But Major Anderson, who holds the fort in the name of the United States,
refuses to give it up to South Carolina, which claims it."
Harry felt an extraordinary thrill, a thrill that was, in many ways,
most painful. Talk was one thing, action was another. Here stood South
Carolina and the Union face to face, looking at each other through the
muzzles of cannon. Sumter had one hundred and forty guns, most of which
commanded the city, and the people of Charleston had thrown up great
earthworks, mounting many cannon.
Boy as he was, Harry was old enough to see that here were all the
elements of a great conflagration. It merely remained for somebody to
touch fire to the tow. He was not one to sentimentalize, but the sight
of the defiant flag, the most beautiful in all the world, stirred him in
every fiber. It was the flag under which both his father and Colonel
Talbot had fought.
"It has to be, Harry," said St. Clair, who was watching him closely.
"If it comes to a crisis we must fire upon it. If we don't, the South
will be enslaved and black ignorance and savagery will be enthroned upon
our necks."
"I suppose so," said Harry. "But look how the people gather!"
The Battery and all the harbor were now lined with the men, women and
children of Charleston.
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