"

The old man's eyes shone with the set stare of a fanatic.

"And you think the South is ready for this wild vision?"

"Not ready, but helpless to resist. As a cold-blooded, scientific
experiment, I mean to give the Black Man one turn at the Wheel of Life. It
is an act of just retribution. Besides, in my plans I need his vote; and
that settles it."

"But will your plans work? Your own reports show serious trouble in the
South already."

Stoneman laughed.

"I never read my own reports. They are printed in molasses to catch flies.
The Southern legislatures played into my hands by copying the laws of New
England relating to Servants, Masters, Apprentices, and Vagrants. But even
these were repealed at the first breath of criticism. Neither the
Freedman's Bureau nor the army has ever loosed its grip on the throat of
the South for a moment. These disturbances and 'atrocities' are dangerous
only when printed on campaign fly-paper."

"And how will you master and control these ten great Southern States?"

"Through my Reconstruction Acts by means of the Union League. As a secret
between us, I am the soul of this order. I organized it in 1863 to secure
my plan of confiscation. We pressed it on Lincoln. He repudiated it. We
nominated Fremont at Cleveland against Lincoln in '64, and tried to split
the party or force Lincoln to retire. Fremont, a conceited ass, went back
on this plank in our platform, and we dropped him and helped elect Lincoln
again."

"I thought the Union League a patriotic and social organization?" said the
doctor in surprise.

"It has these features, but its sole aim as a secret order is to
confiscate the property of the South. I will perfect this mighty
organization until every negro stands drilled in serried line beneath its
banners, send a solid delegation here to do my bidding, and return at the
end of two years with a majority so overwhelming that my word will be law.
I will pass my Confiscation Bill. If Ulysses S. Grant, the coming idol,
falters, my second bill of Impeachment will only need the change of a
name."

The doctor shook his head.

"Give up this madness. Your life is hanging by a thread. The Southern
people even in their despair will never drink this black broth you are
pressing to their lips."

"They've got to drink it."

"Your decision is unalterable?"

"Absolutely. It's the breath I breathe. As my physician you may select the
place to which I shall be banished. It must be r