The Green Forest tribune., 1915-11-26
CHAPTER l.
n place for Sentiment.
-1-


 ,nd sapphire, of emerald and of
 these seeming only to accentu-
 ,be dimness and the silence.
 that silence the vestry door
 ted 1t opened wide, and 1t was
 Ma vision had suddenly been set
 Al! Bathed in the golden light
 the transept window, brown
 xd brown-eyed, rosy-cheeked.
 M a girl who might have been one
 he slender stained-glass virgins
 to life, the golden light flaming
 dges of her hair into an aureole.
 stood timidly, peering into the
 mess, and on her beautifully
 ned lips was a half questioning
 Uncle Jim," she called, and there
 some quality in her low voice
 h was strangely attractive. and hrbing.
 gy George, Gail, I forgot that you b to come for mel" said Jim Sar-
 rising from amid the group of
 in the dim transept. Well be
 ugh in few minutes. Allison.
 were about to prove something to
 think"
 Prove is the right word," agreed
 stOckily built man who had evi- Ny been addressing the vestry. He
 acutely conscious of the presence ail as they all were. Your rec |Mggests that this is a matter of Idment. You are anxious to have million dollars to begin the erec-
 of cathedral; but l came here tk business, and that only. Grant you the full normal appreciation your Vedder Court property, and normal increase of your aggregate als, you cannot have, at the end len years, a penny over forty-two lons. l am prepared to offer you, nSh, sum which will, at three half per cent, and in ten years, luce that exact amount. To this a two million"
 How much did you allow for in. s Tn the value of the property?" Nicholas Van Ploon, whose only Wedge for several generations had
 centered on this one question. original Van Ploon had bought
 tract of Manhattan for a dollar lcre, and, by that stroke of tower genus, had placed the family of Ploon, for all eternity, beyond the sssty of thought.
 pf answer, Allison passed him the sope upon which he had been fig s checking off an item as he did
 lie noticed that Calls lips |ened with suppressed mirth. She asd abruptly to look back at the Tnng transept window, and the Vestrymen in the rear pew i'm alely sat straighter. Willis Cun- gram, who was a bachelor, hastily olAed his Vandyke. He was so
 by inheritance. that money ht nothing to him.
 Aot enough" grunted Van Ploon, aag back the envelope and twist ssaln in the general direction of anple," retorted Allison. You count anything for the buildings. 4s l don't deny that they yield the 1sl income of any property in city, they are the most decrepit @ents in New York. They'll fall a In less than ten years. You them propped up now" |aa Sargent glanced solicitously at but she did not seem to be bored; particle!
 |lney are passed by the building Fector annually" pompously stated FI. Chisholm, his mutton chops fang pink from the reckoning of Skin beneath. He had spent a Fme in resenting indignities be- cthey reached him.
 |'ullding inspectors change" insin- M Allison. Politics is very uncer- b"
 F'Qr indignant vestrymen jerked 'ard to answer that insult.
 entlemen, this is a vestry meet sternly reproved the Rev. Smith s~a' ~ advancing a step, and seeming sel the need of a gavel. His rich. \ oarytone explained why he was Sor Of the richest church in the nd.
 islrs eyes were dancing, but other v She was demureness itself as she ppled' In turns, the members of the rest vestry in the world. She esti- sd that eight of the gentlemen present were almost close enough ae anger line to swear. They num- sa just eight, and they were most resting! And this was vestry ating!
 me topic of debate was money, I sve," suggested Rufus Manning, 'ulng his sense of humor from lewhere in his beard. He was the aei member. Suppose we return l. Is Allison's offer worth consid- g?"
 "hy?" inquired the nasal voice of a-shaven old Joseph G. Cook. who sarcastic in money matters. The aaard Cereal company had attained colossal dimensions through re- 's: and he had invented the de-