Middletown transcript., 1915-11-06

Nc lAAuAANAs ASAS . AANSAJ ~ ~ N-oN
BILE with the village Of Waveview. Their
local franchises"
Settle 1t yourself" directed Allison
carelessly, and Gregory stared. Dur
ing the long and arduous course of AL
lison's climb, he had built his success
on personal attention to detail. Good
by" and Allison walked out, lighting a
cigar on his way to the door.
He stopped his runabout in front Of
a stationer's and bought the largest
globe they had in stock.
address, please?" asked the clerk,
pencil poised over delivery slip.
"I'll take it with me-" and Allison
helped them secure the clumsy thing
in the seat beside him. Thep he
streaked up the avenue to the small
and severely furnished house where
four ebony servants protected him
from the world.
"Out Of town except to this list" he
directed his kinky-haired old butler,
and going into the heavy oak library,
he closed the door On the wall de-
pending from the roller case, was
huge map, broad familiar domain be-
tween two oceans, and he smiled as
his eye fell upon that tiny territory
near the Atlantic, which, up to now, he
had called a world, because he had
mastered it.
His library phone rang.
"Mr. Allison?" woman's voice. Gail
GorOanf Ero Oar0out Hre novioa mr.
Lucille Teasdale. No other ladies were
on his list The voice was not that of
Gail. Are you busy tonight" Oh,
yes, Lucille Teasdale
Free as air." he gayly told her.
''I'm so glad" ratified Lucille. "Ted's
just telephoned that he has tickets for
The Lady's Maid Can you Join us?"
with pleasure" No hesitation
whatever; prompt and agreeable; even
pleased.
That's jolly. think six makes such
a nice crowd. Besides you and our
selves, there1l be Arly and Dick Rod
ley and Gail" Gail, of course. He had
known that. "Well start from Uncle
Jim's at eight o'clock"
Allison called old Ephraim.
II want to begin dressing at seven
| fifteen" he directed. "At three o'clock
set some sandwiches inside the door.
Have some fruit in my dressing room.
He went back to his map, remember
ing Lucille with retrospective smile.
The last time he had seen that viva
cious young person she had been emp
tying a box of almonds, at the side OF
the camp fire at the toboggan party
He jotted down a memorandum to send
her some, and drew a high stool in
front of the map.
Strange this new ambition which
had come over him. Why, he had &C
tually been about to consider his big
work finished; and now, all at once
everything he had done seemed trivial
The eager desire of youth to achieve
had come to him again, and the blood
sang in his veins as he felt of his
lusty strength. He was starting tC
build, with a youths enthusiasm but
momentum of success and the power
of capital. Something had crystallizet
him in the past few days.
Across the fertile fields and the
mighty mountains and the arid deserts
of the United States, there angled foul
black threads, from coast to coast, ant
everywhere else were shorter maiT
lines and shorter branches, and, las
of all, mere fragments Of railroads. HI
began with the long, angling threads
but he ended with the fragments, ant
these, in turns, he gave minute ant
careful study. At three o'clock hi
took a sandwich and ordered his car
He was gone less than an hour, ant
came back with an armload of books
government reports, volumes of stats
tics, and file of more intimate infor
nation from the office of his broker
He threw off his coat when he cam,
in this time, and spread. on the big
lion-clawed table at which Napoleon
had once planned campaign, a vari
colored mass of railroad maps. A
SEVENTEEN old Ephraim found him a
the end of the table in the midst o
some neat and intricate tabulations.
Thine to dress, sir" suggeste,
I Ephraim.
"Oh, it's you," remarked the ali
, sorbed Allison, glancing UP.
/ yes, sir" returned Ephraim. "Yol
told me to come for you at SEVENTH
! teen"
Allison arose and rubbed the tips @
a hia fu0ara Ovor hia eves
keep this room locked" he ordered
! and stalked obediently upstairs. Fo
the next thirty minutes he belonged t
], Ephraim.
t He was as carefree as a boy whe
he reached Jim Sargent's house, an
his eyes snapped when he saw Ga
) come down the stairs, in pearl-tinte
) gown, with triple string of pearls 1
her waving hair and a rose-colore
+ cloak depending from her GRACEFUL
5 sloping shoulders.
D Her own eyes frightened at the sigh
of him. He had been much in her min
a today; not singly but as one of
group. She was quite conscious ths
y she liked him, but she was more col
scious that she was curious about hin
He stepped forward to shake hand
e with her and, for a moment, she foun
a in her an inclination to cling to th
q warm thrill Of his clasp. She had neve
before been so aware of ANYTHING IIk