From his perch in the upper branches of the cherry tree, Timothy Blaine watched his mother curiously. Why should she be carrying food out to the shed? Come to think of it, a lot of peculiar things had been happening lately. What were all those strange noises he kept hearing in the middle of the night—the creaking boards, the scratching on the windowpanes?

That night Timothy discovered the answer to the mystery. His parents were hiding runaway slaves! And he was very proud when they asked him and his friend Jake Dunning to join in the exciting work of running a "station" on the Underground Railroad.

In helping fugitive slaves make the dangerous trip from Buffalo to Canada, the two boys learned to endure nerve-racking waits. They had to be quick-witted, resourceful and tight-mouthed, for they were risking the reputation—and even the lives—of their families.

Ruth Fosdick Jones is unusually well qualified to write this dramatic story. Her own grandfather and grandmother, living in Buffalo in the years before the Civil War, helped many runaway slaves to escape to freedom in Canada. Mrs. Jones has used their true adventures—as well as those of their friends—as the basis for the thrilling events in ESCAPE TO FREEDOM.

From the dust jacket