Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1910-10-04
CHAPTER !.

has not?-yet who has no intimate
friendships with or relations to tho
other sex, Is likely to find himself in
that state Of mind sooner or later.
Gormly was sufilciently aged: he was
forty-four although he looked much
younger. He was suficiently expe-
rienced; he had dealt with women for
straight quarter of injury al.
though he had neither loved nor mar.
ried one. He was sufficiently self re-
liant; he had built up by his own I'm.
aided efforts the greatest retail mer.
chandise business OF his day and gen.
GRAFTON. He was suficiently indepond.
ent-for he had done it alone-to have
been above the ordinary feeling of
loneliness. Nevertheless, he was tenn
peramentally lonesome, and at this
particular moment desperately SO.
He had drifted into New York some
rs years before. utterly unheralded.
unnoticed. He had begun by filling a
small clerkship in little dry goods
store. He kept ut 1t until he owned
the store. and after that larger store
on better street. He had developed
genius for trade, and an executive
ability in accord, until the original
little shop had expanded into a l5-
story building covering block on the
principal thoroughfare of New York
city, and its owner had become pow.
er in finance merchant prince.
Such was George Gormly.
He was, too. scrupulously honest
man. He sold good goods. without
No,
ed them. He established principles of
accomm odation in his dealings that
we're unique when they were first in
stttuted in New York. He made no
dishonest dollars. His money was
good everywhere because it vas un.
tainted. He prospered exceedingly.
one expansion following another.
Eschewing speculation Of any kind
and devoting himself strictly to the
business, he found himself in middle
life the head, the foot, the sole owner.
of the greatest enterprise of the kind
that the world had ever seen.
This had not been achieved lightly.
He had brought it about because. with
absolute singleness Of heart he had
put every ounce Of strength and time
and talent. which in him amounted to
genius, at the service of his affairs.
Time, talent, and genius do not always
produce such results; fortune still
must be considered in the game. Op.
nortunity had favored Gormly. He
had succeeded in everything beyond
his own or anyone's widest dreams
He might have gone on Indefinitely
IN his mercantile operations without
Attracting special attention to himself
personally, had 1T not been for one
fact That momentous happening was
his meeting with Miss Haldane.
1t had come about in common
place way enough. Miss Haldane.
deeply Interested in social settlement
work -" being brought in contact
thereby 4 some of the poorer EN-.
ployees O. lie great Gormly establish
ment, had concluded to call on the
proprietor thereof to see If she could
not induce him to make some ade-
quate contribution to the work she
had so much at heart. Like every
other business man in New York.
Gormly was overwhelmed by chart
table demands. His business was one
thing; his charity another He en-
ployed a special secretary to look afr
err the eleemosynary end of his a9.
fairs.
There were two reasons why the
secretary felt himself unequal to deal
With Miss Haldane and her demands.
The first reason was Miss Haldane
herself She was a member OF the
vi c{1 O%rr1o in
New York society. Her family was
of the richest and most esteemed
IN that hive of multi-millionarics.
would be-sos, also-rans, and other peo-
pie. The second was the magnitude
of Miss Haldane's demand She want
ed something like a million dollars.
This amount appalled, the secretary.
She realized that man like Gormly.
indeed most men if they had the pow
er, would much rather give million
than dime to an undertaking that
appealed to them. Still, Gormly. hav-
ing devoted his attention so exclusive
ly to his business heretofore, was
rather staggered by the magnitude Of
the amount. He would have been
more staggered by it had he been less
so by Miss Haldane herself.
Miss Haliane had beauty. Thou
sand. OF people-womep that is, and
some few men-have that. She had
more: she had presence and person
atty. Hundreds of men, and some
few women. have these.
Those who have all three in either
sex are rare and come to view infre-
ouently. Whether it was Miss Hal
danes undoubted beauty. or Miss Hal
danes exquisite breeding and man
ner, or Miss Haldane's force OF char
acter and determination, that most i'm
pressed him, or whether his instant
subjugation was due to the influence
! of all three. Gormly could not tell.
He was given to self-analysis. as
lonely people usually are. By analyz-
ing himself he learned to analyze 9th
ers. Introspectfon and observation had
been great factors In his success. Here
again his experience was at fault; for
Miss Haldane defied analysis. as the
breath of summer compounded OF
thousand balmy scents cannot be re-
solved into its elements, save by the
hard scientist who is insensible to it's
fragrance.