour she kept the two men liberally supplied with