Editor’s Note: This is an ongoing series which runs each Thursday morning titled the Richland Chronicles Volume 3, by author Paul Lintern. It is set in 1831 and tells the story of Richland County through the eyes of young people. This is the third in a three-book trilogy. Volume 1 was Amelia Changes Her Tune, while Volume II was Isaac and Wolf Paw Find Their Home.

Autumn and Amelia were sitting around the fire the next morning with Emily, who had spent the night, when Aunt Elizabeth walked over with a strange looking cloth doll, hardly bigger than her hand.

“Here Emily, this should take care of your witch problem,” she said, handing her the doll.

“This is your efficiency?” Emily asked.

“Effigy,” Elizabeth corrected. “Eff – i – Gee. It’s made up to look like Mrs. Holstein, and there’s a silver bullet in her heart. If she is a witch, this will stop her. If she isn’t, nothing will happen.”

“Doesn’t look like her,” Autumn said.

“Doesn’t have to, as long as it has something that represents her. See, there is an apron like she wears,” Elizabeth said.

“And this bullet doesn’t look silver.”

“All right, it isn’t silver, exactly. It’s lead, but in bright light it looks silver-ish, don’t you think?”

As much as the doll looks like Mrs. Holstein, which is not much.

“When will you know if it worked?” Autumn asked.

“Not real sure. This is my first effigy,” Elizabeth said.

Hope you know what you are doing.

The girls helped with breakfast and served Autumn’s parents and the four guests that had spent the night. Autumn was glad the stranger wasn’t one who stayed.

About midmorning Mr. Kelly, the sheriff, came riding up to the Inn. Jacob, who was outside mending a fence post, greeted him as he hopped off his horse. The girls were in the barn filling water troughs when he arrived but thought nothing of it, until they saw Mother and Aunt Elizabeth come out to the men.

Suddenly, Elizabeth put her hand to her mouth in a shocked look and shook her head.

Something’s happened. Something bad. It’s Isaac, or Uncle John, or one of my brothers, or…

Autumn dropped her bucket and ran up to the adults. Emily and Amelia had been paying less attention until Autumn began running. They stopped what they were doing and hurried over as well.

“… was harboring slaves. Wondered if anyone has been snooping around recently,” the sheriff was saying.

Autumn heard father describe the man from the night before and said Mrs. Holstein’s name had come up in conversation.

“What about Mrs. Holstein?” Emily asked.

“Emily, she was attacked last night,” Elizabeth said, just above a whisper. “Beat up by a couple of men in hoods.”

Emily gasped. “She WAS a witch!” The sheriff looked at Emily.

“A what?”

“A witch.”

Don’t dig any more holes, Emily, just hush up.

Emily began her description, while the sheriff interrupted her by saying, “Have you been talking with Mrs. Osbun?”

“Well, yes, she’s told me all about it.”

“Mrs. Osbun thinks everyone is a witch.”

“You don’t think she had anything to do with this, do you?” Peggy asked.

“No, these were strangers, Mrs. Holstein said, although she couldn’t see them. She could tell by their voices.”

“Then she is a witch?” Aunt Elizabeth said.

“Get that nonsense out of your heads. She was harboring runaway slaves, and my guess is an owner caught up with her. She shouldn’t have been holding someone else’s property, but I can’t fault her for doing it, because to my mind people shouldn’t be property.

“Still, I’ve got a crime and now a suspect, and a job to do,” the sheriff said.

“We will watch out from here,” Jacob said, and Sheriff Kelly readied to leave, after getting a more detailed description of the stranger.

After the sheriff left, the family just stood in the lane, watching him go.

“So your effigy worked,” Emily said to Elizabeth. Peggy and Jacob turned to Elizabeth with a “What is she talking about?” look.

Elizabeth paused. “I thought she was a witch. I’d heard that an effigy could stop a witch. I never thought…. I guess it worked.”

“It sure did work,” said Emily. “You are amazing Aunt Elizabeth.”

“Amazing?” Autumn blurted out. “Mrs. Holstein was helping slaves and now she might die and you think that is amazing? A lot of people could get hurt by your big mouth.”

The secret. Stop talking Autumn, or you’ll blow the secret.

Autumn took a deep breath. Everyone was just staring at her.

“Excuse me,” Autumn said. “I have to get back to my chores.”

And figure out a way to go tell Ermina and Mr. Day. By myself.

Peggy and Katherine decided to go tend to Mrs. Holstein. The girls all went back to the barn, but Amelia seemed rather shocked and Emily looked mad. They went about their tasks mostly in silence. Finally, Autumn just dropped her bucket and started out of the barn and down the path to the woods.

“I have to go see someone in town. Be back before noon. Don’t tell anyone unless you have to, and just tell them I’m fine,” she said. 

That’s not going to sit well with anyone. I’ll have to make something else up before I get home. This is getting complicated.

Autumn walked quickly, running some of the time, through the special path Isaac and Wolf Paw had made to the Day farm and then into town. It was shorter than taking the road into town, and certainly more private, but not necessarily easier, with all the hills and rocks and creeks and fallen trees that were in the way.

As she went, images were flying through her mind. The stranger, Mr. Day, the runaway, Grandmother Tallman, Mrs. Holstein, the hoods, slaves in her barn. Everything was swirling as she tried to figure what she would do next.

Why am I even going to Ermina’s? What am I going to tell them? What am I planning to do?

But then she knew.

I’m going to help the slaves escape.

Mr. Day already knew about the attack when Autumn arrived, and he seemed afraid for Autumn having run all the way to his house, but Autumn detected something good in his eyes when she told him about wanting to help. He looked at her for a long time.

“Why,” he asked finally.

“People are people,” Autumn said. “All of them. And this land is about freedom. People being free.”

“All right, meet us tomorrow morning just after morning chores and breakfast, at the farm, the storage building. We’ll make a delivery,” he said.

“During the day?” Autumn asked.

“It’s just some barrels and straw, a little produce and some chickens,” he said. “And a special package.”