“FAMED INDIAN FIGHTER LEADS CHARGE UP CUBAN MOUNTAIN,” by James Kendrick, the article proclaimed.
“Oh my God,” Sarah exclaimed.
It read, “Colonel Martin Ryder commander of the vaunted First Maryland Volunteers and considered by some to be one of the true heroes of the Battle of the Little Big Horn, led a charge by his regiment up the slopes of an enemy occupied mountain overlooking and threatening the American landings below at Matanzas.
Braving heavy enemy fire, Ryder and the rest of the regiment attacked the Spaniards, causing numerous enemy casualties and driving them off the peak of the mount. The fighting was intense and sometimes hand to hand. Shortly after taking the high point, the Spaniards counter-attacked and were driven off, again with heavy casualties.
The position has been named Mount Haney in honor of a senior sergeant who recognized the importance of the site and urged the attack.”
Sarah breathed deeply. She didn’t know whether to be afraid or relieved. Yes, Martin was safe, but did he have to put himself in harm’s way? Of course, she thought, that’s what soldiers did.
“I think I would like something strong, like a brandy or a whisky,” Sarah said.
Ruth smiled. “Since women are not allowed alone in a bar, I’ll get one of the doctors to purchase a bottle for us and we can drink it in our room. We’ll drink and you can dream about your precious Martin while I try to figure out how to get that lovely Sergeant Haney into my bed. Mount Haney? Perhaps Sergeant Haney would like to mount me. I’d also like to know how the devil he got a mountain named after him.”
* * *
Custer wadded the newspaper and through it across their White House bedroom. “Why the bloody hell does this Ryder person keep coming back to haunt me and why is Kendrick standing beside him again?”
Libbie put down the brush she was using on her long and rich reddish brown hair. She checked the brush for anything gray and found nothing. “George, don’t let it get to you. The army has just won a great victory. Who cares who commanded it? You’re the president, the commander in chief. You’re the one who’ll reap the glory. Maybe Martin Ryder will be able to parlay this into a general’s star and a seat in congress, but that’s about it. And as to Kendrick, he’s a reporter, nothing more. When the war is over, you will review the troops in the victory parade down Pennsylvania Avenue and they will all salute you as their leader, their commander in chief. Perhaps you will even pin a medal on Ryder’s chest. But don’t forget, this is your war and it’ll be your victory.”
“You’re right,” he grumbled. “But I should be there.”
Libbie sighed. “And you know all the reasons you can’t. Congress would go into a state of shock, for one thing, if you ever left the country. They wouldn’t know what to do without your presence. It simply isn’t done.”
He sat down heavily on a chair by the bed. “Someday it will be done and I wouldn’t mind being the first to do it. If I went to Cuba it wouldn’t be as if I went to the moon. The last I checked, the telegram works quite well, thank you. The troops in Cuba need me, damn it. I am their commander in chief. I should be there.”
“The army is in good hands, George, even if the hands belong to Nelson Miles. In the meantime, dear husband, you will be the president who expands the United States beyond its continental boundaries. You will be the one who adds Cuba and Puerto Rico to our country as colonies. This will be the beginning of a true American empire.”
Custer laughed harshly. “That is if congress lets me.”
She stiffened. “What are you talking about?”
Custer was delighted to know something she didn’t. He had picked up on information that Libbie had not. “J. Warren Kiefer, our beloved Speaker of the House, has informed me that there is resistance in Congress to our annexing Cuba. The American people are thrilled that we are going to throw out the Spanish, but they do not want us to control Cuba in perpetuity. There will be a bill introduced limiting our involvement to three years. After that, the dark-skinned people of Cuban will have their freedom. I don’t understand Kiefer’s lack of support. He’s a fellow Republican. He should support the cause of expansion and not try to contain it.”
She jumped to her feet, her face red with anger. “That’s absurd! The Cuban people are no more ready to govern themselves than I am to fly. What does Blaine have to say?”
“Our equally beloved secretary of state, the man who would like to succeed me as president, is just as appalled as you are. It seems that everybody wants a good, cheap victory, but nobody wants the cost of governing such a large territory for anything but a minimal length of time. Blaine has been talking with Cuban rebels and he is certain that they have been visiting congressmen and even giving speeches across the U.S. They have convinced a large number of people that the honorable thing to do would be to liberate them, train them, and then leave as quickly as possible.”
Libbie was flushed with anger. “What about Puerto Rico?”
Custer shrugged. “Nobody much cares. It’s small enough so I guess it can remain ours.”
“Wonderful!” she snarled and threw her hairbrush across the room. “If Congress has its way our great American overseas empire will consist of one small shitty island.”
* * *
Maria Vasquez stayed for a week at Luis’ shop. The first few days she spent eating everything in sight and also reveling in the fact that she was not in the concentration camp. When she apologized to Luis for eating so much of his food, he simply laughed at her and told her he knew how to get much more. After that she began to wonder just what was going to happen in the future.
“Don’t worry,” said Luis dismissively. “Everything is under control. In a few days you will be sent to Matanzas where you will help a rebel leader named Diego Valdez. He knows of you and that you are smart and cunning. Do you speak English, by the way?”
“A little. I suppose I could get by.”
“Even better, but try to improve on it.”
“But how will I get out of Havana? Aren’t the authorities looking for me?”
Luis laughed so hard she thought he’d have a heart attack. “No, Maria, they are not looking for you. In fact, the camps are so disorganized that they don’t know if you even exist. All they are saying is that a prostitute sneaked up on a guard and injured him severely before robbing him.”
Maria didn’t know if she was disappointed or thrilled. “You mean I didn’t kill the fat pig?”
“No, although rumor has it that he might yet die. They say he has a fractured skull. Even if he does recover, he might never be the same.”
“What about the other soldier, the one who was going to try to go second.” And he would have, she thought. She would have been in no position to cry out or otherwise try to stop them. It was a given that she would never have received any of the food that she’d been promised. She had taken a terrible chance and had won, at least for now.
Luis laughed again, displaying the fact that he had no teeth. “Both of them have been broken to the rank of private for their stupidity. If this Ramon leaves the hospital, he will likely be discharged so he can beg on the streets. The other man, Carlos, has already been stripped of what rank he had and been sent to the front lines at Matanzas. By the way, with the gate unguarded, a number of other Cubans also escaped. You did very well, Maria.”
Maria beamed. “Thank you, but when I get to Matanzas and this Diego Valdez, I would like to do better, much better.”
* * *
“Water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink,” muttered Ryder. “Does anyone know who was in charge of planning this operation? If you do, let me know so I can kill him.”
The entire First Maryland was now on the hill known throughout the army as Mount Haney. The regiment was well dug in and vegetation had been cleared away to provide fields of fire. It was a good, strong point except for some serious shortages.