The Ordway new era., 1916-03-31
CHAPTER XIII.
Gail First!

Gail First!
Allison. springing forward with
jerk as he left Jim Sargent's house.
headed his long. low runabout up the
avenue. He raced into the park. and
glanced up at the lookout house as
he sped on past; but it was only
feeting look. He needed no reminder
of Gail. AS he passed Roseleaf inn.
he slowed down. The roadhouse may
have given him. and probably did. an.
other reminder of Gail. in such man.
ner as to concrete him into logical
thought; for he slowed down the ter
rife speed which had been the accom-.
paniment Of his unreasoning emotion.
The driving required too much con-
centration for specific thought.
With this turning of his mental atti-
tude. even the slow running of the car
seemed to disturb him. and, about
half mile past Roseleaf inn. he came
slowly to stop. sitting at the wheel.
with his head bent slightly forward.
and staring at the spot where the road.
way had ceased to roll beneath his
machine. Presently he became aware
of the cold. and running his car to the
side of the road. he stepped out. and.
buttoning his coat around him, crossed
fence and walked through the mar
row strip OF trees to the river bank,
where he stood for a moment looking
out upon the misty Hudson. sparkling
under the moonlight. He began to
walk up and down the bank presently,
the turf sinking spongily under his
feet. and 1t was noticeable that his
pace grew more and more rapid. until
he was striding at furious rate of
speed
The man was in torment Of pas.
sion. He had spent a lifetime In the
deliberate acquisition of everything
upon which he had set his will; and It
was one of the things upon which he
had built his success. that, ouce he
had fixed his desire deliberately upon
anything. he had held unwaveringly to
that object. employing all the forces OF
which strong men are capable; patient
waiting. dogged persistence. or vicious
graphing. whichever was best adapted
TO gain his ends.
Gail! If there had been tender
thoughts of her. they were gone now
1t was so that he had centered his
mind upon her. and himself and biz
will. until. in all creation. there was
nothing else but that was trivial: am
bition. power. wealth. fame, the com
mand of empires and Of men, were
nothing, except as they might lead to
her!
So 1t was that he had come this far
and the roadway to his present height
was marked by the cripples he had
left behind him. without compunctton
without mercy, without compassion.
Bankrupts strewed his way, broken
men of purpose higher than mis- own
useful factors in the progress Of bu
man life, builders and creators who
had advanced the interest of the com
monwealth. but who had been more
brilliant in construction than they had
been in reaping the rewards of their
building. 1t was for Allison to do this
1t had been his speciality; the reapIng
of rewards. 1t had been his faculty to
permit others to build, to encourage
them in it. and then. when the build
ing was done. to wrest it away from
the builders. That marked him as the
greatest commercial genius of his
time: and he had much applause for 1t.
Women. Yes. there had been WON.
en-, creatures of common mold with
whom he had amused himself. had
taken them In their freshness, and
broken them. and thrown them awav:
this In his earlier years But In his
maturity. be had bent all his strength
to greater passion; the requirement
OF all those other things which map
mad wanted and held most dear. amonx
them acquisition. and power, and sue.
cess. Perhaps It had been bad for him
tnis concentration, for now II len him
= Tie height Of bis maturity, Win NJ.
taken fsnc'es. vit6 sions psat ~.
with dispropsrsdonoee lesirpe. nrlsw.l
ine y - ~ - ~ tiV{1rer ii..iv,
aenesN neg1g a1ISll = 1es'1l ~,
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