resume and paid close attention when he did.
'Have you heard the latest outrage? The estimable Stanton is attacking the general's honor and questioning his bravery — behind his back, of course — while influencing the Original Gorilla to withhold the men we desperately need.'
'Sounds like a conspiracy,' another lieutenant muttered.
'Exactly. You know the reason for it, don't you? The general likes and respects the Southern people. So do many in this army. I do. The estimable Stanton, however, favors only a certain class of Southerners — those with dark complexions. He's like all the Republicans.'
Billy whacked his glass on the counter. 'But he's a Democrat.'
The long-haired lieutenant parted his group like Moses parting the sea. 'Did you address a comment to me, sir?'
Back off, Billy said to himself. For some reason he couldn't. Damn strange that he, no partisan of the colored people, was defending one who was.
'I did. I said Mr. Stanton is a Democrat, not a Republican.'
A cold smile from the junior officer. 'Since this is an informal meeting place, may I have the pleasure of knowing who is offering such valuable information?'
'First Lieutenant Hazard. Presently assigned to B Company, Battalion of Engineers.'
'Second Lieutenant Custer, headquarters staff, at your service.' There was no service or respect in it, only conceit and contempt. 'You must be from the Academy, then. But a few years before my time. I was in the four- year bunch graduated last June. Last of the lowest — thirty-sixth among thirty-six.' He seemed to relish that. His cronies snickered dutifully. 'As to your statement, sir, it is only narrowly correct. Shall I set aside considerations of rank and tell you what Stanton really is?'
The young officer walked toward Billy. His hair smelled of cinnamon oil. Behind Custer, his coterie hung on each word. A mangy dog, yellow and muddy, trotted into the tent. There were scores of dogs in camp, pets and stray; this one went straight to Custer and rubbed against his boot. A dozen other officers at flimsy tables stopped their own conversations to listen to the second lieutenant.
'Stanton is a man so vile, a hypocrite so depraved, that if he had lived in the time of the Saviour, Judas would have been respectable by comparison.'
Several of the eavesdropping officers reacted angrily. One started to stand, but his companion held him back. Only Billy, with alcohol boiling in his empty stomach, was irked enough, rash enough, to answer.
'That kind of talk doesn't belong in the army. There's too much politicking already.'
'Too much? There isn't enough!' The coterie responded with nods and knuckles rapped on the plank.
Billy persisted. 'No, Lieutenant Custer, it's winning we should worry about, not whether —' an example flashed into mind '— whether a singing group can or cannot perform in our camps.' 'Oh, you mean that damn Hutchinson Family?' 'I do. My brother's in the War Department, and he wrote me that it was a bad decision. Trivial in the first place, and it offended some important cabinet members and congressmen who heard about it.'
Over Custer's shoulder, a captain blustered, 'Your brother's entrenched behind a War Department desk, is he? Brave fellow.' Billy's self-control weakened. 'He's a major in the Ordnance Department. The work he does is damned important.'
'What is that work?' asked Custer with a droll smile. 'Blacking Stanton's boots? Serving refreshments to Stanton's darky visitors?'
The captain said, 'Kissing the secretary's fundament on demand?'
'Damn you,' Billy said, and went for him.
Even Custer reacted with dismay. 'Captain Rawlins, that goes a bit beyond —' Billy pushed Custer aside and flung a fist at the, captain, who was a head taller. It glanced off the man's chin. Others in the tent were up and shouting like cockfight spectators.
'Give the gentlemen room!'
'Not in here,' the sutler protested, waving a billy. Everyone ignored him. The captain unfastened his collar, a loose grin pushing up his cheeks. Stupid of me, Billy said to himself as he clenched and unclenched his hands. Plain stupid.
Someone entered the tent and called his name. But he was focused on the captain sidling forward.
'I'll accommodate you, you little piece of Republican dung.' His fist zoomed up, landing in the center of Billy's face while Billy was still raising his hands.
He spun away, fell across the counter, blood threads trickling from each nostril. The bigger man aimed another punch. Billy pushed upright, locked his hands, and struck the forearm of the fisted hand, diverting the blow. The captain drove a knee into Billy's crotch, and he went down on his back. Grinning, the captain raised his boot over Billy's face.
'There you are,' the familiar voice said from behind the other men crowding in.
Custer exclaimed, 'That's plenty, Rawlins. He may be a nigger Republican, but he deserves fair treatment.'
'The hell you say.' Down came the boot. Billy started to roll, knowing he was too slow.
Suddenly, mysteriously, Rawlins tilted backward. The boot intended to stomp Billy's face made funny, jerking motions in midair. Billy elbowed himself from the dirt, blinked, and saw the reason. Lije Farmer was holding the captain's shoulders, his face full of fury. He flung Billy's adversary. Captain Rawlins sat down so hard he squealed.
Lije pulled Billy to his feet. 'Conduct yourself out of this iniquitous establishment.' No one smiled. Given Lije's size and the way he let his eye rove around the ring of McClellanites, no one had the nerve. To Rawlins he said, 'It would be foolish to invoke rank in this matter. If you try, I shall testify against you.'
Billy took his kepi from the counter and walked out. A few steps from the tent, he heard Custer laugh again, joined by his friends and even by his barking dog.
Billy's bruised, bloody face felt hot. Lije touched his sleeve. ' 'But whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn on him the other also.''
'Sorry, Lije, I couldn't do it. He hit low, then tried to mash my face with his boot. 'Course, it might have improved my looks — What do you think?'
Farmer neither smiled nor answered. Billy sobered and probed some tender spots. 'Officers like that are tearing this army to pieces. I'd heard others say it, but I didn't believe it until tonight.'
'It's to be expected. The general possesses a profound knowledge of the military arts, but he also possesses a profound and raging ambition. It can be read in his orders, heard in his orations to the troops, seen in the nature and demeanor of his staff.'
'That curlylocks lieutenant is one of them.'
'Yes. I have noticed him before. One cannot help it. He dresses to draw attention.'
'I know I was a fool to fly off that way. But they made remarks about my brother George that I couldn't tolerate. I thank you for pulling that captain off me. One minute longer and there wouldn't have been much left of my face. Your timing was remarkable.'
'It was not entirely coincidence. I have been searching for you. We are ordered to move out before daylight. Let the others fight the political wars. We've our own to wage, and it will keep us busy enough.'
Thinking of the tangly forests through which they had hacked a path with axes, of the roads they had planked and the streams they had bridged, Billy said a heartfelt, 'Yes. I still thank you, Lije.' He felt the same warm regard for Farmer that he had felt for his late father. The older man bucked him up with a clap on the back, then fell to humming 'Amazing Grace.'
No wonder the atmosphere on the peninsula was poisoned, Billy thought. They were practically at the door of the Confederate capital, which was defended by inferior numbers, yet the campaign dragged on, indecisive and costly. Tonight he had run smack into one of the reasons. Billy feared that before the campaign ended, scores of men might be sacrificed needlessly because of the general's ambition and feelings of persecution. He would not care to be one of them.
