[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
hostilities ended, torn by his loyalty to the Papacy and sympathetic to
Garibaldi's cry for freedom, he had turned his back on both of them and had
emigrated to theUnited States , where he had enlisted in the American army.
The Officers' Mess was in a sturdy building that had been a farmhouse
standing on the grounds where the Irish Brigade now pitched their tents. When
Meagher and Clooney came through the front door they discovered that the
meeting of the other officers was already under way when they arrived. It was
the first Sunday of the month when all of the members of theFenian Officers'
Circle met together. This was the focal point of the revolutionary group in
the army that supported theFenian movement inIreland . Men who were dedicated
to the liberation ofIreland from British rule. But today they had another
problem to consider. CaptainO'Riley called out as they entered.
"Tell us, Francis, is the rumor true that we are to have new uniforms?"
"Not a rumor but a fact, my old son," Meagher said. "It's the new recruits
you see. During the war we were a Northern regiment and proudly wore the blue
of our country. Now that the war is over we are no longer just a regiment, but
have grown to be a brigade. Lots of good soldiers have joined us from what was
the Southern army and the mixture of uniforms in our ranks has been something
wicked to see. The War Department, in its wisdom, has been considering uniform
changes for some time. In the new kind of war that we are fighting, with new
and more accurate guns, a more neutral sort of color of the uniform is very
much in order. We have all seen what lovely targets the red British uniforms
provide!"
There were shouts of"hear, hear" and some wild whistling. Meagher held up his
hands for silence.
"Khaki, a sort of grayish brown, has been chosen. It may look a bit like mud,
which is not a bad idea when you are lying down in the stuff. I, for one, am
in favor of it. Anything that does not make a soldier stand out in the
battlefield is a good thing. Of course we will keep our dress uniforms for
important occasions, and dances and suchlike."
"When do we get our mud duds?" someone called out.
"A week or two. They'll let us know."
The door slammed open and Captain JohnGossen came in. His expression was
black, his mien angry when he hurled his coat onto a chair.
"Betrayal!" he said as he glowered around at the other officers.
The usual air of good cheer and friendliness seemed to vanish in an instant.
"What's wrong?" Meagher asked.
Page 30
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
"Death and betrayal," Captain JohnGossen said bitterly, his manner now so
different from his usual lively self. He had served previously with the
Seventh Hussars of Austria, a dashing Hungarian regiment. "That miserable
schoolmaster, Nagle, is in the pay of the British.Luby , O'Leary andRossa have
been arrested. TheIrish People suppressed." He was talking about theFenians
inIreland , and their official newspaper.
"They never!" Meagher cried aloud.
"They did," W.L.D. O'Grady said darkly. "I heard the same news myself, but I
couldn't believe it. I'll believe anything about the English. I know the
bastards. They'll try them in a kangaroo court then shoot them." He did know
the English very well, having once served in the Royal Marines.
"Is there nothing we can do?" Clooney asked.
"Little enough," Meagher said, chewing over the bad news. "Send them
money they'll need it for lawyers if there is a trial. And we will have to
find a way to reorganize from the ground up. Our newspaper is suppressed,
everyone taken I imagine or on the run. If there is one informer in the
organization there are bound to be others. Betrayal is in the air."
"Aye and right here inAmerica , inNew York City as well," O'Grady said. "Red
JimMacDermot , him with the flaming beard, there is good reason to consider
him an informer as well. Yet JohnO'Mahony who runs the office won't hear a
word said about him. But I have had a letter, from someone I can trust, that
says he was seen coming out of the British Consul's office."
"I believe it," Meagher said, "but you'll never sell it toO'Mahony . Which
means as long as he runs theNew York office of theFenians , the British will
know everything that we do. Which means in turn that we must find a better way
to further the cause. The first precaution must be to separate ourFenian
Officers' Circle here from the group inIreland . There is no other way. With
all of the leaders now captured we have a body without a head. I feel that we
must start again from scratch. We must forget all of them. We'll draw on the
Irish-American community here for money. There will be no more recruiting
inIreland , for it seems we have recruited as many informers as we have loyal
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]