Portrait of Annabelle
by
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She stood on the riverbank, the only sound the murmugr of the running river. In the darkness, she recalled the editor's words, 'They will come from the southwest. You will not hear them coming, and they will be on you in an instant. You will make your way along the river to
He had taken them out on the riverbank at dusk, and shown them two white birch trees, that the rowers will aim for. 'They may well beach the dory beyond that target.'
She shivered against the cold and pulled the wollen cap over her ears. At Robert Gardner's orders, she had wrapped her braids around her head, wore close-fitting trousers and moccasins for her feet. 'No sounds can we afford from shoes or loose garments flapping, or gettind caught against branches.'
She was staring at the river when she sensed a slight movement by her side. Turning, she found a giant of a man looming over her. Startled, she started to cry out, when a massive hand closed over her mouth. "Shh," the giant whispered in her ear. releasing his paw.
Two more figures appeared as silently as their leader, gathering around Annabelle and Martin.
The leader glared at her. "What is dis all abou? Ise suppose' to turn dis man ober' to a woman an' a white man? Dat man come too far fo' dis'," he said, pointing to an emaciated-looking man. She felt his fury rising, and tried to swallow.
Ignoring Martin, he placed his face up againstgg hers, his foul breath .
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About the Book
Annabelle Pinkham, a young, Free Negro in the early 1800s is tormented by the knowledge that many of her "brothers and sisters" are bound in slavery. A gifted artist, she leaves the security of her Nantucket home for a school in
With compassion, courage, and perserverance, she pursues this path. From a terrifying encounter In Washington while sketching slaves building the nation's Capitol to escorting slaves to freedom through the mountains of
In the conclusion, faced with a major reversal experienced by the movement, she vows to continue her work.
About the Author
He has lived a full life, a life of caring about those who were often at"the"bottom of the rung." A retired social worker, he has continued to practice this concern through voulunteering.
Writing has always been a passion of his, and he has shown his commitment to social justice in three unpublished short stories.
His favorite work is the story of his wife's life written for two granddaughters who will never know their "lola", who was a Filipina, and who died before the older girl was three. He wrote it in a vignette form so that his granddaughters could "see" her as she lived.