Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1915-08-11


About that Shell Beach extension7"
he inquired There's likely to be trou-
BILE with the village OF waveview Their
local franchises"
Settle it 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 clerS,
pencil poised over delivery slip.
''I'll take it with me" and Allison
helped them secure the clumsy thing
in the seat beside him. Then 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 a
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?" a woman's voice. Gail
Sargent, Mrs. Sargent. Mrs. Davies. OF
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
nice crowd. Besides you and our
selves. there1l be Arly and Dick Rod
ley and Gail" Gail. of course. He had
known that "We1l start from Uncle
Jim's at eight o'clock"
Allison called old Ephraim.
q want to begin dressing at seven
fifteen" he directed. "At thToe 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, a: the side Of
the camp fire at the toboggan party
He jotted down q memoranda 10 senC
her some, and drew a high stool il
front of the map
Strange this new ambition which
had come over him. Why, he had &C
tually been about TO consider his bis
work finished; and now, all at once
everything he had done seemed trivial
The eager desire Of youth to achievs
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
with a mans experience, and with tbs
momentum of success and the power
Of capital. Something had crystallizeC
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, anC
everywhere else were shorter MAR
lines and shorter branches. and, las
Of all, mere fragments Of railroads HI
began with the long. angling threads
but ne ended with the fragments, anC
careful study. At three o'clock h'
took a sandwich and ordered his car
He was gone less than an hour. and
came back with an armload of books
government reports, volumes of stats
tics, and a file of more intimate infor
nation from the office of his broker
He threw of his coat when he cam,
in this time, and spread, on the big
lion-clawed table at which Napoiecl
had once planned a campaign, a vari
eolored 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" suggested
Ephraim.
ooh, it's you" remarked the alb
sorbed Allison. glancing up.
yes. sir" returned Ephraim. "You
told me to come for you at SEVENTH
teen
Allison arose and rubbed the tips o
his fingers over his eyes.
Keep this room locked" he ordered
and stalked obediently upstairs Fo
the next thirty minutes he belonged t,
Ephraim.
He was as carefree as a boy whel
he reached Jim Sargent's house, ant
his eyes snapped when he saw Gal
come down the stairs, in pearl-tintet
gown. with triple string of pearls il
her waving hair and a rose-coloret
cloak depending from her GRACEFUL,
sloping shoulders.
Her own eyes frightened at the sigh
of him He had been much in her mint
today; not singly but as one of ;
group. She was quite conscious tina
she liked him, but she was more con
scious that she was curious about him
He stepped forward to shake hands
NTH bar and for q v,,nV,aaut 81. &c..