The idea obviously appealed to him. He was about to develop it further when Mark returned carrying the letters of Mary Jane Turnbull. The book bristled with little slips of paper, evidence that Mark had spent the remainder of the night, after the raid on the bookstore, in perusing his prize.
"The cloth is too rough to take fingerprints," he announced cheerfully, making sure the table was clean and dry before he put the book down. "I turned the pages with my fingertips, and-"
"You are unnecessarily obsessed with fingerprints," Josef said. "There is only one chance in a million that our overworked county police would… Wait a minute. Are your prints on record?"
"Certainly not," Mark said indignantly.
"It wouldn't surprise me," Josef said. "All right, Mark, what revelations have you come upon?"
"I want you to hear it straight from the horse's mouth," Mark said. "See if you get the same impression I did. I'll read it aloud."
"That will take all day," Pat objected, looking at the thick volume.
"No, it won't. I've already marked the relevant passages." Without further ado Mark opened the book.
"Background first," he began. "These letters were written by Mary Jane to her friend, who lived in Richmond. Cordelia kept them. Ten years after the war was over she had them published, 'as a memorial to a martyr to that Holy Cause for which so many died.' " Josef started to speak; Mark raised an admonitory finger. "Wait. We'll discuss our conclusions later. I want you to hear this first.
"The ladies had been corresponding for some time before hostilities broke out. I won't waste time with the earlier letters; the first one of interest to us has the date of April twentieth, 1861.
"Surely this is the most momentous era of human history. Events follow one another so rapidly that a weak female pen can scarcely do them justice; yet, my dear Cordelia, I find relief in writing to you, since I can express my true feelings here only within these four walls. We are surrounded by enemies, the most hateful of them only a few feet from our door. The new wall keeps them from our sight, but we cannot forget their horrid presence.
"The news of Fort Sumter made us thrill with pride. The apelike monster who was inaugurated in March (would that the gallant citizens of Baltimore had succeeded in destroying him; but he stole through the city by night, like the coward he is!) then called for volunteers. On his head lies the onus of beginning the destruction! Virginia has joined the glorious roll of freedom, and to Virginia my noble father has gone, to lend his arm to the Cause.
"We are left a household of women, for my dear brother was sent away to school in Lynchburg after the incident I wrote you of. Thank God I was able to save him from its fatal consequences. His heart is too susceptible to the machinations of vile persons. It will turn now to the Cause; and if, which God forbid, he should perish, that fate would be preferable to the one his trusting heart might have been duped into seeking."
Mark stopped reading. "Nice lady, isn't she?"
"I don't know which is worse, her literary style or her vindictiveness," Pat said.
"The style is typical of the time," Mark said tolerantly. "They all wrote that way. The important thing is her reference to an incident that caused Peter to be sent away. It isn't mentioned in the earlier letters, so either some letters were lost, or Cordelia edited them for publication. But it's obvious, isn't it, what the incident was?"
Josef cleared his throat. "I will admit that Mary Jane's catty remarks can be interpreted as referring to a romantic attachment on Peter's part, an attachment of which she did not approve-"
"That's putting it mildly," Mark interrupted. "She says she would rather see him dead than engaged to… All right, Mr. Friedrichs, I won't say it; she doesn't mention the girl's name, I admit that.
"Okay. We roll merrily on, to First Bull Run, in 1861.
That was the first big battle of the war. Bull Run, or Manassas, is only about twenty miles from Washington, and a lot of the dumber congressmen and senators went out to watch the fighting. They ran like rabbits when the Union lines broke.
"In August of 1862 the same damned thing happened, at the same place. Second Bull Run. This time Lee decided to follow up the victory and invade the North. He crossed the Potomac at Leesburg, and here's Mary Jane's comment:
"Lee is in Maryland! Words, weak words-how can they express our exultation! First in the hearts of all loyal to the Cause must be the triumph of our arms, but, Cordelia, allow me to confess that my heart burns with equal fervor to behold again my honored parent and beloved brother. Yes, they were here-only briefly, for duty drove them. They succeeded in their aim of finding horses for the Confederacy. No less than fourteen mounts came from the pastures of Mr. Habitan, at Fern's Folly-a crony of those whose name I have sworn never to mention. How I laughed as Peter described, with his inimitable humor, the rage of the white-haired old man, who rained stuttering curses on those who removed his horses. War has made a man of my darling brother. Bronzed and slender, his hair bleached to whiteness, his eyes a fiery blue, he must turn many a maiden's heart. A loyal Southern maiden, one must hope…"
"Dear me," Pat said. "She couldn't drop the subject, could she? I wonder if Peter tried to see Susan while he was at home."
"He'd try, if only out of spite." Josef looked disapproving. "Charming young man, wasn't he? I particularly like his inimitable humor about robbing a helpless old man."
"He was eighteen that year," Mark said.
"Is that an excuse or an explanation?" Josef inquired.
"Go on," Pat said quickly.
"Well, they fought after that at Harpers Ferry and at South Mountain, near Hagerstown. A lot of it was right around here, you know. Union troops, pursuing Lee, passed through Poolesville. The maneuvering of the armies ended on September seventeenth, in the bloodiest one-day battle of the war-Antietam, or Sharpsburg, as the Confederates called it. The whole countryside became a huge hospital, as far south as Frederick, with wounded soldiers in barns, private homes, and churches."
"I remember reading that the mortality rate among the wounded was incredibly high," Pat said, with a shiver. "Of course they had no idea of antisepsis then."
"A few days after the battle, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation," Mark said. "He had been waiting for a victory, so it wouldn't look as if he did it out of desperation. But Antietam wasn't a victory for either side. At best it was a bloody draw. Of course, to Mary Jane it was a Confederate triumph.
"We ache for those sisters, wives and mothers who have lost all, but believe me, Cordelia, they will return, the weary but indomitable men in gray! And our men are safe. We received a letter yesterday from Papa, through the usual channel. Peter was wounded slightly in the left arm, but we are assured it was trivial. No doubt a black silk sling adds to his romantic looks, but I wish I could be near him to nurse him.
"Cousin Alex was with us last week. He is recovering from his illness and we hope to have news of his safe recovery soon. He was here when the news of the infamous Proclamation arrived, and we had a good laugh over the irony of it; for only blacks in what Lincoln is pleased to call "the rebellious states" will be freed on January next. There were many sulky looks when I explained this to our people. No doubt others of them will run away, but we shall do very well without them.