Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1902-10-02
dreamed that night he was sleeping in the
Governors Palace
CHAPTER XIII.

| brief and startling letter. the wires were
hot between New York and Asheville for
hours. His last message was premptory
command to his daughter to join him i'm
| mediately at Independence.
| When Sallie arrived at lakewood the
! General was already there, and the storm
broke in all it's fury. At every bitter word
/ she only quietly smiled, until the General
was on the verge of collapse. Day after
! day he begged, pleaded ragged and finally
| took to hard swearing as he looked into
her calm happy face.
| In the meantime Mcleod and his hench-
man on the judges bench had seen a new
| light. The excitement over the arrest Of
| CASTOR seemed to have famed the flames
| of the Red Shirt movement into con-
| hagration. He was alarmed at Its mean
ing. The judge heard rumor that five
thousand Red Shirts were mobolizing at
| the foot of the Blue Ridge near Ham
| bright and that they were going to march
| across the mountains, into Asheville, de-
molish the JAIL liberate CASTOR, and hang
| the Judge who had committed him without
| bail.
The rumor was fake, but he was not
taking any chances. He issued an order
] releasing Castor on his own recognizance.
and left for. a vacation.
CASTOR returned TO Hambright showered
with congratulatory kilograms from every
quarter Of the state.
| He received brief note from Sallie say
ing the war was on but had not reached
it's final climax. as the General was now
devoting his best energies to the Demo-
cratic convention which was to meet in
ten days, when he expected to crush any
fool movement of young upstarts!
CASTOR knew of his organization but he
was sure the number of delegates pledged
to the Generals machine was not enough
to dominate the body, even If he could
hold them in line.
When this convention met at Raleigh
no body of representative men were ever
more completely at sea as to the platform
or policy upon which they would appeal
to the people for the overthrow of an
enemy. The coalition that conquered the
state and held it with the grip of steel for
four years was stronger than ever and
was absolutely certain of victory. The
enormous patronage of the Federal gov
eminent had been in their hands for four
years, and with the state. county and
municipal officers. host of powerful lead
ers had been gathered around McLeods
daring personality. Apparently he was
about to fasten the rule of the Negro and
his allies oil the state for a generation.
When CASTOR entered the convention
hall he received an ovation, heartfelt and
generous, but 1t did not reach the point
of disturbing element in the calculations
|
for governor. General Worth had drilled
his cohorts so thoroughly in opposition to
him, that any sort of stampeding was oui
of the question.
The pla.form committee was composed
of seven leaders, among whom was Gas
| ton. There was a long wrangle over the
document, and at length when they re-
ported. a sensation was created. For the
| first time since their triumph over Simon
| Legree the committee was divided. and,
refusing to agree, submitted majority and
minority reports. The committee stood
five for the majority and two for the mi
nority
CASTOR AID daring young politician
! from the heart of the Black Belt signed
the minority report The majority report
as submitted. was merely a rehash of the
| old platform on which they had been de-
| feated by McLeon twice, with slight addi-
| tional impeachment of the incapacity and
corruption of the state administration
The delegates from the Black Belt and
| the counties where the Red Shirts had
| been holding their MONDAY parades r.
ceived it with silence. General Worth's
machine cheered it vigorously, and gave a
| rousing reception to their chosen cham
| pion who made the presentation speech.
| When CASTOR rose to offer and defend
| his minority report. sudden hush fell on
the sea of eager faces. few men in the
| heard he was an orator of power and were
| anxious to see him. His leadership in the
| Revolution of independence and his sub
! sequent arrest and Imprisonment had
made him a famous man.
| Mr.. Chairman and Gentlemen of the
! Convention he began with deliberate,
| clear voice which spoke of greater reserve
| power than the words he uttered conveyed
| ~ move to substitute for this document
! of meaningless platitudes the following
resolution on which to make this cam
paign.'
You could have heard a pin fall. as in
ringing tones like the call of bugle to
battle he read,
whereas, It is impossible to build a
state inside a state Of two antagonistic
races,
and whereas. the future North Caro-
| linian must therefore be an Angle-Saxon
| or a Mulatto,
| Resolved That the hour has now come
| in our history to eliminate the negro from
| our life and re-establish for all time the
| government of our fathers"
/ The delegates from New Hanover, Cra-
/ ven, and Halifax counties, the great CEN
tres of the Black Belt, sprang on their
| seats with a roar of applause that shook
/ the building. and pandemonium broke
| loose! When one great wave subsidized an
other followed. 1t was ten minutes before
order was restored while CASTOR stood
| calmly surveying the storm.
Just before him sat General Worth, pale
| and trembling with excitement. The au-
dacity Of those resolutions had swept him
for a moment off his feet and back into
| the years Of his own daring young man.
/ hood. He could not help admiring this
challenge of the modern world to stand al
| the bar Of elemental manhood and make
| good it's right to existence. He was about
to summon his messengers and rally his
leutenants when CASTOR began to speak
| and his first words chained his attention
When the tumult raised by his resolu-
| tons was in progress he lifted his eye to-
ward the gallery and there just above him
where 1t curved toward the platform sat
his beautiful secret bride! His heart
| leaped Her face was afiame with emo
ton, her eyes flashing with love and pride
She slyly touched with her lips the tip
of her finger and blew a kiss across the in
! tervening space. He smiled into her soul
look of gratitude. and with every nerve
| strung to it's highest tension resumed his
| place by the speakers stand. When the
tumult died away he began speech that
fixed the history of state for thousand
| years.
His resolution had wrought the crowd to
the highest of excitement, and his words
| clear, penetrating, and deliberate thrilled
his hearers with electrical power.
Gentlemen he said. and the slightest
| whisper was hushed. THE history OF
| man is a series of great pulse beats, whose
flood overwhelms his future and fixes its
| ufa Tile the damned torrent on q