18540620 14:40:30

18540620 14:40:30


"Oh, I've got to show you this, you've got to see this, look here, look. Look at this." Nick Oller pulled the folded newspaper from beneath his suit coat and placed it besides Bureau's mug, then proceeded to sit down at the table across from him.
After placing his fork onto the plate, he took the paper up and unfolded it with an initial sharp snap before laying it upon the table and patting it down to spread it out. He quickly scanned over one column to the next in search of something related to news about a ship or a sailing route, as he was sure that was the only kind of news which would make Nick so excited.
"So what am I looking at?" He asked the question as much to bring his fruitless search to an end as well as having a reason for Nick to speak and not visibly bounce in his seat as if he was a giddy schoolboy.
"Look at that third column there, look at that! They're calling it the Grand Eastern, and construction has begun on it. It's going to be incredible! It's going to be-"
"Six hundred feet, no kidding. Yeah, that's something there."
"It really is, isn't it? The amount of goods and passengers something like that could transport truly defies the imagination. In fact, I'm not sure if-"
"You want to have more of your port and dock space expanded to take a ship like this into the city." Bureau said this in a tone as dry as the steak from which he cut a piece and started to noisly chew.
"W, well of course. Should we not be prepared for something like this? I think it's fair to say that mercantile ships will not be getting smaller in size as the years progress, and if we're to remain competitive with New York and other cities, we'll need to assuredly have the means with which they can properly utilize our sea ports." Nick took a moment to look at Bureau and saw that he was busy chewing his food, which indicated to him that he wasn't particularly enthralled with the news or the proposal. "You don't think so?"
"Hm." Bureau did his best to conceal his exasperation with Nick's overtly positive manner before he swallowed his piece of steak and voiced his concerns. "I can see that being possible, yes, but this ship has such a grand shape that I'm not fully confident it will rise to its envisioned destiny. Remember what just happened with that Powhattan ship at Jersey. Is having that kind of disaster, but ten times more lethal and damaging, something that people are going to want to risk?"
"Well the city of Portland certainly thinks so. I've heard news that they're already making new construction to explicitly accommodate this new ship." Nick's retort was blunt and quick, as he wanted Bureau to understand what he perceived as the gravity of the situation as well as take his proposal more seriously.
"Are they? At what cost? Do you know?"
"I've uh. I've heard a figure of something around a hundred thousand. Maybe more."
"Ho, really? More than one hundred thousand. Phew. That's a rather substantial amount, yes. Heh. That's pretty courageous of that city to put so much backing behind one line too. I hope that doesn't bite them later. Anyway, if you-"
"I didn't come here expecting that much, no. That would be a ridiculous amount, I agree. But I think you know as well as anyone that improvements could stand to be made regardless, and I would think that even a receipt of half of a hundred-"
"How many points?" Now, Bureau was directly engaged and focused on the conversation. He kept his gaze upon Nick while he kept his fists rested upon the edge of the table.
"Eight."
Their present agreement was set at six percent.
"Hm. Eight for fifty is a bit steep. Hm. Hm. Well, let's just put it out there. I'll pass it on. Don't hold your breath though, Nick."
"Very well. Thank you." Nick stood up from his seat with a nod and made his way past Bureau, who nodded twice and summarily resumed his dinner as Nick walked behind him.
Nick Oller reached for a cigar within his suit coat and fumbled with the match as he attempted to strike it against the horse post. He sighed as he bent over to pick the match up and managed to get his cigar lit with the second attempt. He wasn't pleased with that result.