18570309 17:22:19

18570309 17:22:19

"What the hell you smilin for? Makes me nervous when you do that and I don't know why." After saying this, Cook pointed to the ash tray where the lit cigar sat. Bureau responded by pulling a fresh cigar out of the front pocket of his suit coat and placing it on the table next to the tray. Cook nodded and used a match from the box on the table to light it.
"Oh, I think we have an opportunity on our hands here. Tell me, what have you heard from the states lately?"
"Uh, what about em? They got their new president, he made that speech jus a few ago. What else is there?"
"Well, here, you can see for yourself here." Bureau said this while pointing directly down upon the newspaper which was folded in front of him on the table. "They just made a decision. A court decision. It came on the sixth, just last Friday. It's called Scott versus Sanford. You know what they said?"
"No? No, I don't."
"You wouldn't believe it. You wouldn't guess in a lifetime. They actually said that you people can't be citizens of a state. They actually said that. The Chief Judge said that."
Cook was stunned into a fixed state of shock enough that the cigar tipped from the edge of his mouth and landed upon the table, then bounced and fell into his lap before he flinched and quickly recovered it from his body before it burned a hole through his clothes. He placed the burning roll at the end of the ashtray after making the recovery.
"Really?"
"Yep."
"No, I mean - really?"
"Yes, really. You can read it here if you want."
"Even if they're free? Even if they paid to be free?"
"Yes and yes. They mean it. All of you can't be citizens. Ever."
"They have got to be the dumbest bunch of shit eaters in the world." It took a long moment for Cook to say this much in response. He felt the blood in his body run cold and shivers overtake his skin as he considered the full implication of that kind of judgment. Less than a feeling of relief that he wasn't affected by the decision was the rage swelling up within him over the institution which would make that kind of decision. How could they live with that verdict? How could any of his fellow brothers tolerate to be there a minute longer now? His mind raced from one question to the next until Bureau spoke again and snapped him out of it.
"So, do you know why I say this is an opportunity?"
"Um, uh... no, I. I can't say I really do, no. You'll have to tell me."
"Watch what's going to happen because of this. All that expansion that they're doing now, out to Kansas and further on. It's already getting strained by how the grain market has been compared to years ago. The banks have been putting out much more credit than they can handle for years. Now with this, nobody's going to be sure which of those places will hold slaves or not. You just watch as all those railroads reaching out west and cities going up there come to a sudden stop."
"Um, yeah. Yeah, you're right." Cook was still heavily distracted by the news and gave a response mostly out of politeness.
"So that means that the banks that have been supporting all of this are going to be hurting soon. Hurting very badly very soon. We've all talked about wanting to make this town bigger. I think this is our chance. I think if we find the right bank to back it with our gold, we can really make this place grow. I think we can expand out into our aquatic limit, much like New York did so long ago."
"Oh. Oh, yeah, that would be ideal, yeah. I can see that now."
"Speak of this to your father, won't you? On the subject of New York, I'll need to make a trip out there to arrange this if it has his approval."
"Um. Sure. Yeah, I'll go do that. OK."
Cook left the saloon without taking his cigar with him. He proceeded to Daron's house with his head filled of visions of going to the states' capital and finding the men who made this judgment so that he could physically retaliate against them. He kept a stoic face while envisioning acts of torture upon those judges.