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Fredericksburg. ”
    “ That all sounds like a quaint throwback in today ’ s world, ” Annie said. “ Do you think many folks in the Hill Country really care about its German heritage? ”
    “ Absolutely. We ’ ve done private polling and the idea is a hit. So many people have German ancestry and strong ties to their roots. But even those who don ’ t are excited about the economic possibilities. ”
    “ Like what? ”
    “ Tourism, Annie, ” he said. “ German Texas could attract more visitors and industry to our small towns. We could use our new status to bring in businesses like German-style craft breweries and maybe German industries like Mercedes-Benz. ”
    “ Sounds intriguing. So what ’ s the problem? ”
    Wurzbach slumped in his chair and lowered his voice again.
    “ We believe the Nation of Texas is doing everything it can to sabotage us. ”
    “ Do you have any evidence? ” Annie asked. “ The secessionists are operating underground since the scandal. Have any members contacted you? ”
    “ Indirectly, yes. I ’ ve gotten hate mail from people who claim proud membership in the Nation of Texas. Most is unsigned, but it all contains the same thread of bigotry. ”
    “ Can you give me examples? ”
    “ Most emails talk about fulfilling the state ’ s destiny, vowing that nothing will stop the Nation of Texas from making Texas an independent republic, like it was after the Texas Revolution. ”
    “ They ’ ve been saying that for years, ” she said.
    “ But they go much further, saying the new country of Texas won ’ t tolerate German Texans, who are just Nazis in disguise. One message even threatened death to any German Texan who dares to interfere in the Nation of Texas ’ s goal of winning Texas. ”
    “ Winning Texas? That ’ s an interesting way to put it, ” Annie said. “ The Nation of Texas hasn ’ t come close to winning Texas – and probably never will. ”
    “ They ’ ve left no doubt where the group stands. ”
    “ Sounds ugly, ” she said. “ Have you gotten the local police involved? ”
    “ Not at first, ” he said. “ But then bad things started happening, mostly to me since I ’ m the person out front. Several of my bakeries have been vandalized and my car damaged. But the worst thing that happened was to my dogs. ”
    “ Your dogs? ”
    “ My wife has raised Portuguese Water Dogs for years. It ’ s a fairly rare and expensive breed. The dogs look like big poodles, but poodles ’ coats are curly and the Portuguese have wavy coats. The Obama family got two Portuguese a while back and their dogs attracted some publicity. ”
    “ Yeah, I remember the pictures. Good-looking animals. ”
    He stopped, took a deep breath and continued.
    “ We had three full-grown Portuguese that were our family ’ s pets. One morning, I found them dead in our back yard. Their throats had been cut and their bodies mutilated. My wife and daughters – well, all of us – were devastated. ”
    “ That ’ s horrible, ” Annie said, noticing that Sam ’ s eyes had grown wet. She felt shaken. She loved her cats and felt that people who abused animals were twisted in some unspeakable way.
    “ Was anyone arrested? ”
    “ No, they were careful not to leave evidence. ” He was quiet for a moment, trying to regain his composure.
    “ Since all of this happened, the Fredericksburg police have kept an eye on things as best they can, ” he said. “ We ’ re moving ahead to formally open our campaign for German Texas soon. But I ’ m worried about what might happen next. ”
    “ Why do you think the secessionists see German Texas as a threat? ”
    He trained his eyes on the sidewalk outside the restaurant for a moment. Finally he spoke again.
    “ The German Texas culture emphasizes military weapons and marching. One of our major proposals is to develop an active gun club in each county whose members could serve as auxiliary police.
    “ That ’ s designed to help short-staffed