It is my gift. I have a wonderful ability to persuade others. Few men and no women can resist me. The girl, Arabella, was a puppet in my skillful hands. I can imagine how proud she felt rushing to the Surratt house, her dark hair flying behind her. Five men waited there. I had added to the conspirators, and I gave them all money so that they did not need to work, only to wait. To wait with horses and a carriage rented at the livery stable and with the supplies—guns, ropes, handcuffs. I paid for it all. It was, after all, my scheme, my grand plan to save my beloved South! As soon as the notice came, four of them rode out toward the Soldiers’ Home, taking the back roads, so as not to be noticed. The fourth man came for me at the National Hotel. My heart raced as fast as the horses’ hooves as we rode out of Washington City. I looked back only once over my shoulder and saw the outline of the Capitol Building rising above the other buildings like a mountain.
