Levi  Coffin  had  become  so  noted  as  a  friend  of  the
slave,  that  whenever  a  fugitive  could  be  traced  into  his
vicinity,  it  was  considered  that  his  house  was  the  re
treat  necessary  to  be  searched.  At  one  time,  while  they
lived  in  Indiana,  two  little  girls  were  brought  to  them
and  were  pursued.  There  was  always  a  watch  kept,  a
picket-guard,  and  no  unfriendly  eye  could  look  through
the  line  without  an  alarm.  The  pickets  gave  the  sig
nal,  and  the  girls  were  hidden  between  a  feather  bed
and  a  mattress.  While  the  pursuers  were  watching  the
house,  the  little  fugitives  were  so  amused  at  their  queer
hiding-place,  that  they  giggled  and  laughed  so  loud,  it
would  have  been  quite  dangerous  had  their  master
come  near.  Mrs.  Coffin  had  to  scold  them  severely,
threatening  them  with  a  stick.  The  master  with  his
assistant  finally  came  and  asked  permission  to  look
through  the  house,  which  they  did,  finding  nothing  of
the  girls.  "Aunt  Katie"  was  their  pilot,  directing  them
everywhere  through  the  house.
62  HOW  "THE    WAY"    WAS  PREPARED.
"Here,  thee  has  not  seen  in  this  room.  Thee  wants
to  look  sharp.  Is  there  any  other  place  thee  wants  to
see?"

After  they  had  given  up  the  hunt  in  despair,  the
master  said:

"I'd  like  to  know  where  all  the  niggers  go  to,  when
they  get  to  old  Coffin's.  That  old  Quaker  must  have  an
underground  railroad,  for  once  a  slave  gets  here,  he
is  never  seen  again."

Previous  to  1849,  Levi  had  been  twice  or  three
times  burned  out,  his  home  set  on  fire  by  the  slave
holder  or  his  emissaries,  and  he  had  now  settled  perma
nently  in  Cincinnati.
