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Steam roiled from the idling locomotive, waiting to leave Alabama. While passengers huddled on the platform, August fulfilled her promise of a sweltering farewell. The wood-sided, faded train station looked tired in the sweltering sun as The Bradley family climbed aboard. Robert sat by the window, surrounded by his seven siblings. Each wore an array of expressions, from expectation to fear. His family had never come close to boarding a train before, let alone riding one from Alabama to Michigan. Robert’s younger sister, Sarah, hid her face in her mother’s arm and wept. “Hush!” His father barked. “Not a sound.” “Harley?” His mother whispered. “Ain’t Mr. Cunningham gonna’ come after us for runnin’ out on our contract?” “That man will never find us, ‘specially out of state,” he said. “But som’a what you sold t’get these tickets was his,” she whispered. “That’s stealin’, and some of it was pretty ‘spensive.” Harley hissed back, “That man was neva’ fair on the deal we struck. Anythin’ I sold, and any cash I took was due me. ‘Specially for the likes a’ his kind.” “I’m just worried,” she said. “Worryin’ ’bout nothing,” he said. Robert touched his bruised cheek, his hand wrapped in a makeshift bandage. He took some pride in that his father also wore bruises from their fight. Having worked with his father in the fields for two years, Robert was strong enough to fight back. When each child reached the age of ten, they toiled alongside their father. Of the eight children, five boys and three girls, Robert stood tallest of his siblings. His younger brother, Matthew, was already proving to be a large specimen, even at the tender age of four. Matthew and his twin sister, Sarah, would be the only members of the brood to escape cotton-picking. “But what about the law?” His mother asked. “I didn’t do nuthin’ that any God-fearin’ man wouldn’t do to protect his family. Dammit, Liz, I said to shut the hell up about that. They ain’t gonna come up North ’bout anythin’ like that. Stop yer fussin’.” Elizabeth knew better than to push, so she set a tight lip and prayed the train would hurry up and leave. “Daddy?” Sarah asked quietly. “When we goin?” “When the train’s good an’ ready. You best be happy we ain’t drivin’ north like them other fools. Two days on the road to Detroit with a buncha’ screamin’ kids. No suh.”