Two weeks had passed, although it's hard to keep track of the days when you're cooped up in the cabin. The conductor, he hasn't told us his real name, sent word ahead to other stations in a coded message that let them know that two slaves would be arriving in a wagon.

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The note is addressed to a "Samuel P." and mentioned that a load of potatoes would be arriving on the upcoming Monday headed for station #10. Neither your wife or you could read, but the conductor reads the message to you. You understand that you are "the load of potatoes" but you had no idea what station # 10 is. You assume it must be somewhere in Pennsylvania, the closest Free State to Maryland.

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You both are loaded into the wagon with a few days worth of food and fresh water. A false floor is placed over your hiding space and covered with boxes of potatoes and other farm goods.

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The journey is bumpy and hot. The air becomes stale after a few hours but it's a small price to pay for freedom. As you head north, or at least you assume it's north, the noises of horses and people grow louder. You obviously are nearing a city or town of some size. The wagon comes to a halt and you hear rough voices demanding to search the wagon. A slave patrol!

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You hear the voice of the Conductor growing loud with outrage (and now with a country accent) that he is a simple farmer and "does not care for being harrassed for the sake of some runaway coloreds." He says that he has no sympathy for slaves and would like to cash in on a reward himself. Convinced that he is a simple southern farmer, the police let the wagon pass unchecked. You breathe a huge sigh of relief and notice that your shirt is drenched in sweat.

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That night the wagon stops at another station- a farm house- where you are given a hot meal and a change of clothes to make you look more like freed black workers rather than country slaves. You learn that you have crossed into Pennsylvania, and tomorrow you will be in the city of Philadelphia where a large population of freedmen live.

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You can stay in Philadelphia where the Society of Friends, better known as Quakers, will introduce you to others in the community, give you some money, and even help you find a job. The north isn't as safe as it used to be. The streets of Philadelphia are thick with slave catchers who frequently stop free blacks and accuse them of being runaways. The Quakers tell you of stories of slave catchers who have even falsified receipts of ownership to kidnap freedmen into bondage.

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Your other choice is continue on to Canada, a British colony, where slavery is illegal. Many ex-slaves have already fled to cities like Toronto. Perhaps you could too.