Sarah had arranged stops at farms whose owners were willing to shelter travelers quietly.
The second group, led by Josiah, carried blankets and food beneath a canvas cover.
Caleb’s group reached the crossing first and found Pryce waiting beside a wagon.
Two armed men stood behind him.
“Mercer,” he called.
Caleb stopped.
He could have run into the trees, but Ruth and Ada were still visible on the road.
Pryce held up a paper.
“The colonel wants you returned for questioning.”
“I have given a statement,” Caleb said.
“Not to the colonel.”
“He does not own the truth.”
Pryce stepped closer.
“Do not make this harder than necessary.”
Amos moved beside Caleb.
“The people with him are not part of your order.”
Pryce glanced at Ruth and Miriam.
“They can come along too.”
“No,” Caleb answered.
One of the armed men shifted his weight.
At that moment a wagon approached from the north carrying Samuel Laird and Marian Cross.
Marian climbed down with a folder of documents and walked directly toward Pryce.
“Captain, there are proceedings concerning the Whitmore settlement,” she said.
“You have no authority to seize witnesses for private questioning while their sworn statements are under review.”
Pryce laughed.
“Are you their lawyer?”
“I am an attorney instructed to preserve evidence for the trustees.”
“That doesn’t change the law governing fugitive property.”
Marian’s expression did not soften.
“No, and I will not pretend it does.”
“But this paper authorizes an inquiry, not a kidnapping.”
Pryce looked at her documents, then at the approaching wagon carrying Josiah and several witnesses.
He understood that any violence at the crossing would happen before people prepared to record it.
“You have bought them time,” he told Marian.
“Nothing more.”
“Time matters,” she answered.
He lowered his paper and ordered his men back to the wagon.
Caleb did not mistake the retreat for safety.
The law could still be turned against him in another place, and a colonel’s wealth could reach farther than any road he had traveled.
But Ruth had passed the crossing without being seized.
Miriam held Ada close and continued north.
Amos walked beside Caleb until the last horse disappeared.
“We are still alive,” he said.
Caleb watched the roadway empty.
“Then we keep moving.”
Chapter Thirty-One: A Home Beyond the River
The first house Caleb entered in Pennsylvania had no grand staircase, no servant bell, and no master ledger locked behind polished doors.
It stood beside a narrow creek, with a garden bordered by ordinary stones and a roof patched after the last storm.
