Young Sherlock Holmes_ Red Leech - Andrew Lane [86]
Sherlock nodded. ‘My brother said it was about slavery’ He glanced at Virginia. ‘Her father said it was more complicated than that.’
‘Her father is correct. In the end it was about self-determination. Eight years ago we had an election in which the Republican Party, led by Abraham Lincoln, used as the basis of their campaign a pledge to stop slavery from expanding beyond the states in which it already existed. Lincoln won the election, and that resulted in seven Southern states declaring their secession from the Union, even before he took office – South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas. They formed a new country, the Confederate States of America, with Jefferson Davis as President. Within two months, Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina and Tennessee had joined them.’
‘What’s “secession”?’ Matty asked.
‘Secession,’ Balthassar explained, ‘is when a state withdraws from the Union of States and declares that it will set itself up as a separate entity. Secession is a right we believe to be guaranteed in the Declaration of Independence, but both the outgoing administration of James Buchanan and the incoming administration of Abraham Lincoln disagreed. They considered it rebellion and declared it illegal.’ He sighed. ‘Ultimately, it doesn’t matter whether you believe that a man can keep slaves or not. What we were fighting for was our right to set up our own nation, separate from the one Lincoln was leading, and doing things our own way. If slavery hadn’t been the cause then it would have been something else.’
‘But you lost,’ Sherlock pointed out. ‘Ulysses S. Grant and William Sherman beat Robert E. Lee in battle. He surrendered.’
‘He had no right to surrender,’ Balthassar snapped. ‘He did not have the authority. The war goes on, even if it’s not acknowledged as such. The Government in Exile of the Confederacy still seeks to establish freedom from the oppressive regime of the Union for those states who wish it.’
Sherlock’s attention was distracted by a movement of Balthassar’s hand. No, not of his hand, Sherlock realized, but on his hand. The material of the white glove on his left hand was flexing slightly, just where one of the bumps that Sherlock had noticed earlier was located. As he watched, the bump seemed to move, edging up the hand towards the wrist. What in heaven’s name was it?
‘Ah,’ Balthassar said, noticing Sherlock’s horrified gaze, ‘I see you have noticed one of my little companions. Allow me to make a more formal introduction.’
He reached towards his left hand with his right, and took a grip of the top of the glove. With a firm, careful movement, he pulled it off.
Virginia gasped, while Matty made a sound of revulsion.
Balthassar’s hand – minus its little finger – and his wrist were covered with what looked for a moment like boils, but which Sherlock realized were living things, like slugs. Their skin was a reddish-grey and moist, and they seemed to pulse slightly as Sherlock watched.
‘What are they?’ he whispered.
Balthassar pulled off the other glove. His right hand – this one missing his fourth finger – was similarly covered with the slug-like creatures.
‘Meet my doctors,’ he said. ‘An entire medical team, dedicated to my well-being.’
Reaching up with his right hand, he undid a hook behind his left ear and pulled the porcelain mask off with one quick gesture.
The cougars hissed, and tried to back away across the veranda.
Balthassar’s face was gaunt, the cheekbones and nose prominent, but his features were difficult to distinguish beneath the tiny boneless creatures that clung to his white skin like black drops of tar.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Virginia made a choking noise, as if she was trying to stop herself being sick. Matty said a single word that expressed his shock. Sherlock assumed it was a word he’d picked up along the waterways in his travels.
Sherlock himself was fascinated. Repelled, yes, but mainly fascinated. As he looked closer, he noticed that Balthassar’s face was covered in small triangular