A Mighty Endeavor Read Online Free PDF Page B

Excellency. There are some things that are such incarnate evil that any decent man should stand against them regardless of the price the act must demand. I believe that Prime Minister Churchill understood that.”
    The Marquess of Linlithgow nodded. “And so does the Viceroy of India.”
     
    Cabinet Office, 10 Downing Street, London
    “Is there no sign of Mister Churchill?”
    Sir Edward Bridges needlessly consulted the reports he had received and shook his head. “We traced him as far as Oxford and then kept all the roads out of Oxford under surveillance, but I fear Winston was not detected by any of the patrols. I can only presume that he is still in Oxford.”
    “That would be uncharacteristic of the man. He was always one for action, no matter how ill-advised. He will be on the move. With his affection for the French, he will choose to go there. Are all the roads south from Oxford under surveillance?”
“They are, Prime Minister. But, how completely that surveillance has been maintained is another matter entirely. We British do not have an overweening police force. We do not even see the need to arm our police. As an orderly people used to the rule of law, we do not have the need for either large numbers of police or to have them armed. In this case, to maintain surveillance of all the thoroughfares, ranging from the trunk roads to farm lanes, is beyond them. And then there are the trains, of course.”
    Halifax drummed his fingers impatiently. “It is apparent, I think, that a small, well-trained police force as we have now is an estimable thing indeed. But the times have changed and many pairs of eyes will be needed on our streets. We must be ready to reinforce our existing police force with an auxiliary police unit, one whose loyalty can be absolutely guaranteed.”
    “I do not think the British people will take kindly to the return of the black-and-tans, Prime Minister.”
    Halifax looked shocked. “Sir Edward, I mean no such thing. Placing a para-military force on the streets would be an outrage. I simply mean recruiting well-meaning citizens to assist our existing police force and provide a presence where otherwise limited numbers would preclude the police from doing so themselves. I wish the Home Office to see to the formation of such a unit immediately.”
    And to hell with the Cabinet or any form of consultation, thought Bridges. If this isn’t going to turn into a paramilitary force on the streets, then nothing will. He had a decision to make, one that had kept him awake almost all the previous night. There were a considerable number of very senior civil servants abroad at the moment, including a large party in Canada and the United States. They had been discussing arms purchases and other war material acquisition programs with American businessmen, all with the aim of ensuring American industrial support for the faltering British war machine. There were already discrete warnings that none of those men would be returning to Britain. Indeed, the words ‘Government in Exile’ had also been whispered. All they needed was a figurehead and support from the Dominions and the threat could become real.
    Was it a threat? Bridges had to ask himself that question. If it is, should I be part of it? Should I drop my position here, the authority I have and the influence I have built in exchange for a life of exile? He thought of his house, his gardens and his beloved fishpond. Should I abandon those with a strong possibility of never seeing them again? There was another problem, or, rather, another aspect to the choice. He was well aware of Lord Halifax’s limitations. The man was an appeaser, a temporizer, a man who tended to agree with whoever he was speaking to. Bridges had a strong feeling that Butler, now Foreign Secretary in Halifax’s place, had been a much stronger driving force behind the coup than he admitted.
    Bridges stopped himself sharply. Coups didn’t happen in Great Britain; they were the