Middletown transcript., 1915-10-23
CHAPTER I.
No Place Tor sentlment.

No Place for Sentiment.
Silence pervaded the dim old aisles
of the Market Square church, the win
ter sun, streaming through the clere-
story windows, cast on the floor and
on the vacant benches, patches of
ruby and sapphire, of emerald and Of
topaz, these seeming only to accentu-
ate the dimness and the silence.
In that silence the vestry door
creaked, 1t opened wide, and it was
as if q vision had suddenly been set
there! Bathed in the golden light
from the transept window, brown
haired, brown-eyed, rosy-cheeked,
stood girl who might have been one
of the slender stained-glass virgins
come to 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, 1 forgot that you
were to come for met" said Jim Sar-
gent, rising from amid the group of
men in the dim transept. We'll be
through in a 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
was acutely conscious of the presence
of Gail, as they all we're. Your rec
tor suggests that this is a matter of
sentiment. You are anxious to have
fifty million dollars to begin the erec-
tion of cathedral; but l came here
to 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
of ten years, a penny over forty-two
millions. l am prepared to offer you,
in cash, a 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
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
uring, checking off an item as he die
so. He noticed that Calls lips
twitched with suppressed mirth. She
turned abruptly to look back at thC
striking transept window, and tht
three vestrymen in the rear pew i'm
mediately sat straighter. Willis Gun
ningham, who was a bachelor, hastil!
smoothed his Vandyke. He was 81
rich, by inheritance. that none!
meant nothing to him.
Not enough" grunted Van Ploon
handing back the envelope and twist
ing again in the general direction o
Gail.
AmptCg ACNOAlCu FAAAAoOhs AOi
can't count anything for the buildings
While don't deny that they yield tn
richest income of any property Il
the city, they are the most decrepi
tenements in New York. They'll fal
down in less than ten years. Yo
have them propped up now"
Jim Sargent glanced solicitously a
Gail. b,1t eha did nOf scam fO ha horad
not particle!
"They are passed by the buildin
inspector annually" pompously state
w. T. Chisholm, his mutton chop
turning pink from the reddening c
the skin beneath. He had spent
lifetime in resenting indignities b.
fore they reached him.
Building inspectors change" insiI
uated Allison. politics is very unce
tain"
Four indignant vestrymen jerke
forward to answer that insult.
Gentlemen, this Is a vestry NEE
ing" sternly reproved the Rev. Smit
Boyd, advancing a step, and seemin
to feel the need of gavel. His ricl
deep barytone explained why he wa
rector of the richest church in tn
world.
Calls eyes were dancing, but othe
wise she was occurrences itself as 81
studied, in turns, the members of tt
richest vestry in the world. She est
mated that eight of the gentleme
then present were almost close enoue