The officer examined it, then looked back at her face, or what little of it was visible beneath the hat, glasses, and bandages. “You’re traveling…
No convenient excuse to offer. Just Ellen alone, facing someone who might actually see what everyone else had missed. Dawn came cold and gray over…
But in the rear car, William was facing a different problem. The space was more crowded than usual, packed with enslaved people being transported by…
Only a handful of passengers waited for the early train to Philadelphia. Laborers heading north for work. A merchant with sample cases. A elderly couple…
This was why slave catchers came to Boston armed with federal warrants. Ellen and William were not just two people who had escaped. They were…
The case materials did not contain detailed information about his mental state, but several reports indirectly mentioned atypical behavior and a refusal to have any…
One wrong word, one gesture out of place, one moment of hesitation, and the mask would crack. And when it did, there would be no…

In Sam Dawson’s case, it all began with a typical disappearance in the woods. A 17-year-old tourist was left behind the group in the fog…
The younger man fell silent, but his eyes stayed on William, searching for something. Confirmation, encouragement, a sign that escape was possible. William looked away,…
Ellen and William climbed aboard, finding seats in their respective cars, neither daring to believe what was happening. The train lurched forward. Steam hissed. The…


