The Arvada enterprise. (Arvada, Colo.) 1908-1970, 1915-12-02
CHAPTER |.
No Place for Sentiment.

story windows, cast, on the floor and
on the vacant benches, patches of
ruby and sapphire, of emerald and of
topaz, thszc seeming only to accentu-
ale the dimness and theSsience
IN shat silence the vestry door
creaked, 1t opened wide, and 1t was
as II vision had suddenly been set
there! Bathed in the golden light
from the transept window, brown
ualredt brown-eyed. rosy-cheeked,
stoo0 girl who might have been one
OF thy slender stained-glass virgins
come 10 life. the golden light flaming
the edges of her hair into an aureole.
she stood timidly, peering into the
dimness, and on her beautifully
curved lips was a half questioning
smile.
uncle Jim," she called, and there
was some quality In her low voice
which was strangely attractive, and
disturbing.
by George, Gail, forgot that you
were to come for mel" said Jim Sar.
gent, rising from amid the group of
men In the dim transept. We'll be
through in few minutes. Allison,
you were about to prove something to
us. think"
Prove is the right word" agreed
the stockily built man who had evil
IDENTIFY been addressing the vestry. He
'as acutely conscious of the presence
81 Gail, as they all were Your rec.
or suggests that this Is a matter OF
sentiment. You are anxious to have
NIFTY million dollars to begin the cree
ton OF a cathedral; but ] came here
10 taiK business, and that only. Grant
ing you the full normal appreciation
OF Your Nedder Court property, and
the normal increase of your aggregate
rentals, you cannot have, at the end
Of Ken years. penny over forty-two
nl!lohs ! am prepared to offer you
IN cash, sum which WILL at three
and half per cent, and in ten years,
produce that exact amount. To this
! add two million"
How much did you allow for in.
crease in the value of the property
asked Nicholas Van Ploon, whose only
knowledge for several generations had
neeh conferred On this one question
The original Van Poon had bought a
vast tract of Manhattan for dollar
an ,cTe, and. by that stroke of tower
Ing genius, had placed the family Of
Van Ploon, for all eternity. beyond the
necessity of thought
Fol answer, Allison passed him the
envelope upon which he had been fig
urins, checking off an item as he did
so. lie noticed that Calls lips
'witched with suppressed mirth. She
turned abruptly to look back at the
striking transept window. and the
three vestrymen in the rear pew i'm.
media,ely sat straighter. Willis Gun
bingham, who was a bachelor. hastily
smoothed his Nandyke. He was so
rich, by inheritance. that money
meant nothing TO him.
Not enough" gruntcd Van PIoon.
hanGing back the envelope and twist.
ing again In the general direction OF
Gail
Ample" retortcd Allison. .You
cant count anything for the buildings
While don't deny that they yield the
richest income of any property in
the city. they are the most decrepit
tcnemcnts In New York They'll fall
down In less than ten years. You
have them propped up now"
Jim Sargent glanced sollcltously at
Call but she did not seem to be bored:
no, particle.
''Il1y n Sg.I hy a..
inspector annually" pompously stated
W, r. Chisholm, his mutton chops
turning pink from the reddening OF
the skin beneath. He had spent n
lifetime In rcsenting !ndIgnities be.
fore they reached him.
Building inspectors change" ins,n.
uated Allison. Politics is very uncer.
tain"
Four indignant vestrymen jcrkcd
forward 20 answer that insult,
Gentlemen. this is n ycstry meet
ing stcrrly rcproved the Rev. Smith
BOYD, advancing step. and seeming
to feel the need OF a gayel His rich.
deep barytone explained why H. was
rector Of the richest church In tho
world.
GN!ls eyes were dancing. bu, other.
wise she WIS occurrences itself AS she
studied n urns, the members OF tn.
richest vcGiry In the world. She cs,i
mut'd that eight Of the gentlemen
thu present were almost close enough
TO the anger limo TO swear They mum.
hcrcd just eight. and they were most
interesting And this WAS vcstry
meeting,
"Thc topic OF deb,te was money. I
believe" suggested Rufus Manning,
rcsculng his sense Of humor from
somewhere In his beard lie was the
inhdel member. suppose wc return
TO It l. AllIsons oll-r worth consld.
efinc7"
why" inquired TIE nasal voice o,
clean sracen old Joseph G. Cook. who
ncs sarcastic IN money matters III.
standard Cereal company had attained
~ eolossal Dimensions through Re-.
bates. AID he had invented the de-