The Carlisle independent., 1915-11-18
CHAPTER l.
No Place for Sentiment.

ter sun, streaming through the clere- story windows, cast, on the floor and on me vacant benches, patches of rubyland sapphire, of emerald and of topat these seeming only to accentu- ate sne dlmness and the silence.
 ID that silence the vestry door cIeaheo' It opened wide, and it was as II vision had suddenly been set tnele! Bathed in tho golden light rum the transept window, brown haireo' brown-eyed, rosy-cheeked, stood girl who might have been one oi tne slender stained-glas virgins come to life, the golden light flaming she edges of her hair into an aureole ene stood timidly, peering into the oimhess, and on her beautifully curved lips was 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, 1 forgot that you were 10 come for mel" said Jim Sar- gent rising from amid the group of nen in the dim transept. Well be hTongh In few minutes. Allison. you were about to prove something to us. think"
 Prove is the right word" agreed tne stockily built man who had evi- oently been addressing the vestry. He was acutely conscious of the presence or Gail, as they all were. Your rec Tor suggests that this is a matter of sentiment. You are anxious to have fifty million dollars to begin the erec- ton of cathedral; but I came here 10 talk business. and that only. Grant ing you the full normal appreciation of your Vedder Court property. and the normal increase of your aggregate rentals, you cannot have, at the end or ten years, penny over forty-two millions. l am prepared to offer you, In cash. sum which will, at three and a half per cent, and in ten years, produce that exact amount. To this l add two million"
 how much did you allow for in. :. grease in the value of the property?" asked Nicholas Van Ploon, whose only knowledge for several generations had been centered on this one question. The original Van Ploon had bought a vast tract of Manhattan for a dollar an acre, and, by that stroke of tower Ing genius, had placed the family of Van Ploon, for all eternity, beyond the necessity of thought
 For answer. Allison passed him the envelope upon which he had been fig urlng, checking off an item as he did 70. He noticed that Calls lips twftched with suppressed mirth. She turned abruptly to look back at the striking transept window, and the three vestrymen in the rear pew im- medlately sat straighter. Willis Gun hinsnam. who was bachelor, hastily smoothed his vandyke. He was so nch. by inheritance. that money meant nothing to him.
 Not enough" grunted Van Ploon. handing back the envelope and twist. ing again in the general direction of Gail.
 Ample" retorted Allison. "You can't count anything for the buildings While l don't deny that they yield the richest income of any property in the city. they are the most decrepit tenements in New York. They'll fall down in less than ten years. You have them propped up now"
 Jim Sargent glanced solicitously at Gail, but she did not seem to be bored: not particle!
 They are passed by the building Inspector annually" pompously stated W. T. Chisholm, his mutton chops turning pink from the reckoning of the skin beneath. He had spent lifetime in resenting indignities be. fore they reached him.
 Building inspectors change" fnstn. mated Allison. Politics is very uncer. tain"
 Four indignant vestrymen terked forward to answer that insult.
 Gentlemen, this is a vestry meet. ing." sternly reproved the Rev. Smith Boyd, advancing step, and seeming to feel the need of gavel His rich. ] deep barytone explained why he was rector of the richest church in the l world
 Calls eyes were dancing, but other. wise she was demureness itself as she | studied. in turns, the members of the | richest vestry in the world. She esti. mated that eight of the gentlemen | then present were almost close enough | to the anger line to swear. They num- | bered just eight, and they were most . interesting! And this was a yestry | meeting!
 The topic of debate was money. I believe" suggested Rufus Manning. rescuing his sense of humor from somewhere in his beard. He was the | infidel member. Suppose we return to it. Is Allison's offer worth consid- ering?"
 "Why?" inquired the nasal voice of clean-shaven old Joseph G. Cook. who was sarcastic in money matters. The Standard Cereal company had ettainad