Never Sleep by Fred Van Lente

Author:Fred Van Lente
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
Published: 2023-01-23T20:25:46+00:00

The Prophet let out a long sigh, worthy of Atlas. Hattie knew his black gaze could not see the National Volunteers drilling that Sunday afternoon in a wooded area of Mariner Point, where the train tracks spanned Gunpowder River Bridge. She had been summoned by Mr. Tobias at midday in his cart to serve as the Prophet’s eyes, and what she saw so far of his militia wouldn’t strike fear into a Rhode Island schoolmarm. She stood, while the Prophet sat on a pile of wooden tile.

“Tell me, Mrs. Wilson,” the Prophet grunted, “what do you see? How does my militia look?”

She considered saying something supportive yet untrue, but intuited that the Prophet would likely be infuriated by deception. “Has anyone taught them their right from their left?”

He sighed again. “Thank God we will not require the discipline of a proper army to overthrow the oppressor. Just enough coordination will be . . . just enough. He is weak, you see, our enemy. The right blow, landed in the right extremity, will unseat him.”

“Lincoln, you mean?”

His nose wrinkled in disapproval. “It is a mistake, Mrs. Wilson, to focus, as too many in our Cause do, on the living or dying of one man. Lincoln is but the barker for an entire carnival of whores. It is through our own neglect such people have flourished. But it is never too late to weed one’s garden.”

She winced sympathetically as two columns of National Volunteers somehow managed to turn and march into each other. Curses and tangled legs ensued.

Mr. Dawson was in the rear of one of the lines and caught her eye. He broke into a wide grin that she made sure not to return. He had yet to comment on her ascension to the Prophet’s lady-in-waiting, but now, at least, she had received some glimmer of approval. The whole operation, as far as she could tell, couldn’t be going more splendidly. She noted the continued absence of the Prophet’s other helpmate, the one-armed Jeremiah, from the parade ground. She had asked Tobias about him and been told he had accompanied the Corsican, Ferrandina, to Baltimore City to assist the urban front of the resistance.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.