Mysterious Signal Read Online Free PDF Page B

strangely, Libby felt proud of Peter—proud of all that he was in spite of Dexter trying to teach him to steal.
    But my hair?
Libby asked herself, desperate again.
How can anyone, even Caleb, ask me to cut my hair?
Libby felt upset just imagining it.
    Trying to think of any other solution but that, Libby looked around. Just then two men entered the railroad car. Peter had his back to the men, but it took only one glance for Libby torecognize Dexter. Frantically she began to write, then realized there wasn’t time.
    Reaching out, she grabbed the hair on Peter’s forehead and pulled down his head. In the next instant she turned to stare out the window. Hardly daring to breathe, she prayed that Dexter wouldn’t notice her.
    It was Caleb who finally said, “Dexter is gone. You’re both safe.”
    Libby’s heart was still pounding. As Peter lifted his head, she met his gaze. Libby could barely stand to look into his eyes.
    Before now she had seen Peter upset. Yet even when he was scared, he had managed to stay calm and do what was needed. Now the look in his eyes reminded Libby of a rabbit she had once scared up in a garden. He had taken one panicked look at her, then darted every which way, trying to find cover again.
    Her own words coming back to haunt her, Libby remembered what she told Pa when she came to live on the
Christina. “I want a never-give-up family
,” she had said.
“A family that believes in one another, that sticks together even when it’s hard.”
Now Peter was part of her larger family—the people who lived on the
Christina
, choosing to help one another.
    “Okay,” Libby said aloud. In the short time Peter had lived on the
Christina
, she had started to feel that he was like the younger brother she had always wanted. Holding up her hands, Libby made the sign for brother.
    Surprise flashed across Peter’s face. First, he pointed to Libby. Then he made two fists, crossed his arms, and drew them to himself as if he were hugging someone.
    Libby bit her lip as she realized Peter had signed “love.” Speaking aloud, he added a word, “Sister.”
    Libby’s gaze met his. Then she picked up her knapsack, the dreaded shirt, overalls, and hat. When she stepped out into the aisle, she headed for the women’s room without looking back.
    With swift movements Libby changed her clothes. Caleb’s shirt was baggy for her and badly wrinkled besides. Peter’s overalls were too short, ending just above Libby’s high-top shoes. In the mirror she looked just as strange as she feared.
    From her sewing bag, Libby took out her small scissors. As she opened and closed the blades, she felt as though they carried a death sentence. Filled with dread, she dropped the scissors on a small table.
    Catching up her hair, Libby twisted it into a long rope, then a knot on top of her head. With one hand she held it in place as she tried to put on Caleb’s hat. But the hat could not begin to cover her thick mound of hair.
    If I had hairpins …
but Libby had none along—no way of holding such a mass of hair. Even with pins, if she made one wrong move, her hair would tumble down. Whoever saw her would know she was a girl.
    Libby ran her fingers through her hair.
It took forever to grow it this long. But if I look like a boy and enter a building, I have to take off my hat. If I’m a boy with manners, that is
.
    Libby sighed. Reaching into her backpack, she found a cloth handkerchief and tore it into strips. Pulling back her hair, she bunched it together and tied it at the back of her neck. Then she began braiding below the tie.
    When she finished the one long braid, she tied it at the bottom. For a moment Libby stroked the braid. The end was soft and curled around her fingers. Again she debated with herself.
Have I thought of everything? Is there any other way to hide who I am?
    But no ideas popped into her head. Instead, Libby remembered Peter’s scared eyes. Though Libby had lived with her aunt, then her father, she had