| I.4.039 |
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Early in the morning the Quartermaster came bustling from his office with a set of keys
while Bluemud, now wearing a Pastors vestments, stood by the jailhouse door stamping
his feet impatiently. 'Come on, man hurry up!' 'Coming sir, Mr. Bluemud, sir, coming.' While the Quartermaster went inside Bluemud went to the corner of the main street and peered around. Two Army officers were standing watching the peasants of Hadley Bridge file into the waiting area. These men were not Battlemasters and, as far as he knew they were the only two representatives of the Army at the Center. Eldridge Bluemud was an Entrepreneur: the owner of an illegal coal mine. His purpose at Collecting Center #55 was recruitment. He was looking for men and women to work in his mine and on the adjacent farmland. The Quartermaster appeared with Carl at the jailhouse door. 'Let's get moving, Corporal! No time to waste! Follow me and stay close to the wall.' Carl, Bluemud and the Quartermaster crossed the opening of the main street quickly and followed the transit shed wall. They were heading by a shorter route towards the same exit from the square that Carl had earlier used. Besides teaching them to play poker, Bluemud had bribed almost every employee of the railroad and the Collecting Center. He required no money to accomplish this. For a man such as he the means were present in every Collecting Center. Cigars, for instance, had not been manufactured anywhere in the world for two hundred years. The cigars Bluemud was being free with were three hundred year old Havanas. It took only status and the correct key to order the Quartermaster to check his records and fetch them. Ordered in the morning they were thawed and available in almost mint condition by evening. The Quartermaster had gladly accepted one though he preferred meat as a bribe which he would only get if Bluemud achieved his purpose. Upon reaching the entrance to the square the Quartermaster left them and Bluemud and Carl climbed the barrier. Instantly, Bluemud was assailed by the stench and hysteria of the masses. His appearance caused consternation. His presence was like a magnet. People crowded round, keeping a respectful distance but hemming him in. 'The Brigade of Hadley Bridge go now to registration in the main street,' blared a loudspeaker above his head. Bluemud began to perspire freely. He was terrified the Army's attention would be drawn to something unusual. Composing himself he spoke with the authority of his race: 'Good people, stand aside and let me pass. If you are from Hadley Bridge you must go now and register at the barricade.' His words had the desired effect though he had to repeat them frequently as they passed up the main street towards the forest. Observing the calming effect the Pastor's words had upon the people Carl thought that there might be something he could do with this Pastor by his side to alleviate their evident distress. But he could think of nothing and soon they had left the Collecting Center and were walking up the road that climbed the valley's side. Bluemud's objective when he set out from home was to recruit as many as five hundred people, preferably skilled, preferably in equal numbers of either sex. Still, a Company of the 'Men Apart' had perhaps less skills but should be trainable and by all accounts there were more of them than his wildest dreams. He had high hopes but, by the time they reached the hilltop an hour had passed and he was sick with worry they would not be there. Then, suddenly, there was Ursus, seated by the roadside chatting away to the seekers Andrews and Cullen and Billy Parsons and his wife Betty, the now much older barmaid from the inn of long ago; and Sister Helen with little Alice Franklin by her side. In all, over nine hundred persons emerged from the woodland bordering the road and gathered to hear the Pastor loud authoritative voice: 'People of Dentonsville! My name is Mr. Bluemud. Your Corporal here has informed me of your plight and I have come with him to help you. You must trust me and listen to me carefully. We will go back down the hill and into the square. You must all follow me and stay together. Pay no attention to anything you hear or see or anything that anyone says to you. Just follow me. Tell no-one where you're going and I will save you from the War!' Following Carl's lead the Company set off without question. As they proceeded Bluemud grew increasingly concerned over the potential for the dissipation of his new-found wealth in the crowds that lay ahead. He made a quick mental estimate of the likely fallout. Perhaps a third, he reckoned. Must be sure they all can see me. 'Corporal!' he shouted, 'get back to the rear. Make sure there are no stragglers.' By now Bluemud's words had caused some anxiety in the ranks. The Sister was especially concerned. Save them from the War - did that mean not to fight? Had the Pastor forgotten God's words? Use to dealing with Pastors she caught up with him. 'Pastor, doesn't God love those who love the things He loves the best?' 'Eh? What's that?' 'And isn't the best way to gain God's love to die in His service fighting for the things He loves the best?' Bluemud looked at the Sister and the other worried faces that surrounded him. They were already close to the pandemonium of the main street. 'God!' he thought. He held up his hand to stop their forward progress. 'Good people of Dentonsville. This lady is right!' he shouted. 'Say it again, Miss er... ' 'The surest way to gain God's love is to die in His service, fighting for the things He loves the best,' shouted Sister Helen proudly, thrilled she had been asked. 'Right! Well said! Yes... but there are many ways to die and many ways to fight!' Bluemud was thinking hard. 'God has sent me to you. He has sent me to lead you away from here. You, and you alone, people of Dentonsville have been chosen!' There was a murmur through the crowd. Even the most cynical hunters were impressed. 'But yours will be no easy path. Not the simple way of going to the battlefield to die quickly with little pain. No! I bring you the harder way: full of sacrifice and torment! You will live longer but you will die harder and God will look down on you with gratitude and, in the end He will love you twice as much!' Eldridge Bluemud smiled enthusiastically and holding his arms high to silence the excitement he had caused, cried. 'Now, good people, please follow me! And for God's sake, stick together!' |
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