17
EXPERIENCES IN THE LIFE OF A SLAVE GIRL BY TRINITY GIDDINGS
Liverpool, England, November, 1863.
Caught my breath as Soldier-boy started wading across that stream.
Minded me of my journey down the Great Pee Dee River. Very different situation, but it was like this: folk place themselves at hazard crossing water, so they need a powerful strong purpose. The nature of Soldier-boy’s purpose was another matter, though revelation would come all too soon.
Though the stream was not more than ten yards wide, it churned white through rocky shallows, turning glassy-still where the riverbed shelved into steep trenches.
Deeper he went, until the water was up to his knees. Must have been powerful cold. Slippery too. One part of me hoped he’d take an embarrassing tumble, another prayed he wouldn’
