™

R E A L K I D S • R E A L P L A C E SAMERICA’S NATIONAL MYSTERY BOOK SERIES

TM

C A R O L E M A R S H

The Mystery

on the

UndergroundRailroad

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Copyright ©2003 Carole Marsh/Gallopade International/Peachtree City, GAAll rights reserved.Fifth Printing July 2009Ebook edition Copyright ©2011

Carole Marsh Mysteries™ and its skull colophon are the property of Carole Marsh andGallopade International.

Published by Gallopade International/Carole Marsh Books. Printed in the United Statesof America.

Editor: Chad BeardEditorial Assisstant: Margaret S, RossCover Design: Vicki DeJoy, Michelle WinklemanPicture Credits: Michael BoylanContent Design: Steve St. Laurent, Lynette Rowe

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ChristinaYotherAge 9

GrantYotherAge 7

ClairCofferAge 13

MilesCofferAge 11

about the characters

Imagine . . . only a dolly for a friend.

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Christina was doing a stellar job helping herGrandmother Mimi when the intriguing e-mailinvitation arrived. Grant was also being a big helpby stuffing the giant pile of newspaper clippings,scattered across Mimi’s desk, back into the correctcolor-coded folders.

Christina Yother, 9, a fourth-grader inPeachtree City, Georgia, her brother Grant, 7, andMimi stood staring at the new message on Mimi’soffice computer screen. Suddenly, Mimi’s 122unread e-mails were completely forgotten.

Dear Aunt Mimi:The National Park Service,

The National Museum of AmericanHistory, Professor William B. Still and

you have

mystery mail

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I invite Christina and Grant to ridethe Freedom Road on the U.R.R. We’llbe pulling into Baltimore nextTuesday to pick up four passengers.We’ll rendezvous with you and theother VIPs in Philly for the formalribbon cutting on the Fourth of July.Priscilla :-)Assistant Curator

Next Tuesday? The notice was short butChristina knew that didn’t really matter to herGrandmother Mimi. She was not like mostgrandmothers. She wasn’t really like agrandmother at all. She had blond hair, wore trendyclothes, was CEO of her own company, and traveledall around the country!

Mimi tapped the message on the screen withher pink fingernail as she thought about it.“Hmmm,” she said. “This just needs someorganization and action, but what an adventure thiscould be!” Mimi typed a reply, then reached for hercell phone.

Christina was nearly bursting withquestions. “Mimi, is this a good time to askquestions?”

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“You bet!” said Mimi, stroking hergranddaughter’s soft, chestnut-colored hair. “Ialways have time for questions!”

But Christina shocked her grandmother byreeling out a string of questions: “Why does the e-mail say National Museum of American History? Isthis the same U.R.R. we learned about in school?Did Cousin Priscilla get a new job? Isn’t thatmuseum in Washington, DC? What exactly is theFreedom Road? Does this mean we’ll all be togetherfor a Philadelphia Fourth of July celebration? Areyou a VIP?”

“Whoa! Good questions!” said Mimi. “Let’sstart at the end and work our way forward. It’simportant to remember that everyone we meet is avery important person (VIP) and should be treatedwith courtesy and respect. Yes, this means we willall be in Philadelphia for the Fourth of July. Somuch of America’s history happened there that it’sone of my favorite places to be!”

Mimi took a deep breath and continuedanswering Christina’s many questions. “FreedomRoad is a new mobile American History museum.Priscilla is still a wonderful fourth grade historyteacher and marathoner! She has worked at themuseum every summer since she was in high

16

school. Papa and I have been helping with theresearch for this new museum-on-wheels, so we’vebeen invited to the ribbon-cutting for FreedomRoad’s official Grand Opening.”

Mimi paused for another breath and added,“By the way, congratulations on remembering! It isthe very same U.R.R. you learned about in school.”

Mimi looked down at Grant who was stillstaring at the screen with a perplexed expression.He looked serious. “Everything okay, Grant?” askedMimi.

Perched on the edge of her office chair, withhis legs swinging high above the floor, Grant lookedvery small. His blue eyes seemed the biggest partof him. He looked up. “Well for one thing, I haven’tstudied U.R.R. or urrrrr. Or however you say it! Isit like grrrr? I happen to know a lot about grrrr.Grrrr could be a bear or an angry dog. Papa told methat I’m supposed to remain as ‘still as a statue’ if Ihear that sound. I still have a question. It mightsound dumb, but we haven’t covered all the things inmy grade that Christina knows.”

“What’s that?” asked Mimi. “There are nodumb questions, you know.”

Grant quietly asked, “Mimi, what is U.R.R.?”

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His grandmother squeezed his small tenseshoulder and smiled. “Grant, that’s a wonderfulquestion! It stands for the Underground Railroad.The Underground Railroad didn’t have railroad carsor rails. It had people. It was a top secretorganization of people, both black and white, whorisked their lives to help slaves escape fromSouthern states, where slavery was allowed, tofreedom in the North.”

Since Grant still looked confused, Mimicontinued her explanation. “Some people say thatthe Underground Railroad really began in the 1700swhen slaves were brought to America from Africa.Other people say it began about 1830 when it got anofficial name. The railroad was spoken of in hopefulwhispers and hidden in songs that were sung acrossthe plantations. The organization had its ownsecret language, clues, and codes. Even today thestory of the slaves’ escape to freedom is filled withmyths and mystery.”

Grant still looked concerned. Mimi asked,“Are you still worried about something?”

Grant looked at this grandmotherthoughtfully. “If we’re going to be traveling underthe ground, will Priscilla bring the flashlights, orshould we each bring our own?”

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It had been another busy day. Mimi steppedout on her wide, front porch, kicked off her shoes,and plopped down into her favorite white, wickerrocking chair. She planned to spend a few quietminutes rocking, reading her mail, listening to thebirds sound their evening chirps, and watching thegolden glow of the summer sun setting over her twobig magnolia trees laden with white, fragrant,blossoms the size of dinner plates.

She got to enjoy that peaceful experience forabout 45 wonderful seconds before being interrupted.A car pulled into her driveway and family poured out.“Mimi! Mimi!” shouted Grant and Christina. “Wantto go for a swim? It’s not dark yet!”

“Thank you, but not right now, tadpoles,”answered Mimi. “You are welcome to sit here with

porch swing

things

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me. We can talk a little bit about your trip toBaltimore and the Underground Railroad.”

They both climbed into the chair beside her.“Ok, Mimi,” answered Christina, “but I have

to tell you that talking is usually not nearly as muchfun as swimming.”

“Did I ever tell you two that if Papa and I hadbeen living 150 years ago, we would have beenabolitionists?” Mimi asked.

“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”asked Grant.

“Why are you telling us now? Is someonegoing to ask us about this in Baltimore on Tuesday?”asked Christina.

“Good questions,” Mimi answered. “I’mtelling you now so you’ll remember that anabolitionist was a person who believed slavery waswrong and should be ended.”

“Ok, but why is this important for our trip,Mimi?” Christina asked again.

“It’s important, Christina, because the CivilWar and the Underground Railroad were suchturning points in America’s history. Before yourtrip begins, you are going to need to know how theslavery story began in America,” Mimi said.

“Is this a lesson or a story?” Christina asked.

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Mimi gave them both a big squeeze, untilthey squealed, and said, “It’s a story with a lesson!Don’t worry. I’ll give you the short version.”

Mimi began: “In 1719, 600 Africans weretaken against their will and brought to America andsold as slaves to work on plantations–large farms–inthe South. That was the beginning of more than100 years of slavery in America.”

“The life of a plantation slave was verydifficult,” she continued. “Field hands–includingchildren–worked as long as 15 hours a day. Theirhomes were often small crowded huts or shacks.Slaves were usually given very little food andclothing from their owners.”

Mimi sighed. “Slaves could be soldwhenever their owners chose to do so. Men,women, and children could be taken from theirfamilies and separated at any time. Slaves wereplaced on an auction block to be sold to the highestbidder. Buyers were only interested in thestrongest slaves because they could do the mostheavy work in the fields. Family members could besold to different owners and perhaps never see oneanother again.”

“Long days, hard work, disease, and badweather often made plantation life one of misery.

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The crops most often grown on plantations wererice, cotton, and tobacco. Even the youngest slavechildren had to work in the fields–dawn to dusk!”

“The Underground Railroad was a way forslaves to escape this misery and hopefully have abetter life,” Mimi concluded.

“When did slavery end, Mimi?” asked Christina.“Not for a very long time,” Mimi replied. “In

America, it ended in 1863. That’s when theEmancipation Proclamation was issued by U.S.President Abraham Lincoln.”

“Slavery was awful!” said Christina. “I’mglad we don’t have slaves today.”

“Me too!” said Grant.Mimi looked sad. “In some places in the

world, slavery still exists–even today!”

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Tuesday morning, Uncle Michael, Christina,Grant, and Mimi raced toward HartsfieldInternational Airport, the busiest in the nation, inAtlanta. Papa, their grandfather, was taking themso they didn’t have to leave a car and “pay throughthe nose.” He liked to be frugal with his money.

Grant thought of someone paying a parkingbill through their nose, and snickered. Papa wasalways saying things that Grant didn’t understandyet. His grandfather had lots and lots of opinions.He had opinions on everything, even opinions. Papanever seemed to run out of things to say.

“In my opinion,” Papa suddenly said, “weshould stop here and use curbside check-in, so wedon’t have to pull into the pay parking lot.” Grantknew that meant they were going to stop the carright now, and everyone needed to pile out as

baltimore or

bust

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quickly as possible. Papa wanted to be out of therebefore the policeman walking their way could tellhim to “Move along, please, sir!” or “You can’t parkhere!” Something about the policeman saying thatalways made Papa grumble and even say grrrrr!

Mimi had suggested that they all fly toBaltimore together and asked Papa to see aboutgetting a refund on their tickets to Philadelphia. Hesaid, “By the time they charge us for changes, therewon’t be any refund at all. That’s just throwing goodmoney after bad!” Grant had no idea why thetickets to Philadelphia were paid for with badmoney. And how did his grandfather even know thedifference between good money and bad money?

In the end Mimi worked it all out. She talkedUncle Michael into making his business trip to NewYork with a short stop in Baltimore. Papa like theirplan because they could “kill two birds with . . .”Everyone finished that opinion for him, shouting, “Withone stone!” Then they all laughed. Everyone knewthat it was one of Papa’s all-time favorite sayings.

Mimi was the first one out of the car. Sheleft Papa grumbling about “paying through thenose” for airline tickets and being accused of“parking” when anyone could clearly see that he

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was only “pausing.” He agreed to circle the airportonce and pick Mimi up in five minutes.

Mimi and Christina ran to buy magazines,peanut butter crackers, Junior Mints, and otheressential airline survival stuff. After a lot ofslobbery hugs and kisses (Grant’s opinion), Mimislipped a bright red plastic whistle on a red, whiteand blue shoelace around his neck. “If you need mejust whistle and I’ll come running,” she whispered inGrant’s ear. “I’ll see you in Philly on the fourth!”

Usually it was Uncle Michael who gave himweird, neat stuff that “might come in handy.” Grantstill had the small pen flashlight, safely tucked intohis backpack, that Uncle Michael had given him afew months ago.

“Listen to your cousin Priscilla and take goodcare of Grant,” Mimi told Christina, giving her a bighug and slipping extra money into her pocket, just incase of “emergencies.”

“You can count on me,” Christina said in aconfident voice. “You better hurry, Mimi, or Papawill be having words with another airportpoliceman!” Christina was pretending to be verygrownup and brave. Mimi was pretending not tonotice that she was pretending.

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“All aboard for Baltimore, Maryland and theUnderground Railroad!” boomed Uncle Michael inhis best Papa voice.

“Shhh! Uncle Michael!” Grant whispered.“Our destination is supposed to be top secret!”

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12

WORDS TO KNOW

Read ‘em all!

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ISBN: 978-0-635-02109-0

The Mystery of...Alamo Ghost

Biltmore HouseBlackbeard the Pirate

California Mission TrailCape Cod

Chocolate TownCounterfeit Constitution

Death ValleyDevils Tower

Disney WorldFort Sumter

Freedom TrailGold Rush

Golden Gate BridgeGrand Canyon

Graveyard of the AtlanticGreat Lakes

Haunted Ghost TownHawaii

Hoover DamIditarod Trail

JamestownKentucky Derby

Kill Devil HillsLiberty BellLost Colony

Missing DinosaurMount Rushmore

Mount VernonNew York City

Niagara FallsOregon Trail

Rocky MountainsSmoky Mountains

Space Center HoustonSt. Louis Arch

Underground RailroadWhite House Christmas

WilliamsburgYellowstone National Park

and more!

T

Grant and Christina travelfrom Baltimore toPhiladelphia to learn aboutthe Underground Railroadand run into a perplexingmystery involving amuseum on wheels, amissing professor, agenuine slave journal,codes on quilts, some high-tech history, and more!