“Who is your leader?”
“A great man, sir, known in New York as Charles Waldron. The Emperor in command of the forces of United Europe has been informed already by wireless that America is in his hands. Tomorrow morning this leader’s name will be Prince Karl von Waldron, Governor-General of the Imperial Provinces of North America.”
“So?”
“I advise you, Captain, to make the best terms you can with your new master.”
“Thank you,” was the dry reply.
The Captain dispatched a launch to Governor’s Island reporting to General Hood the remarkable information he had received. His guns had already roused the garrison. The launch met General Hood’s at the mouth of the basin.
The two men clasped hands in silence on the deck of the Pennsylvania.
“The first blow, a thunderbolt from the blue, General—without a declaration—”
“A blow below the belt too—a slave insurrection is honorable war compared to the treachery that would thus abuse our hospitality!”
They tried the telephones and telegraph stations in vain. A council of war was called and through the grim hours from two A. M. until dawn they sat in solemn session.