So little children speak, and fools, and gods!
For a moment there was silence in the cave. Then Douglass got up, striking his head against the low wall. He did not heed the blow, but took John Brown by the arm.
“Come outside, Captain Brown,” he said. “Let’s talk outside. I—I can’t breathe in here!”
And so they faced each other in the open. Night in the mountains, stars over their heads, and stark, jagged rocks white in the shadows.
“You can’t do it, John Brown!” Douglass’ voice was strained. “You would be attacking an arsenal of the United States—This is war against the federal government. The whole country would be arrayed against us!”
“You do not understand, Douglass. We’re not going to kill anybody. There are only a handful of soldiers guarding that ferry. We’ll merely make them prisoners, hold them until we take the arms and get up into the mountains. Of course, there’ll be a great outcry. But all the better. The slaves will hear of it. They’ll know we’re in the mountains, and they’ll flock to us.”
“Do you really believe this, John Brown? Do you really believe you can take a fort so easily?”
A hard note had come again into the old man’s voice.
“Am I concerned with ease, Frederick Douglass? What is this you are saying? Our mission is to free the slaves! This is the plan!”
“There was no such plan,” Douglass interposed hotly. “You said that fighting would only be in self-defense. This is an attack!”