The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1913-12-10
BOOK II.
The CareW Case.
CHAPTER /.
The Man of Iron.

dore Van Vechten the Man of Iron,"
he displayed a pretty wit. For the
phrase was descriptive of the man,
both fguratively and literally.
His Offices were in New Street, just
OFF of Wall, and quite close to the
Stock Exchange; a location unrivaled
for his purposes. which were both
tremendous and infinitely various. He
has also been Ikened to a fat spider
lurking in the midst of his web, the
f1laments of which radiate in all d.
rections throughout the contiguous
territory, and every one of them
guiding a steady stream of gold into
the Van Vechten Golfers.
Theodore Van Vechten typifed
Power.
There was, first of all, the prestige
of the enormous Van Vechten for.
tune; and then the regulation and SUI
pervision of all the money, stocks and
bonds within rife shot of his office;
which is to say, the entire country,
for even the United States sub-treas-
ury-its parent also for that mat
ter-is not excluded from this sweep
ing statement
As head of the Consolidated Metals
Company, he was shining target for
the United States Attorney-General-
and, it is no doubt needless to add,
an invulnerable target. There was not
| a metal article manufactured and
marketed, from pin or a wire
| clothesline to a locomotive, motor-car
or battleship, that did not contribute
along one or another of the webs fila
ments to the aforementioned Van
Vechten fortune. Hence, literally, he
was the Man of Iron
| He was big man physically as
we'll as mentally, which was as it
should have been. His activity de-
manded prodigious physical strength
and vitality, and these two factors in
| his makeup, together with an inf1ex-
| IDLE will, showed never so auyanta-
geously as in his habitual reserve, his
steady, answering self-assurance.
which made obstacles of no more i'm
portance than SO many sheets Of pa
per opposed to a speeding bullet.
AS for his personal appearance, its
general effect was one of iron gray
| ness: the smooth-shaven lips were a
| straight, thin, uncompromising line
that scarcely moved even when he
spoke: the bare chin was square, mas
sive, iron-like, and the closely
| trimmed gray "sideboards" were we'll
nigh eclipsed by these more salient
features. His eyes, under thatch of
! gray brows, were simply metallic
glitter beyond whose surface no man
had ever seen. His moments of weak
ness, if he had any, would have been
another mans strength.
There was only one person who had
ever been wholly at ease in this mans
presence-his nephew, Rudolph Van
vechten OF the hundreds who came
into and went out of the New Street
Offices, this young man alone seemed
wholly oblivious of the fact. or indif
ferent to it, that Theodore Van Vech
ten had but to utter the word, and
he would be extinguished.
Rudolph paid his uncle visit or
the Monday afternoon that Tom Phin
.. ney was cruising around Long Island
!. Sound in his friends catboat. He
entered the inner shrine, and o
course found his uncle busy. The cir
cumstance was pointed out to him.
: Rudolph ignored the other two mer
present.
, Il see that you are" he retortet
. carelessly, land l am sorry that
! have to intrude. But you always ar
engaged, you know, and it would b.
: idiotic to wait. I'll hurry up and ge
through"
The forceful regard rested pointed
~ upon the young mans monograme'
cigarette. Unmoved, Rudolph fippe'
it away.
Pardon me-" he said; q forgo
your aversion. l came to see yo1
about Paige"
Perhaps ten seconds II was that Nj
| Van Vechten considered. Then
Can you take dinner with me?"
Homer"
Yes"
, This was an invitation which an
one of New York's industrial captain
would have coveted. Nevertheless
/ Rudolph hesitated. Mentally, he IA
over his engagements. He knew Their
was nothing of sufficient importanc
to interfere with an acceptance, bu
he did not fancy dining tetea-tet
with his uncle in the gloomy FIT
Avenue palace-uRtenanted, save b
the latter and an army of servant.