Rally Cry by Forstchen William R

Author:Forstchen, William R.
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Spectrum Literary Agency, Inc.
Published: 2015-12-02T16:00:00+00:00

"All right, gentlemen," Andrew said, settling behind his desk. "This is an open meeting. I want all opinions."

The room was silent as the various company commanders, staff, and contingents from O'Donald's and Cromwell's units looked about, each hoping the other would say something first.

Finally it was O'Donald who stood up.

"If ever something needed killing," O'Donald said, "it's those beasties. I volunteered to fight rebs, and I did it gladly, wanting a good argument to sink my teeth into. But I didn't hate them. This is different. I'll kill Tugars and laugh while a-doin' it."

Several of the company commanders nodded grimly.

"I'm an abolitionist man," Houston said sharply. "I joined to fight slavery. This makes the Johnnies back home look like rock-solid Republicans. Let's smash this system to the ground, colonel, free the peasants, arm 'em, and fight!"

"I think it's madness," Tobias retorted from the other end of the table.

Normally any comment from the man would draw at best indifference from the infantry and artillerymen, but Andrew noticed that this time there was a difference in the room.

"Go on, Captain Cromwell," Andrew said evenly. "State your views."

"You heard that Kal fellow when we questioned him earlier. These Tugars number in the hundreds of thousands. We can fight and we'll all die. I'm not one for dying in a hopeless cause.

"Now, I've sailed the waters south of here. There's good land to be found, far away from this madhouse. I say we pull out while the pulling's good and hide out till the Tugars have passed."

"And if they hunt us down?" Andrew asked. "For I've got a feeling they can't let people like us live—it would set a precedent that could threaten their entire system."

"Then if they find us, we'll simply load up the Ogunquit again, pull out to sea, and move on. I don't think they've got anything to match the steam engines below her deck."

Tobias settled back into his chair and looked around. More than one man was nodding in agreement.

"So we learn to live like hunted dogs, is that it?" O'Donald snapped back. "Always looking over our shoulders, ready to run from our shadows."

"Not always," Tobias retorted. "You heard Kal—they stay for a winter in one area, then move on by spring heading east. Twenty years later they come back out of the west. We need hide only for this one year. When they come back again, we and our sons will be ready for them."

"And leave the people of Suzdal to the sack, is that it?" Mina retorted.

"What good could we do anyhow?" Tobias replied. "They are like cattle, just like the niggers back home who worked like cattle in the fields. If the niggers wanted their freedom so all-fired bad, why didn't they rebel when John Brown started it all? And it's the same with these lazy peasants."

"Last I heard," Andrew said slowly, "those men you call niggers had a hundred and eighty thousand brothers wearing Union blue. After the battle of the Crater I saw their bodies carpeting the field from one end to the other.

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