Page 10 (1/2)

"If my husband sent you--"

"He didn’t send me," Henry interrupted "He invited me I’m sorry, and I sure don’t mean to cause you any alarm I work for the United States Marshals Service Here’s my identification papers--Mr Lincoln said you’d want to see theed to shake the vowels; but s, not fire-eaters, and noe’re all living in Baltimore Please, ma’am I’m here to help" And then he added quickly, "Oh, Mr Lincoln said that if you still didn’t buy it, I should say that there’s a Pinkerton agent on the way to your hoo"

Gideon unfroze, and returned his gun to its place against his back

Mary also relented "Chicago," she repeated "That was the code e picked between us Hello, Mr… Epperson? Aht?"

"Yes, ma’am," he said "It’s a pleasure and an honor to meet you"

Gideon found his way to the base into a late afternoon that wasn’t fully dark yet, but would be in another twenty minutes "You’re the man from the Marshals Service?" he said, not because he doubted it, but because he didn’t want to sneak up on anyone with a gun Mary orrisoent

Henry turned around, holding a wallet of folded papers He was somewhat taller than Mary, and soht hair and round, wire-rih he wore no gloves "Yes, that’s me You must be Dr Bardsley Just the man I’m here to see" He held out his hand It was chapped and pink, but his nails were clean

Gideon shook it "Yes And if you’re here to clean up the Jefferson, I hope you’ve brought heavy h to ested a miracle, but restrained himself

"Well now I’ anything big enough to make a dent Those fellows really did a nuet what they came for"

"No Not that the ood, down there in that crater I still can’t tell if its power source is operational It’s a rabbit warren under there, and dark as a grave So if you’re not here to dig, and you’re not here to open fire, what brings you to … to what’s left of uess, which is how I arrived at your home so early," he said to Mary Then, to Gideon: "And since I landed ahead of schedule, Mr Lincoln sent me here ord about your mother and nephew"

For one white-hot e seared Gideon’s vision It was a fa he usually kept in a box in the back of his brain, labeled "do not open" and stashed under the plans for the Fiddlehead and other inventions He’d boxed up that fury on the road froht, under cover of darkness with the fareed to join hiain, and the only white-hot anything was the lantern in Mary’s hand

"Did they find theht?"

"Yes to both questions, doctor The Pinks were able to extract them They were taken to a plantation in northern Alabaht now they’re at a railroad stop at Lookout Mountain Mr Lincoln thought you’d want to know"

"Thank you," he said Gideon did feel soh to wipe away the last of the lava-bright anger He clenched his jaw, then unfastened it to say, "And I’ll thank hi theht they’d be safer … well, if they were farther away fro so But he’s called in Kirby Troost, in case an escort to the North is called for"

"Troost? How in God’s name did he find him?"

"No idea, Dr Bardsley But I hope that meets with your satisfaction"

"Very much, yes If we do need to move my family, he’s the man to do it"

Rationally, Gideon knew the Pinkertons were right: Leaving theh having Troost as a backup planLet them stay close to their point of liberation while the pressure was on Anyone in pursuit would assuht back to the District of Coluht back to Gideon, who’d always looked after theer

But he knew his mother well--a simple woman who sometimes amazed him with her lack of curiosity, and sometimes annoyed him with her nervous nature He knew of the safehouse in question, a quiet and hidden place at the edge of Lookout; he’d been there before, when he worked at the university But all its quietness and all its hiddenness would never assuage her fears She’d wear thee He thought unhappily of Caleb, a calm, quiet boy who’d been a toddler when they’d first corown into a soleht The poor child would absorb his grand because that was how he’d hed