Middletown transcript., 1915-11-20
doALLgfT I2[
ayGE0RGE RANDOLPH CTIEST[R
and LILLIAN CHESTER ~
!. S2;s5ss% SssSss sss, ILLUSTRATED 4-cDRHoDEs
c0ep0aAT0H "a


this tube pol1es its nose into Oakland
bay"
I'm quite aware of the size OF the
job" chuckled Allison. However,
Tim, here'n be money enough behind
this proposition to fill that tube with
greenbacks."
Between the narrow-slitted and
puffy eyends of Tim German there
cleaned trace of the old-time genii.
"Then it's built" He rose and
leaned on his cane, twinkling down on
the man whom, years before, he had
picked as a conner" "I've heard
people say that moneys wicked, but
they never had any. When / die, and
go down to the big ferry, II the Old
Boy comes along and offers me enough
money. I'll go to hell"
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 Ur-
bank of the Midcontinent, spare man
who had worn three vertical creases
in his brow over one thwarted ambi
ton. His rich but sprawling railroad
system ran fairly straight after it was
we'll started for Chicago, and fairly
straight from that way point until II
became drunken with the monotony OF
the western foothills, where 1t gangleo
and angled its way to the far south
and around up the Pacific coast, arriv
ing there dusty and rafting, after 8
thousand-mile detour from its course
but that road had no direct entrance
into New York city. 1t approached
from the north, and was compelled tC
circle completely around, over hireC
tracks, to gain ferryboat entrance
Passengers Injured to coming In Ovel
the Midcontinent, which was a well
equipped road otherwise, counted bu
half their journey done when the.
came in sight of New York, no mat
ter from what distance they had come
"Out marketing for railroads today
Gil?" suggested Allison.
Il don't know" smiled Urbank.
might look at few"
Here they are," and Allison tosset
him a memorandum slip.
Urbank glanced at the slip, the
he looked up at Allison in perplexity
He had funny forward angle to hi
neck when he was interested, and tn
creases in his brow were deepened III
til they looked like cuts.
81 thought you were joking, and II
still charitable enough to think 81
What's all this junk?"
Little remnants and job lots {
railroads I've been picking up" an
Allison drew forward his chair. "Som
l bought outright, and in some l hol
control"
''If you're serious about interestin
the Midcontinent in any of this pro
erty, we don't need to waste muc
time" Urbank leaned back and hel
HIS knee. There are only two
these roads approach the Midconi
nent system at any point, and the
are useless property so far as we al
concerned; the L. and c., in the Eas
and the Silverknob and Nugget Cit
in the west, which touches our Viii
Range branch at it's southern tern
nus. We couldn't do anything wit
those"
You landed on the best ones rigl
away" smiled Allison. However,
don't propose to sell these to the Mi
continent. I propose to absorb Il
Midcontinent with them"
Urbank suddenly remembered AL
sons traction history, and leaned fc
ward to look at the job lots and rel
nants again
This list isn't complete" he Judge
I and turned to Allison with a seriol
question in his eye.
Almost" and Allison hitched
IL little closer to the desk. There I
9 mains an aggregate of three hundr,
q and twenty miles of road to be bu
l. in four short stretches. In addition
/ this, have a twenty-year contra
e over a hundred-mile stretch of the !
i land Pacific, a. track right entry in
II San Francisco, and this" he display,
to Urbank a preliminary copy of
it ordinance, authorizing the immedia
t. building Of an eight-track tube throu,
4 Crescent island to the mainland. "PC
4 sibly you can understand this who
3 project better If l show you a maj
u and he spread out his little pock
r sk.itch.
4 II it ha been possible to rever
.e tn" proce,s of time and worry al
wearing cIncentration, President I
II bank of the Midcontinent would ha
II risen from his inspection of tn
b, map with brow as smooth as
d, baby's. Instead, his lips went di
l.