Steven never even knew there had been a Texas branch of the Underground Railroad until the other men at Lone Star Blasting started whispering about the Russell mansion.
Old man Russell, they said, had built his house high on a hill at the edge of town with a special purpose in mind -- hiding slaves and helping them escape into Mexico.
Part of the house’s design included hidden tunnels that began under the front porch or inside the house and spilled out into the open country at the back of the property.
And, well, tunnels ran both ways.
Of course, there were also stories about ghosts, mostly of slaves who had met their demise in the tunnels and came back to either protect the house or seek revenge on their murderers.
Steven didn’t put much stock in that sort of talk, but the other part ...
What if Steven could find a passage and make his way into the house while Russell was traveling? Why, the treasures inside might set him up for life!
And so it was that Steven found himself behind Russell’s mansion on a starry autumn night, shovel and scythe in hand.
At first, there was no sign of an entrance of any sort into the hill. But after a few minutes of hacking and prodding, Steven’s shovel struck something hard, and he brushed away the dirt and roots to reveal an iron door.
The old hinges creaked as Steven pried the gate open and slipped inside.
He lit his lantern and started down the dark tunnel.
When he was a few feet in, the gate groaned again behind him, and then slammed shut.
From the murkiness in front of him, a whisper growled: “You got no business in Mr. Russell’s house!”.
And then … the lantern went dark.
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