The Carlisle independent., 1915-12-23

Still laughing Allison telephoned to the offices of the Midcontinent rail road, and dashed out to his runabout just in time to see Tim German driv- ing around the corner in his liveried landau. He found in President UT bank of the Midcontinent, a spare man who had worn three vertical creases in his brow over one thwarted ambi- tion. His rich but sprawling railroad system ran fairly straight after it was well started for Chicago, and fairly straight from that way point until it became drunken with the monotony of the western foothills, where 1t gangled and angled it's way to the far south and around up the Pacific coast, arriv- ing there dusty and rattling, after a thousand-mile detour from its course but that road had no direct entrance into New York city. It approached from the north, and was compelled to l circle completely around, over hired tracks, to gain ferryboat entrance. Passengers inured to coming In over the Midcontinent, which was a we'll equipped road otherwise, counted but half their journey done when they | came in sight of New York no mat ter from what distance they had come.
 Out marketing for railroads today, | Gil?" suggested Allison
 q don't know" smiled Urbank. q | might look at few"
 Here they are" and Allison tossed |
 him a memorandum slip.
 Urbank glanced at the slip, then he looked up at Allison in perplexity. He had funny forward angle to his neck when he was interested, and the creases in his brow were deepened un- til they looked like cuts.
 q thought you were joking, and I'm still charitable enough to think SO. Whats all this junk?"
 1 Little remnants and job lots of railroads I've been picking up," and Allison drew forward his chair. Some bought outright, and in some I hold control"
 "If you're serious about interesting the Midcontinent in any of this prop erty, we don't need to waste much time." Urbank leaned back and held his knee. There are only two of these roads approach the Midconti- nent system at any point, and they are useless property so far as we are concerned; the L. and C., in the East, and the Silverknob and Nugget City. in the west, which touches our White Range branch at its southern termi. nus. We couldn't do anything with those"
 You landed on the best ones right away" smiled Allison. However dont propose to sell these to the Mid. continent. I propose to absorb the Midcontinent with them" Urbank suddenly remembered Ali. sons traction history, and leaned for. ward to look at the job lots and rem. nants again.
 This list isn't complete" he Judged and turned to Allison with a serious question in his eye.
 Almost" and Allison hitched a little closer to the desk. "There ro. mains an aggregate of three hundred and twenty n4nes of road to be built in four short stretches. In addition to this, l have a twenty-year contract over a hundred-mile stretch of the In. land Pacific. track right entry into San Francisco, and this" he displayed to Urbank a preliminary copy of an ordinance, authorizing the immediate building of an eight-track tube tbroupb crescent island to the mainland. Pos. slbly you can understand this whole project better if I show you a man." and he spread out his little pocket sketch.
 If it had been possible to reverse the process of time and worry and wearing concentration, President Ur- bank of the Midcontinent would have risen from his inspection of that map with a brow as smooth as a baby's. Instead, his lips went dry, as he craned forward his neck at that funny angle, and projected his chin with the foolish motion of a i goose
 "A direct entrance right slam into the center of New York;" he ex- claimed, cracking all his knuckles vio- lently one by one. "Vedder court! Where's that?"
 That's the best part of the joke" :" exulted Allison. with no thought that | Vedder court was, at this present mo- ment, church property. Its just where you said-right slam in the cen ter of New York; and the building into which the Midcontinent will run it's trains will be also the terminal building of every municipal transpor- tation line in Manhattan! From my station platforms passengers from Chicago or the far West will step di- rectly into subway, L., or trolley. When they come in over the line which Is now the Mtdcontinent, they will be landed. not across the river, or in some side street, but right at their own doors. scattering from the Midcontineht terminal over hundNed traction,lines! His voice. which had begWYin the mild banter of man passing an idle joke. had risen vica ring N triumphant that he was l;nca sit skGutinO