" A vast rebel conspiracy on the Great Lakes" Topic

"The quiet streets of Toronto stretched away from Dr. James Bates, disappearing into a darkened maze of brick walls and peaked roofs. He glanced furtively over his shoulder, making sure he wasn't being followed. While Canada harbored its share of Rebel sympathizers, Canadian officials took a dim view of any activity that might lead to a confrontation with the American government. The moon vanished behind clouds twice, and the tall buildings around Bates cut off much of the light. Several times he had to slow down lest he trip in the dark or splash through a puddle.

He couldn't be too careful; lack of caution could unravel the entire plot he had nurtured for months. He was entirely aware that the Confederacy was reeling, and the weight of helping arrest the slide to defeat bore heavily on his shoulders.

Bates allowed his mind to travel north to the Lake Huron port of Collingwood, an unassuming community of fewer than a thousand souls, and to the ship moored along the wharf. A smile stretched across his face. The Georgian might appear little more than a weathered barque, and no one would ever mistake it for the CSS Alabama or any of the other successful commerce raiders of the high seas. But if all went as Bates had plotted, this would-be raider could represent a reversal of fortune for the Southern cause. He imagined panic rippling across the breadth of the Great Lakes when the Union encountered a grave threat to its shipping interests there. The vast quantities of war supplies being transported down the Mississippi River via Chicago might be interdicted, and resources shipped west—including lumber and grain—could face costly interruptions. Then, Bates knew, the Union Navy would be forced to divert ships from other duties to deal with his raider…"
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