It's Halloween in 1860, wolves are howling, and bats are flying across the face of the moon. Eleven-year-old Bird and his twin brother are on a Butterfield stage headed across the Red River into Texas. Even though their father is the driver, the next several miles will be scary. Night has fallen, and the dark woods may be full of spooks, ghost bells, glowing tombstones, headless horsemen, wandering spirits, and forked-tail terrors.
When the brothers meet up with Zeb, an enslaved boy, they face the woods' chilling possibilities as they set out for buried treasure that could buy Zeb his freedom. Even if they find it, who would drive the stagecoach if no one else is able? What would happen if the stage escaped the woods, only to get caught in a buffalo stampede? And what would the boys do if they learn that the treasure was stolen from hardworking folks?
Even as the three boys forge a friendship, Bird grapples with a central question: Why can't he and Zeb just be boys around one other? Instead, adults require Zeb to call him Massa Bird, an example of the deference an enslaved person is expected to pay even a fellow youngster.
A closing chapter tells the history and folklore (personally collected by the author) behind the story and suggests books for further reading.
