A TRAITOR"S RUSE
The old Governor had made a correct guess on the line of action his little Scalawag successor in high office would take when confronted by the crisis of the morning.
The Clansmen had left the two beams projecting through the windows of the north and south wings of the Capitol. A hangman"s noose swung from each beam"s end.
When His Excellency drove into town next morning and received the news of the startling events of the night, he ordered a double guard of troops for his office and another for his house.
Old Governor Carteret called at ten o"clock and was ushered immediately into the executive office. No more striking contrast could be imagined between two men of equal stature. Their weight and height were almost the same, yet they seemed to belong to different races of men. The Scalawag official hurried to meet his distinguished caller--a man whose administration thirty years ago was famous in the annals of the state.
The acting Governor seemed a pigmy beside his venerable predecessor. The only prominent feature of the Scalawag"s face was his nose. Its size should have symbolized strength, yet it didn"t. It seemed to project straight in front in a way that looked ridiculous--as if some one had caught it with a pair of tongs, tweaked and pulled it out to an unusual length. It was elongated but not impressive. His mouth was weak, his chin small and retreating and his watery ferret eyes never looked any one straight in the face. The front of his head was bald and sloped backward at an angle. His hair was worn in long, thin, straight locks which he combed often in a vain effort to look the typical long-haired Southern gentleman of the old school.
His black broadcloth suit with a velvet collar and cuffs fitted his slight figure to perfection and yet failed to be impressive. The failure was doubtless due to his curious way of walking about a room. Sometimes sideways like a crab or a crawfish, and when he sought to be impressive, straight forward with an obvious jerk and an effort to appear dignified.
He was the kind of a man an old-fashioned negro, born and bred in the homes of the aristocratic regime of slavery, would always laugh at. His attempt to be a gentleman was so obvious a fraud it could deceive no one.
"I am honored, Governor Carteret, by your call this morning," he cried with forced politeness. "I need the advice of our wisest men. I appreciate your coming."
The old Governor studied the Scalawag for a moment calmly and said:
"Thank you."
When shown to his seat the older man walked with the unconscious dignity of a man born to rule, the lines of his patrician face seemed cut from a cameo in contrast with the rambling nondescript features of the person who walked with a shuffle beside him. It required no second glance at the clean ruffled shirt with its tiny gold studs, the black string tie, the polished boots and gold-headed cane to recognize the real gentleman of the old school. And no man ever looked a second time at his Roman nose and ma.s.sive chin and doubted for a moment that he saw a man of power, of iron will and fierce pa.s.sions.
"I have called this morning, Governor," the older man began with sharp emphasis, "to advise you to revoke at once your proclamation suspending the _writ_ of _habeas corpus_. Your act was a blunder--a colossal blunder! We are not living in the Dark Ages, sir--even if you were elected by a negro const.i.tuency! Your act is four hundred years out of date in the English-speaking world."
The Scalawag began his answer by wringing his slippery hands:
"I realize, Governor Carteret, the gravity of my act. Yet grave dangers call for grave remedies. You see from the news this morning the condition of turmoil into which reckless men have plunged the state."
The old man rose, crossed the room and confronted the Scalawag, his eyes blazing, his uplifted hand trembling with pa.s.sion:
"The breed of men with whom you are fooling have not submitted to such an act of tyranny from their rulers for the past three hundred years. Your effort to set the negro up as the ruler of the white race is the act of a madman. Revoke your order to-day or the men who opened that jail last night will hang you----"
The Governor laughed lamely:
"A cheap bluff, sir, a schoolboy"s threat!"
The older man drew closer:
"A cheap bluff, eh? Well, when you say your prayers to-night, don"t forget to thank your Maker for two things--that He sent a storm yesterday that made Buffalo creek impa.s.sable and that I reached its banks in time!"
The little Scalawag paled and his voice was scarcely a whisper:
"Why--why, what do you mean?"
"That I reached the ford in time to stop a hundred desperate men who were standing there in the dark waiting for its waters to fall that they might cross and hang you from that beam"s end you call a cheap bluff! That I stood there in the moonlight with my arm around their leader for nearly an hour begging, praying, pleading for your d.a.m.ned worthless life! They gave it to me at last because I asked it. No other man could have saved you.
Your life is mine to-day! But for my solemn promise to those men that you would revoke that order your body would be swinging at this moment from the Capitol window--will you make good my promise?"
"I"ll--I"ll consider it," was the waning answer.
"Yes or no?"
"I"ll think it over, Governor Carteret--I"ll think it over," the trembling voice repeated. "I must consult my friends----"
"I won"t take that answer!" the old man thundered in his face. "Revoke that proclamation here and now, or, by the Lord G.o.d, I"ll send a message to those men that"ll swing you from the gallows before the sun rises to-morrow morning!"
"I"ve got my troops----"
"A h.e.l.l of a lot of troops they are! Where were they last night--the loafing, drunken cowards? You can"t get enough troops in this town to save you. Revoke that proclamation or take your chances!"
The old Governor seized his hat and walked calmly toward the door. The Scalawag trembled, and finally said:
"I"ll take your advice, sir--wait a moment until I write the order."
The room was still for five minutes, save for the scratch of the Governor"s pen, as he wrote his second famous proclamation, restoring the civil rights of the people. He signed and sealed the doc.u.ment and handed it to his waiting guest:
"Is that satisfactory?"
The old man adjusted his gla.s.ses, read each word carefully, and replied with dignity:
"Perfectly--good morning!"
The white head erect, the visitor left the executive chamber without a glance at the man he despised.
The Governor had given his word, signed and sealed his solemn proclamation, but he proved himself a traitor to the last.
With the advice of his confederates he made a last desperate effort to gain his end of holding the leaders of the opposition party in jail by a quick shift of method. He wired orders to every jailer to hold the men until warrants were issued for their arrest by one of his negro magistrates in each county and wired instructions to the clerk of the court to admit none of them to bail no matter what amount offered.
The charges on which these warrants were issued were, in the main, preposterous perjuries by the hirelings of the Governor. There was no expectation that they would be proven in court. But if they could hold these prisoners until the election was over the little Scalawag believed the Klan could be thus intimidated in each district and the negro ticket triumphantly elected.
The Governor was explicit in his instructions to the clerk of the court in the Capital county that under no conceivable circ.u.mstances should he accept bail for the editor of the _Eagle and Phoenix_.
The Governor"s proclamation was issued at noon and within an hour a deputy sheriff appeared at Norton"s office and served his warrant charging the preposterous crime of "Treason and Conspiracy" against the state government.
Norton"s hundred picked men were already lounging in the Court House Square. When the deputy appeared with his prisoner they quietly closed in around him and entered the clerk"s room in a body. The clerk was dumfounded at the sudden packing of his place with quiet, sullen looking, armed men.
Their revolvers were in front and the men were nervously fingering the handles.
The clerk had been ordered by the Governor under no circ.u.mstances to accept bail, and he had promised with alacrity to obey. But he changed his mind at the sight of those revolvers. Not a word was spoken by the men and the silence was oppressive. The frightened official mopped his brow and tried to leave for a moment to communicate with the Capitol. He found it impossible to move from his desk. The men were jammed around him in an impenetrable ma.s.s. He looked over the crowd in vain for a friendly face.
Even the deputy who had made the arrest had been jostled out of the room and couldn"t get back.
The editor looked at the clerk steadily for a moment and quietly asked:
"What amount of bail do you require?"
The officer smiled wanly:
"Oh, major, it"s just a formality with you, sir; a mere nominal sum of $500 will be all right."