Jefferson's Sons Read Online Free PDF Page A

the doorway, and play your notes. Master Jefferson said he’d stand by his bedroom window and listen.”
    Beverly could see the open window, and the thin white curtains softly fluttering against it, but he couldn’t see through the curtains into the dark room.
    â€œIs he really there, Mama?”
    â€œThis is the only chance I’m giving you. Play.”
    Beverly played his best. It sounded like music, even though it was only four notes. Then he waited, watching the curtains. They fluttered once more. Maybe Master Jefferson was waving to him.
    â€œDid he like it, Mama?” Beverly asked the next morning.
    â€œHe did,” Mama said.
    â€œWhat did he say?”
    Mama sighed. “Let it go, Beverly. Let it be.”
    A week later Master Jefferson returned to Washington. Mama stayed home at night. Everything went back to normal, until one of the nail boys, James Hubbard, ran away.

Chapter Three
    Run
    James Hubbard was a big boy with heavy arms and a fierce temper. He was smart and hardworking, and Beverly admired him. So did Master Jefferson. A few years back Master Jefferson gave James Hubbard a fancy red suit of clothes as a reward for making the most nails of all the nail boys over an entire year. James Hubbard still wore his red shirt sometimes.
    Joe Fossett broke the news. It was dinnertime. Beverly was sitting on one of the long benches in the kitchen, between Harriet and Fanny, eating a bowl of stew. Field hands cooked for themselves in their own cabins, but mountaintop people ate their meals in the kitchen in one big noisy group.
    Joe Fossett came through the door, looked around, and cleared his throat, loudly and on purpose. Suddenly, before Beverly could understand why, the entire room went still.
    Uncle Peter raised an eyebrow. Joe Fossett turned and checked that the kitchen door was latched tight behind him. You never knew when an overseer might come in. Then Joe turned back and said, “James Hubbard’s run.”
    Nobody moved. Beverly stopped his legs swinging. He heard Fanny catch her breath. Joe said, “He didn’t come to the shop this morning. Stewart sent a boy to fetch him. Cabin was empty. All his things were gone.” Joe shrugged and took a bowl of stew from Uncle Peter. “That’s what I know. He’s gone.”
    Beverly started to ask where James had gone, but Fanny smacked him. “Hush,” she said, so fiercely that Beverly obeyed.
    All afternoon he felt sick and strange. If he hadn’t known James Hubbard was gone, he probably wouldn’t have noticed, but he did know, and he couldn’t stop thinking about him. What did it mean, “run”? Where had he run to? Why?
    In the cabin that night, Mama said, “The less said, the better.”
    â€œWhy?” Beverly asked. Harriet wanted to know too.
    â€œMight be some folks know more about James Hubbard than they’re letting on,” Mama told them. “Might be some folks around here helped him. We don’t want to know. It’s better if we all stay quiet.”
    â€œBut, Mama,” Harriet said. “Where’d he go ?”
    â€œTo freedom,” Mama said.
    â€œWhere’s that?” Beverly asked.
    â€œDepends,” Mama said. “For James Hubbard, it’s pretty far away.”
    All that week no one so much as whispered James Hubbard’s name. It was as though he’d never even lived. The silence made Beverly feel quivery inside. Then one of the overseers, the new one, came up through Mulberry Row. He called all the workers together, even making Harriet fetch Mama from the great house. “Jamie’s in jail,” he said. “He didn’t get far.” The overseer held up a scrap of paper. “Which one of you wrote this?”
    Nobody moved. “Anybody? Any of you all? I know some of you can read. Some of you must be able to write.” The man waved the paper in the air again. “This here is a forged