MMFrom near the railing he called down. "Can I help you?"
MM"Of course you can help me! Where are the men that boarded your boat?"
MM"You saw men?" the boy asked.
MM"Where is your captain?" the large man roared.
MM"He'll be back soon, sir. Would you like to wait?"
MM"Where's your first mate?"
MM"I can't tell you, sir."
MM"Then let us board!"
MM"I can't let you board, sir. Not without the captain's permission."
MM"Then run out your gangplank! We'll tell you whether someone went aboard!"
MMThe boy stepped backward and set down the lantern. As Libby watched, a log plank dropped down between the boat and the shore.
MMOnce again the boy held up the lantern, but he stayed at the top of the gangplank. Strong and confident looking, he guarded the deck, as though unwilling to let anyone step past him.
MMThe pack of dogs pushed forward, the lead dog first. Nose to the wood, he sniffed up and down the plank. Finally he returned to his owner and sat down on his haunches.
MMHolding up his fist, the large man shook it at the boy on board. "I don't know what you did!"
MMThe boy seemed undisturbed. "Maybe you should look somewhere else," he called down.
MMThe man's sudden growl sounded like a dog's. Just the same, he turned away. When the bloodhounds sniffed their way back to the warehouse, the men followed.
MMAs they disappeared around the end of the building, Libby heard voices in the sitting room. Quickly she tiptoed across the floor and knelt down at the door between the two rooms.
MM"I just can't seem to change Libby into what she should be." That was Auntie Vi again.
MSince the death of her mother four years before, Libby had lived with her aunt and uncle in a mansion on Chicago's Gold Coast. In that second week of March 1857, Libby and Auntie Vi had traveled to Burlington, Iowa, so that Libby could visit her father.
MM"How do you want to change her?" Captain Norstad asked.

M"She can't do anything right!" Auntie Vi answered. "She does like nice clothes, but--"
MM"She likes nice clothes, all right!" the captain agreed. "Libby told me that she didn't like my uniform--that it's too old-fashioned!"
MM"That sounds like Libby." Her aunt sounded pleased. "She's developed excellent taste. Whatever costs most, that's what Libby chooses."
MM"Does she now?" the captain asked. "Is that why she calls me Faw-thur, like some high society girl? The last time I saw Libby I was her pa."
MMTrying to catch every word, Libby leaned closer. She'd have to remember to call her father Pa. In the darkness she bumped against the door. Scared by the light thud, she drew back. Had her aunt and father heard?
MMWhen they went on talking, Libby knew she was safe. Once more she put her ear to the keyhole.
MM"So what exactly is the problem?" Captain Norstad asked.
MM"Though she likes nice things, Libby acts like a tomboy. I was horrified when I caught her swimming! A proper young lady would never swim."
MM"Unless her father showed her how." Captain Norstad's voice sounded dangerously low. "I taught Libby to swim, in case she fell off my boat."
MM"But she embarrasses me in front of my friends!" Auntie Vi wailed. "I'm ready to give up on that girl!"
MMGive up on me? As though a knife pierced her heart, Libby felt the pain of those words. Auntie Vi wants to give up on me?
MM"Well, I'm not ready to give up," the captain answered. "I'll never give up on Libby!"
MMBut Libby barely heard her father's words. So upset that she forgot to be quiet, she again bumped against the door.
MMIn the next instant Libby heard quick footsteps moving toward her. As she scrambled to get away, the door opened. Her father reached out and took her hand.
MM"We need to talk about something." He drew her into the sitting room. "Sit down, Libby."