And so, Sam was given a small parcel with an extra pair of clothes, some food and a jar of water. At the last minute, Mr. Custer handed him the straw hat again. “You might need this,” was all he said in parting.
The toolbox was emptied except for some rope and straps of leather and a couple of blankets. Sam was made as comfortable as possible in his hiding place. Tom had nailed together a makeshift raft from some old barn siding and the two boys placed it in the wagon. Autie and his mother put a few baskets of garden vegetables on top of the raft and the two boys rode off together toward the village of Monroe.
Tom and Autie were never quiet. They talked a bit louder as they rode together to make sure Sam could hear them. The delivery at the inn went just as planned. The boys headed their horses and wagon for the ferry across the River Raisin and the road north toward the frontier city of Detroit. They reached the Stanford estate along the Detroit River in mid-afternoon and delivered the horses in person to Mr. Stanford. Autie collected the fee for shoeing the horses and stood at Mr. Stanford’s writing desk as he wrote out a receipt the way his father had taught him. Mr. Stanford handed Autie and Tom each a silver dollar as a tip for the delivery.
The boys thanked him and hurriedly headed back to their wagon to start the long return trip.
“If you boys want to spend the night in the stable, you are more than welcome,” Mr. Stanford offered.
“No thanks, sir.” Autie answered. “Tom and I want to try to get home tonight.”
+ + +
The boys were able to make better time with an empty wagon and no horse tied to the back. As soon as it started to get dark the boys pulled off the road at a spot close to the Detroit River. They were well north of the Big Island but reckoned that the current would help get their raft to its shore. The boys fashioned a harness for one of the horses from the rope and leather they had brought and attached it to the raft.
Dusk had turned to night. Tom let Sam out of the toolbox. The boys watched by the light of a half moon as he stretched after a full day in the closest of quarters. After Sam was refreshed they pulled the raft to the water’s edge. Autie scavenged along the shore and found a suitable pole to help him guide the raft in the shallower waters.
“We’ll take the toolbox along just in case, Sam. But you are probably safe now. Just don’t move about too much. We don’t want to attract attention. Tom will stay here with the wagon and the other horse. And Tom, I mean it. Stay here. I’ll be going with Sam. I’ll come back and find you. I won’t be in a mood to look for you.”
The toolbox was placed on the center of the raft. Sam sat, leaning against the box and pulled the straw hat Mr. Custer had given him down over his forehead. Autie crawled onto the horse’s back and rode her into the water. Slowly the raft trailed behind. Just as the raft began to float on its own, Tom shouted, “Wait!”
He ran to the raft, getting his shoes wet, and reached toward Sam. “Here, take this, Sam.” Tom placed his new silver dollar in Sam’s palm. “I have a feeling you are going to need this.”
Tom watched as long as they were in sight but it was only a half moon and his brother and his new friend soon disappeared into the darkness. He heard Autie call across the water, “Stay put, Tom.”
Autie steered their horse toward the island, allowing the river’s current to do much of the work. The raft floated close behind. Autie cautioned Sam to use the pole to keep the raft from pushing too close with the current.
Sam, was working hard to overcome his fear of the water. He’d never been in water over his head before. But he grabbed the pole and pulled himself to his knees and reached toward Autie. Autie used one arm to grab the other end of the pole and the two exerted considerable strength to keep the raft from drifting into the horse which was paddling hard across the river’s current. It wasn’t long before the horse’s feet found the shore. As soon as the horse had all four feet on land, Autie took full possession of the pole, jumped on the raft and directed the rickety raft to land. He took the harness off the horse, keeping the other end tied to the raft and secured it to a tree branch. Autie reached for Sam’s hand. It felt cold and clammy.
“You’re scared aren’t you?” Autie asked Sam.
Sam shrugged. “Don’t know where I is, don’t know where I’s going. Surrounded by water and can’t swim.”
Autie laughed with Sam at his sincere appraisal of his lot in life.
The boys sat together on the northern tip of the island. “The horse needs a rest,” Autie explained. He pointed to the distant shore. “See those little lights over there, Sam? Well, that’s freedom. That’s Canada.”
Chills ran up Sam’s spine. He was speechless. “Doesn’t look any different than the shore we just come from,” he commented at last. “But let’s go!”
The boys took the harness off the horse and led the horse a few hundred yards along the shore, allowing it to nibble on the grass as they went. They took turns pulling the raft along the shoreline, poling it back into water whenever it brushed close to land. On the other side of the island they repeated their departure. Sam crawled onto the raft, Autie tied the harness to the horse. He shook Sam’s hand. This might be his last chance to talk to Sam, he thought. Anything could happen as they crossed the wider part of the river. “Here, Sam,” he said in parting. “Tom gave you his dollar. Here’s mine, too.”
“What’s going on here?” The voice sounded like thunder in the night. Both boys looked up. Their instinct was to run, but there was no place to go. Autie couldn’t help but think of Sam’s prophecy. “Surrounded by water and can’t swim.”
The man spoke again. “You running away, boy?” he asked Sam.
Sam said nothing. He took off his hat and stood with his head bowed.
“You can speak, boy. You’re safe with me.” His voice, still forceful, softened in tone.
Both boys were still uncertain. Autie spoke next. “I’m Armstrong Custer, sir. This is my friend, Sam. We’re aiming to cross the river.” Autie’s words surprised him. Two days ago he would not have imagined himself introducing a Negro as his friend, but now the words seemed to come naturally. Sam took note of the word “friend,” too. Autie saw him venture a shy smile.
“You boys will never make it across the rest of this river the way you are going. The current is too strong. Pull that sorry excuse for a raft to shore and come with me.”
The boys did as they were told. The man led them and the horse through the darkness to a large house on the island’s eastern shore.
“We’re on an island here, young men. That makes you safe. Nobody comes on or off this island without us noticing—as you boys just learned.”
He led the boys to a small stable. Autie tied the horse and pitched a few forkfuls of hay into the stall. The man gave him permission to fill a bucket with oats.
He turned to Sam. “You are not the first runaway to pass this way. I find a few near the shore every month or so. You are lucky. You are still breathing.”
He continued talking to Sam, but he turned toward Autie. “You are lucky in another way,” he continued. “You found a friend who wasn’t afraid to get caught with you.”
The compliment confused Autie. He had never considered helping Sam or not helping Sam as a choice. He had just followed his instincts. He said nothing.
Still addressing Sam, the man said, “You can stay with me and my wife for a few days. We will take you with us the next time we have reason to cross the river.
“And as for you, Master Custer, I’ll put you on the first ferry back to the American side of the river tomorrow morning. I don’t suppose