Winter shook his head. "Worse than that. Here's the topper-offer," and he handed Franklen a sheet of paper. Franklen read it silently and then whistled explosively.
"So the Government of Mexico offers complete annexation of all the states of Mexico to the United States of America in exchange for certain provisos and considerations in the way of civil government of the new territory?"
Winter nodded. "And from what they tell me of the Mexican demands, the United States would be imbecilic not to accede to their request."
Franklen shook his head widely and slowly. "Madness!" he said quietly. "If we do, we're legally guilty of the same offense as Hohmann. If we do not, we're fools. How can the pot call the kettle black and still retain a moral sense of values?"
"Can't," grumbled Winter. "And we've got ourselves another twenty million citizens, three quarters of a million square miles, and something like a total of eighty United States of America!"
Winter stood up, his face bitter. "United Nations Weapon Council," he growled. "Preserve the future peace. Stop aggression and territorial expansion. Hell!"
He picked up a brass inkwell and hurled it through the door glass. His secretary peered in, wondering.
That was only the beginning. Just the start of a long series of similar events that came crowding in on one another so fast that it made one's head spin. Five years passed in this same mad whirl. Five years of the same crazy pattern.
And then the Central Power, which was now calling itself the European Power, faced the United States of The Americas across the Atlantic Ocean. From Ellsmere Island to Cape Horn lay the United States of The Americas, and from Spitzbergen to the Cape of Good Hope lay the European Power, all and both combined.