Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Silver Moon" data-source="post: 2814925" data-attributes="member: 8530">Chapter Nineteen, “I have a dream”, Thursday, May 25th, 1882, 9:30 P.M. Nanuet pulls Minerva aside and begins talking in a fast pace rather than his usual even, measured tones. "All of our friends went to Tombstone, what are we going to do? Are they OK? We have to go, but I can't go, I have to watch the Lucky Lady and the house, and the dogs. I can't do nothing. I wonder if Jake and Ruby made it out of town before the fire started, but if they did then that would mean that Kate's whole family was in Tombstone during the fire. And Kate is... well you know... with child and all." Minerva listens to Nanuet rant for a few moments before putting a comforting hand on his chest and speaking softly. "Mi Amor, you need to practice some of that patience you keep preaching to me. Slow down and let's see if we can get more information and make an informed decision." Nanuet nods and says "You are right, we need more information. I need to take a deep breath." Nanuet looks around for the Wells Fargo employee. If he sees him there he will get him a drink and approach him. He asks him several questions including the time of the fire compared to the time the train would have left for Tucson as well as if he knows Jake, Ruby, Kate and Chester and any of their conditions. The Wells Fargo employee, Billy Glass tells Nanuet that the Stagecoach will be leaving for Tombstone within a few minutes if he wants to board it. "Can you hold on just a minute Mr. Glass, I'll be right back." Nanuet runs over to Niles to ask if he is needed at the Lucky Lady. "Everybody was in Tombstone when that fire happened, Ruby and Jake, Kate, Chester, Ginnie, Conrad Booth and others. I know Ruby asked me to help keep an eye on things, but I am worried something may have happened to them. If you can spare me I'd like to go and see if they are OK." Niles says that things are under control and between him, Maria, Harry and Thom they should be able to handle a pair of overactive puppies. Nanuet hurries off to the Wells Fargo barn where Newton Gilly and Chuck Nevers are just about to leave. He quickly convinces them to let him on board and introduces him to the other two passengers, Martin Verth and Larry Colgan, who both work for the Wells Fargo Office in Tombstone. The two had spent the last four hours riding non-stop from Tombstone and their horse are too tired for the return trip so they are riding back instead. Nanuet asks Minerva to keep an eye on Ruby and Jake's new house and grabs some money and other belongings before running to the stage. Once on board he pesters the other passengers for any news regarding the timing of the outgoing train to Tucson and any news about the others. The men tell what they know of the fire, although when they left it was still raging so are unable to give him too much detail. They say that while the fire was spreading fast there appeared to be time for people to evacuate the buildings, albiet without most of their possessions. The Wells Fargo Stagecoach arrives in Tombstone at approximatley 1:00 A.M., parking outside between Schieffelin Hall and Turn Verein Hall. By that time two stagecoaches from Benson and one from Bisbee have already come and then gone with full loads of passengers. Chuck Nevers says they should feed and rest the horses a good hour before heading back. Newton Gilly heads off to find Marshall Williams to see who is lined up as passengers for this run. Nanuet's jaw drops when he sees the devastation of the fire. "Unbelievable, just unbelievable!" he says in a shocked tone. "I hope everybody is OK, now where to start?" Nanuet begins wandering the town calling out his friend's names and seeing if anybody needs healing. Williams and Chester begin to gather up people for the 2:00 AM stagecoach ride back to Promise City. Williams suggests to Chester that he may want to send Clarisse back. Buck Fly and his wife both ask to be on it, since they've now lost everything and Buck's brother Roger lives in Promise City. "Good idea. I'll go get her." Chester reenters the hall. Clarisse is asleep with Kate's family. He gently shakes her shoulder. "Dear? Clarisse? You should take the next stage back to Promise City. Tombstone isn't a place for you now. You should sleep in your own bed. Go home." She looks at him. "Aren't you coming with me? What about you?" "I should stay here. They need my help." He smiles. "Plus I can drive the fire wagon back to town." She replies, “This isn't funny. You could get hurt." He says, "I'm sorry. The fire's out for the most part. It's mostly clean-up now." She relents, "Alright. I'll go. But promise me you'll be back as soon as you can." He states, "I promise. Let me help you with your bags. The stage will be crowded, but the ride isn't long. I have Lookout so I can ride home myself." Angela Young insists on going in order to get the news back to Chumbley as soon as possible. Conrad nudges Kate awake and whispers to her, "Angela wants to go back now so I'll need to go with her. You can take the buggy back tomorrow, just as well as you could probably give Henry a much smoother ride back in it given how crowded they'll be packing these stagecoaches." "Alright," Kate nodded, trying to wake. "You'll get your bath soon. Safe journey, my dear. I'll see you at home." Still half-asleep she leaned over and embraced him, then kissed his cheek. "Let everyone know we're alright." Friedrich Seagram tightened his arm around his wife and pretended he was still asleep as his daughter said good-bye to Conrad Booth. Her voice was still thick with sleep, and it was likely she wouldn't remember a word of that conversation in the morning. Although he'd never really suspected it Friedrich was now certain that whatever else had happened between the young man and his daughter, he hadn't had the opportunity to become familiar with her sleeping habits. Katherine was asleep again within moments of Mr. Booth's departure. Friedrich looked first at his wife curled up against his side. She had insisted on making this trip even though she would have to do it again in December. Henry and Phillip, excited by Mr. Booth's stories of western life had been beyond eager. It was good to see that spark in Henry again. The boy had grown up and gotten married but kept a youthful sense of humor and play that had dimmed when Katie left and the news of Tom's death came. Friedrich gazed at his eldest son and muttered a sincere prayer of thanks for his life. His gaze finally moved over to Phillip, laying protectively close to his sister. They were an odd pair; the two had never been particularly close and Phil had surprised his father by rushing out first to meet Katherine. But he was growing up, changing, and perhaps learning for the first time what it was to really miss someone. Whatever it was, Friedrich was grateful to see his youngest starting to fulfill his promise. Lastly his eye fell on his daughter and that bundle of energy she called Ginnie. The girl had slid into Mr. Booth's spot after he left and Friedrich was fairly certain the she had never really gone to sleep at any point in the night. She and Amelie seemed to be forming a bond and Friedrich was grateful for that. Katie lay already deeply asleep again. She'd pushed herself hard, as always. Always trying to prove that she could do for herself. She'd pushed herself like that when Tom as ill as well. It was her way to work when there was trouble so that she wouldn't have to think about it. He should have realized she would need him in Tombstone after Tom died. With nothing else to think on, nothing to keep her busy she had almost driven herself mad. But there she lay, asleep with her own daughter, well and whole. Rattled by her encounter with Wyatt Earp, but well. Friedrich took a deep breath and let it out slowly. For now, they were all together. He tucked his wife closer to him and kept vigil over his family until morning. The Wells Fargo Stagecoach leaves at approximately 2:00 A.M. Chester waves to Clarisse as it heads out of town. Since they are traveling at night and also want to allow their passengers to sleep they go slower than usual, arriving back in Promise City at 6:30 A.M. Back in Tombstone, things are quiet in Schieffelin Hall as people do their best to get some sleep. The sun comes over the horizon at 6:15 A.M. at which time people begin to stir. Breakfast from the Crystal Palace soon arrives, consisting of fresh raisin bread, scrambled eggs and fried bacon, ham and sausage. Kate stretched stiffly as she sat up from her sleep. "Where are Conrad and Miss Townsend?" she asked with a yawn. "Mrs. Young wanted to back on the stage in the middle of the night, Mr. Booth and Miss Townsend went too. He told you, don't you remember?" Ginnie asked. Katherine squinted and thought for a moment. "I remember Conrad talking to me, but not what he said. Thank you, Ginnie." She got everyone gathered together and they went to get breakfast, bringing some back for Henry even though he insisted he could go himself. "Papa, I don't know what the chances are that General Pleasants and his friends could get here today are. I suggest we stay until afternoon, then head back on an afternoon stage. If they're going to get here they'll be here by then, and if not there is no good in waiting here. What do you think?" With her father's agreement, Kate went to spend the morning checking up on the people she had treated the day before. Meanwhile, the Promise City Merchant's Association meets from 7:00 to 7:30 A.M. Deputy Sheriff Colin Hunter outlines the new laws to prevent price gouging during the Tombstone shortage crisis. Pawn shop owner Clive Reston raises objections. Mitchel Berg point out this is another reason why the town needs to Incorporate, as they would then not be subject to laws imposed by the Sheriff's office. Kris Wagner explains that the Wells Fargo Stage will be doing three runs a day to Tombstone until further notice. Anybody bringing items to Tombstone to donate can ride for free, for others it will be half the usual price. Trips back are also free but priority will be given to Tombstone refugees. Zachary Morand announces that for as long as the rail service between Tucson and Tombstone is out of operation the Morand Cartage Company will be making daily runs to Willcox, where the train still runs between it and Tucson. The meeting then adjourns. People exit to see Chumbley selling the day's paper with updated information about the death of the Earp Vigilantes. He says that the next day's paper will have details of the Tombstone Fire. As people are filing out of the Town Hall Minerva stands upon a wagon outside of the building, looking every inch the righteous servant of the gods in her green priestly garbs topped with a crown of Olive leaves that nestles in her thick black, unbound hair. Irresistibly sweet music floats from her flute and wafts through the streets and like the aroma of freshly baked bread entices the crowd to leave the cool shelter of the buildings and come to her. She lowers her flute and wills them to silence with her dark burning eyes and in a clear booming voice that carries across the square begins: "It is imperative that all good people of Promise city; men, women, non-human and human, alike join together for the good of the town and the glory of the gods and make Their will known. Like an unchecked cancer, hate corrodes the personality and eats away its vital unity. Hate destroys a man's sense of values and his objectivity. It causes him to describe the beautiful as ugly and the ugly as beautiful, and to confuse the true with the false and the false with the true. In January 1863 a great American, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of non-humans, who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of captivity. But, we must face the tragic fact that the non-human is still not free. The life of the non-human is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. The non-human lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. The non-human is still languishing in the corners of Promise City society and finds himself an exile in his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize an appalling condition. In a sense we have come here to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It is obvious today that Promise City has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of various races are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, Promise City has given the non-human people a bad check which has come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this town. So we have come to cash this check -- a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind Promise City of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to open the doors of opportunity to all of the God's children. Now is the time to lift our town from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. It would be fatal for the town to overlook the urgency of the moment and to underestimate the determination of the non-human. This sweltering summer of the non-human’s legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. Those who hope that the non-human needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the town returns to business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in Promise City until all are granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our town until the bright day of justice emerges. But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the non-human and female community must not lead us to distrust of all human males, for many of our human brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny and their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone. And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the hotels and boarding houses of our town. We can never be satisfied as long as a Non human in Promise City cannot vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream. I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive. Go home knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair. I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal. I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today. I have a dream that one day the state of Alabama, whose governor's lips are presently dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, will be transformed into a situation where little non-human boys and girls will be able to join hands with little human boys and human girls and walk together as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today. I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together. This is our hope. This is the faith with which I return home. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day. This will be the day when all of the God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring. And if America is to be a great nation this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania! Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado! Let freedom ring from the curvaceous peaks of California! But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia! Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee! Let freedom ring from every hill and every molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring. When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, non human men and human men, women ,dwarves and orks, elves, vigilance committee and, merchants, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old non-human spiritual, "Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!" DM’s Note: If the text from Minerva’s speech should sound familiar to you. Most of it is taken directly from Dr. Martin Luther King Junior’s “I have a dream” speech. The posting of this part of the story just happened to take place on Martin Luther King Day and Minerva’s player strongly felt that those words could better address a situation of racial prejudice than anything else.     </blockquote>

Verification