Before twelve o’clock the old Armory1 across the way was packed with hundreds of excited followers2 eager to fight. A bare hundred of them had permits to carry revolvers. A few had secured sticks of dynamite3 from builders. A hundred old muskets4 Vassar’s East Side Guard had used were there—but not a shell.
While they talked and raged in stunned5 amazement6 over the situation, a newsboy’s hoarse7 cry of extra startled the meeting. The morning papers had all gone to press before the blow had been struck.
“Get a paper—quick!” Vassar cried to Brodski, his district leader.
The familiar call of the two newsboys yelling from each side of the street could now be heard. This time their words were clearly heard above the din8.
“Wuxtra! Wuxtra!”
“New York City captured!”
“Proclamation of Prince Karl von Waldron!”
“Wuxtra! Wuxtra! Wuxtra!”
Brodski returned with copies of the Herald9, Tribune, Times, World, Sun, and Press.
Each had issued a morning extra.
On the front page, in double-leaded black-faced type, surmounted10 by an imperial coat-of-arms supporting a crown, the proclamation of the new Governor-General was printed:
TO THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED
STATES
Your Republic no longer exists. The invincible11 fleet of the Imperial Federation12 of Northern and Central Europe is now rapidly approaching New York. The transports which it guards bear the first division of the Imperial Army of Occupation, one hundred and fifty thousand strong.
The chief cities of the country have already surrendered to my garrisons13 of 200,000 veteran soldiers. Under my immediate14 command in Greater New York are 50,000 soldiers—25,000 infantry15 and cavalry16 and 25,000 men equipped with 8000 machine guns.
We are here to preserve order, guard your property and deliver the first city of America intact to the Commander-in-Chief of the approaching Imperial Army.
All saloons are ordered closed until opened by license17 of the new government. All assemblies in schools, churches, theaters, public halls or on the streets or parks are forbidden under penalty of death.
All persons found with firearms, explosives or weapons of any kind which might be used in war or for the purpose of rioting will be given until noon tomorrow to deposit the same in the Seventy-first Regiment18 Armory, Park Avenue and Thirty-fourth Street.
After that hour the penalty for any citizen, male or female, caught bearing arms, will be instant death and the confiscation19 of property.
All automobiles21, motor-cars, bicycles and horses are hereby proclaimed the property of the Imperial Government and it is forbidden under penalty of death for any person save a soldier in royal uniform to use them.
The railroads will be opened for traffic under Imperial control within forty-eight hours. No uneasiness need be felt, therefore, that your food supply will fail. The subways and surface lines will be ready for use within twenty-four hours.
All persons are ordered to resume their usual occupations tomorrow morning at daylight when the means of transportation have been restored.
Resistance of any kind will be absolutely futile22. The President of the United States and his entire Cabinet are prisoners of war, and your Capitol, duly guarded, is in my hands. Your fleet is in the Pacific, and I have destroyed the locks of the Panama Canal.
The Imperial Government earnestly desires that all bloodshed be avoided. We have the best interests of the people at heart. We will establish for the first time in your history a government worthy23 of this nation. My Imperial Master will treat all loyal subjects as his beloved children. His foes24 will be ground to dust beneath his feet. For these no quarter will be asked, none given.
I have already caused the arrest and imprisonment25 of two hundred well-known citizens to be held as hostages for your good behavior.
Your great churches, your municipal buildings and your big commercial houses have all been mined. At the first outbreak of rebellion, your hostages will be shot and your city reduced to ashes.
In the name of my Imperial Master I command the peace.
Prince Karl von Waldron,
Governor-General of the
Provinces of North America.
Vassar read this remarkable26 proclamation aloud amid a silence that was strangling.
He opened the papers and glanced at the editorial columns. It was as he feared.
A free press in America no longer existed.
Waldron was dictating27 every utterance28 from his tower on the heights of Manhattan.
Each paper earnestly appealed to all citizens to refrain from violence and make the best of their situation until intelligent advice could be given after a sufficient time had passed for reflection and conference with all parts of the nation.
Vassar mopped his brow and groaned29.
“Well, boys,” he began, “we must give them credit for doing a good job. They don’t bungle30, they don’t muddle31, they don’t leave anything to chance. They’ve got us for the moment. There’s but one thing to do, submit—”
“No!—No!” came the angry growl32.
Vassar smiled.
“Submit for the present, I was trying to tell you, until we can find the nucleus33 of an army to support. He didn’t mention our forts or our little army. They failed to get those forts from the rear and they’re intact. There are half a dozen battleships somewhere on the Atlantic side. The main fleet cannot reach us within a month. The Panama Canal has been blown up of course. But the ships that are here with two dozen efficient submarines and aeroplanes will be heard from before the army lands—”
“That’s the talk!” Benda cried. “We’re all Americans, signor!”
“Ya, gov’nor!” Schultz whispered. “This is my country now—I fight—if you’ll give me a gun.”
A boy of eighteen, smeared34 with dirt and mud, pushed his way into the crowd and thrust a note into Vassar’s hand.
“In God’s name, Billy!” the young leader cried. “What are you doing here?”
The boy saluted35.
“My duty, sir. When I heard what was happening I reported to General Hood36. I’m on secret dispatch work.”
Vassar gripped the boy’s hand, dropped it, tore the letter open, read it hastily, and turned to the crowd:
“Now men, listen! The forts are intact. General Wood appoints me on his staff, with the rank of colonel. He is establishing his headquarters at Southhampton, Long Island. The Pennsylvania has slipped to sea and is gathering37 our fleet. She has picked up wireless38 messages which leads her to believe that the landing will be made at that point. Our little fleet is getting ready for the fight. I want every man that can find a gun to hustle39 over to Jamaica. The army holds the Long Island Railroad from Jamaica. Trains are now waiting for you there.
“They can’t begin to enforce that proclamation until their army lands. The garrisons here will stick to the armories40 and their machine guns until reinforced—”
A suppressed cheer swept the crowd.
Vassar lifted his hand for silence.
“Now I want volunteers to take this order to every election district in New York—”
“Si—si, signor,” Benda cried. “Angela and my bambino—they go too. I play and shout for the Emperor. Angela she beat the tambourine41 and play for the soldiers. We get the word in the danger places, quick!”
“Good boy!” Vassar exclaimed. “I’ll send you where the others might fail—”
In rapid succession he sent his five hundred followers through the city bearing the whispered word to every district.
When the last man had hurried away he turned to Billy.
“Your sister and the children?”
“Virgina’s gone to a mountaineer’s cabin in the Adirondacks—left the night the Jubilee42 began—”
“No wonder she didn’t reply—“ Vassar muttered.
“She’ll be back here in double quick time, though, when she hears of this. You know Virginia’s got no commonsense—”
“And the kids?”
“I took Zonia and Marya over to our house. The old man and your father’s with them. They’ve a couple of shotguns and two revolvers. They’re all right.”
Vassar smiled grimly at the boy’s faith.
“Report to General Hood that I will reach Jamaica within six to eight hours and that he may expect twenty thousand men to be there before nine o’clock tonight. How’d you get here?”
“Hid my bicycle in Brooklyn and walked across the bridge.”
“I’ll follow suit. I know where I can put my hand on a good bicycle or two at the Athletic43 Club—”
Billy saluted and hurried on his mission.
At nine o’clock, the Jamaica terminal was jammed with forty thousand volunteers armed with every weapon conceivable, from a crowbar to a yacht cannon44. A sailor had actually smuggled45 an old brass46 saluting47 piece into a ramshackled automobile20 and gotten into the station with it. These relics48 from the ark were left in the basement of the terminal.
General Hood had succeeded in getting sixty thousand rifles from the Brooklyn Navy Yard, Governor’s Island, the Forts and one uncaptured armory in Brooklyn which the guns of the Pennsylvania had torn open and held until occupied by his troops.
All night the Volunteers from Brooklyn and New York streamed into Jamaica. Before daylight a hundred thousand men were struggling to board the trains for Southampton.
But fifty thousand were allowed to leave. There were no more guns. The remaining fifty thousand were held as reserves with such rude weapons as they possessed49. Guards were placed defending the approaches to Brooklyn and New York and a camp established for drilling and training the new recruits into the semblance50 of an army.
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1
armory
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| n.纹章，兵工厂，军械库 | |
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followers
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| 追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件 | |
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3
dynamite
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| n./vt.(用)炸药(爆破) | |
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muskets
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| n.火枪，（尤指）滑膛枪( musket的名词复数 ) | |
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5
stunned
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| adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词 | |
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6
amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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7
hoarse
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| adj.嘶哑的，沙哑的 | |
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8
din
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| n.喧闹声，嘈杂声 | |
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9
herald
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| vt.预示...的来临，预告，宣布，欢迎 | |
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10
surmounted
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| 战胜( surmount的过去式和过去分词 )； 克服（困难）； 居于…之上； 在…顶上 | |
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11
invincible
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| adj.不可征服的，难以制服的 | |
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12
federation
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| n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会 | |
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13
garrisons
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| 守备部队，卫戍部队( garrison的名词复数 ) | |
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14
immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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15
infantry
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| n.[总称]步兵(部队) | |
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16
cavalry
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| n.骑兵；轻装甲部队 | |
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17
license
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| n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许 | |
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18
regiment
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| n.团，多数，管理；v.组织，编成团，统制 | |
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19
confiscation
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| n. 没收, 充公, 征收 | |
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20
automobile
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| n.汽车，机动车 | |
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21
automobiles
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| n.汽车( automobile的名词复数 ) | |
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22
futile
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| adj.无效的，无用的，无希望的 | |
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23
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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24
foes
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| 敌人，仇敌( foe的名词复数 ) | |
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25
imprisonment
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| n.关押，监禁，坐牢 | |
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26
remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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27
dictating
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| v.大声讲或读( dictate的现在分词 )；口授；支配；摆布 | |
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28
utterance
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| n.用言语表达，话语，言语 | |
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29
groaned
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| v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦 | |
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30
bungle
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| v.搞糟；n.拙劣的工作 | |
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31
muddle
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| n.困惑，混浊状态；vt.使混乱，使糊涂，使惊呆；vi.胡乱应付，混乱 | |
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32
growl
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| v.（狗等）嗥叫，（炮等）轰鸣；n.嗥叫，轰鸣 | |
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33
nucleus
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| n.核，核心，原子核 | |
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34
smeared
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| 弄脏； 玷污； 涂抹； 擦上 | |
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35
saluted
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| v.欢迎，致敬( salute的过去式和过去分词 )；赞扬，赞颂 | |
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36
hood
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| n.头巾，兜帽，覆盖；v.罩上，以头巾覆盖 | |
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37
gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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38
wireless
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| adj.无线的；n.无线电 | |
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39
hustle
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| v.推搡；竭力兜售或获取；催促；n.奔忙(碌) | |
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40
armories
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| n.纹章( armory的名词复数 )；纹章学；兵工厂；军械库 | |
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41
tambourine
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| n.铃鼓，手鼓 | |
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42
jubilee
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| n.周年纪念；欢乐 | |
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43
athletic
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| adj.擅长运动的，强健的；活跃的，体格健壮的 | |
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44
cannon
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| n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮 | |
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45
smuggled
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| 水货 | |
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46
brass
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| n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器 | |
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47
saluting
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| v.欢迎，致敬( salute的现在分词 )；赞扬，赞颂 | |
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48
relics
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| [pl.］n.遗物，遗迹，遗产；遗体，尸骸 | |
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49
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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50
semblance
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| n.外貌，外表 | |
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