A Ride on the Underground Railroad

After returning home upon completion of their first time trip, Zammie and Kyla are eager to travel back in time again. On this second voyage they arrive in Maryland in the cold December of 1850, eleven years prior to the U.S. Civil War. Their journey exposes them firsthand to many of the drudges of slavery: the auction block, the whippings, and a difficult escape from captivity along the famed Underground Railroad.

The two cousins meet a young Harriet Tubman who has decided to help lead other fugitive slaves towards the free state of Pennsylvania for the first time. This group includes three of Harriet's brothers plus one of their wives and a young infant. Along their trek they must outwit Bloodhounds, find safe harbors for food and shelter in the wilderness, and avoid a cold-blooded bounty hunter who is relentlessly tracking after them.

The story is a balanced mix of dramatic narrative and historical context. The reader will gain a much better understanding of the plight of runaway slaves along the Mid-Atlantic States both from the perspective of their immediate needs of food, shelter, and safety, and the bigger picture regarding the U.S. legal environment and the differing attitudes of the free population in the years leading up to the Civil War.