Show ap 1 aa lt rl VE binm eltro PUL RANDOLPH end LILLIAN CUTER tr T 1 01 I 1 I 1 I 1 1 SS bolf aw dy I 1 ED I 1 CORM RATION SYNOPSIS 14 at a vestry meeting ot of the market 13 church aull sargent tells rev kev smith boyd that market square church Is apparently a lucrative business busl enter A altison iso n alikes gall riding in his motor of 0 r car silo bile finds cold disapproval in the ilie eyen of 0 rov kev smith boyd allason starts starlet a campaign for consolidation and control of tho the entire transportation item of the world gail bec becomes onies popular allison gains control of transcontinental frallic tr allic and arranges to absorb the vedner vedder court tenement property of market square church cli gail anil tells boyd that the file cathedral market square church proposes to build will hill be out 0 of profits wrung front from squalor equator at it a meeting of the seven seve e n financial magnates or of the country allison I 1 or the international trans transportation po company rev smith boyd un undertakes I 1 ortanes galls gail 0 spiritual instruction and a aall all un COnS gives allison a hint I 1 that ha t solves the vedder court problem for him on an inspection trip in All Alli laona sons new subway tho file tunnel funnel eaves caves in gall goes back to tier her hone home in the west tier her friends luro lure aier and arly back to new york in the tha midat or of a struggle with the dregs of humanity in vodder vedder court rev ilov smith boyd suddenly rinds that ho he Is a real and loving man ile ho proposes to gaff gail but on the of acceptance she re imen 1 bore their religious differences and ands befu refuses ses through Alli sons connivance zt with h the political boss boas vedder court la Is cond condemned ened bv tho the city its iia un unsanitary sanita r Y hev smith boyd proposes pro posea to the vest vestry ry to io the old vedder court buildings with model tenements tene menta allison makes or nr ranK range omenta ments with foreign representatives for or the he consolidation of the lie transportation interests of the lie world CHAPTER continued the neat caller with tho the first slow motion he be had used estrica he came into the room drew the tha slip of paper towards him again i there followed another banker a ruddy faced ann whose heavy features were utterly incapable of emotion and he be sat eat at allison a table an in thick solidity there are ara about to begin international movements of tho the utmost importance allison told him there is As a war scheduled for next mouth month which la Is likely to embroil the whole of europe the banking gentleman nodded his thead head almost imperceptibly 1 mr hir chisholm advised me that your sources of information are authentic ahe stated what you tell me Is most deplorable quite agreed allison 1 I ara am informed that the company you cepro tient and manage has the practical dl t of the entire banking system of europe with the exception ot of one country besides this you have powerful interests amounting very nearly to a monopoly in egypt in india in australia and in a dozen other quarters of the globe you seem peem to be accurately ln in fo formed admitted the banking gentle man iman studying interestedly the glow ing coals in Alli sons fireplace replace I I 1 it if I 1 can show you how bow a certain at iltrude towards the international complications which are about to ensue will be of immense advantage to your banking system as well as to the in teresta ite I 1 represent I 1 have no doubt that we can corns come to a very definite understanding I 1 the solidly banking gentleman studied the glowing coals for two should be interested in learning the exact details he finally suggested allison drew some sheets of paper from an indexed file and spread them the financier it was largely a matter of credits in the beginning ex here curtailments curt ailments there and hit all on a scale so gigantic ulga antic that both gentlemen went over every item with the ithe imaginative minds of poets in every line there was a vista of vast empires of toppling thrones of altered boundaries of such an endless and shifting shit ting panorama of governmental forces that the tha minds of men less in ared to the contemplation of commer caal and political revolutions might have grown fagged bagged on the third page the solid banking gentleman who had not madl made a nervous motion since his grandfather was a boy booked up with a start starl why this affects my own coun tryl he exclaimed it affects our re enormous normous shipping interests our great transportation lines our commercial ramifications in all parts of the globed dt cripples us on the land and wipes via ia from the seal it even affects my own government quite true admitted allison All lson the banking gentleman drew a long breath what you predict may not come to pass he maintained although the he secret information which had brought him to allison had prepared him to take every statement seriously 1 I can show you proofs the war which Is to be started next month Is only the keystone he of the political arch of tho the entire eastern hemisphere there are a dozen wars each bigger than dhan the other slated to follow it if i needed like the pressing of a row of 0 electric buttons knowing thet these e as you shall it Is only a question of whether you will be with me on the crest or in the hollow the caller moistened his lips and turned his bis gaze finally from the glowing ing coals to Alli sons face r show me everything you know lie be demanded they sat together until morning land and the they traversed the world and when that had gone allison gave his globo globe a contemptuous whirl the balance of them were but matters of detail with a certain pride palde ful arrogance of which lie he himself was aware he reflected that now he could almost leave these minor powers and potentates and dignitaries to a secretary intoxicated with a sense of at his own power ho he wont want back into hla his study and drew from a drawer the photograph of a young and beautiful girl gill who seemed to look up at him out of an oval face wreathed with waving brown hair and set with beautifully curved lips which twitched at the corners cornei s in a halt sarcastic smile from two brown eyes deep and glowing and fraught with an intense attractiveness every morning he had bad looked at this photograph the priceless crown of his achievement tho the glittering jewel to set sat in the head of his scepter the beautiful medallion of his bis valora only a little longer gall call he told tier her with a smile and then he saluted the photograph gall gail the ranker maker of capal maps I 1 he said CHAPTER the world at galls feet callers for mrs airs helen davies dadles and a huge bouquet of american beauties for gall into the louis XIV room where nicholas van cloon and miss van aloon sat with unusual imbres siveL mrs airs davlos davies came arrayed in the wk velvet afternoon gown which gave her more stateliness and more impressive dignity than anything in her wardrobe miss van aloon who was a true member of the family in that she considered the van aloon entity before any individual quite approved of mrs airs davies and was in nowise jealous of being so distinctly outshone in personal appearance nicholas van aloon also surveyed mrs mra davies with a calculating eye and bobbed his round head slightly to himself lie ile had canvassed mrs helen davies before and had discussed her in family council but this was a final view a dress parade as it were halt half an hour later mrs airs helen davies leaving her guests in the louis XIV room paused at the head of the stairs to calm herself the mrs wa verly galtes gaites annual faded into dim obscurity ity mrs afro waverly galtes would 1 when the visitor was gone allison gave the globe a contemptuous whirl beg gall on her handed bended knees to attend the annual and mrs helen davies could attend if she liked she went into her own room loom and took a drink of water and sat down for or thirty or forty seconds then she went into galls suite where she found that young lady all unconscious of the honor which was about to befall her reading a six hundred page critique of chapins Cho pins music and calmly munching chocolates out of a basket decorated with eight shades of slik silk roses sit down and have a chocolate aunt helen hospitably offered gall s slipping lipping a marker in her book mrs airs davies consumed a great deal of time in selecting a chocolate but she did not sit down shall you be at liberty this evening gall she inquired with much carelessness why end and gall whose feet were stretched out and crossed ln in lazy ease looked up at her aunt sidewise from under tier her curving lashes mrs davies hesitated a moment houston van aloon would like to call are they still downstairs gall suddenly unveiled her eyes and I 1 brought her slippers squarely in ont lont of her divan also she sat bolt upright yes and mrs davies betrayed signs of nervousness are they making the appointment for houston yes yea the word drawled dral cd why and galls brown eyes began to crackle mrs afro davies thought it better to sit all down my dear a great honor has come to you gall leaned forward towards her aunt and tilted tier her chin houston wants to propose and hes sent d his father and sister to find out it if lie ho cayll may she charged yes acknowledged mrs airs davies arven driven past the possibility of delay or preparation and feeling herself unjustly on the defensive 1 I shall ahall not be at home this evening announced gall gail decisively and stretched out her feet again and crossed her little gray slippers and took a chocolate or any other evening she added mrs airs davies lost her nutter flutter immediately dia tely this was too serious a matter to bo be weakly tr calvd my aly dear you dont understands under she protested biot in anger but in patient reason houston van aloon has haa been the unattainable match of now new york ile he la Is a gentleman in every particular ti a desirable young man in every respect and gifted with everything a young girl would want lie he has so BO much money that you could buy a kingdom and be a queen it if you choso chose to amuse yourself that way lie he has a dignified oll OIL family which makes mere social position seem like en an ignominious scramble for cotillion favors and it to Is universally admitted that he Is the most perfect of all the van for many generations not exceptionally clever but that Is one of the reasons the van are so particular to find a suitable matrimonial aff alliance latice for him gall nibbling daintily at her chocolate closed her eyelids for a second the long brown lashes curved down on tier her cheeks and from beneath them there escaped a sparkle like the snap of live coals while the corners of her bet lips twitched in that little smile which she kept for her own enjoyment you cannot appreciate the compliment which has haa been paid you gall every debutante for the past alvo years has been most carefully considered by the van and I 1 sincerely bellevo believe this to be the first time they have unanimously agreed on a choice it Is a matter of eugenics gall but in addition to that mr van aloon assures me that houston to Is most fervently interested how flow careless of 0 them criticized gall gail they have neither asked for my measurements measure menta nor examined my teeth gaill her chaperon and sponsor was both shocked and stern 1 I positively decline to even discuss the van aloon eugenics stated gall pushing aside her chocolates while a red spot began to appear on her cheeks 1 I shall not as I 1 stated before be at home to houston van aloon this evening or any other evening 1 I shall not deliver that message announced mrs airs davies dadles setting her bar lips As your present sponsor sponsors shall insist that you take more time to consider a matter so important 1 I biall insist on refusing to consider it for one second returned gall gail quietly 1 I am very fond of houston van aloon and I 1 hope to remain so but I 1 marry him under any circumstances this Is firm flat and final mrs hire helen davies dropped patient reason instantly she was waa aware of an impulsive wish that oat gall were in pinafores and her own child so eo she could box her ears eara gall gail you compel me to lose my pa ti encel she declared when you came I 1 strained every influence I 1 possessed to have you meet the most desirable this big city could offer just as it if you were my own daughterly daugh terl I 1 have succeeded in working mirac mirA lesl clest I 1 have given you an opportunity to interest the very bostl best you have interested them but I 1 have never seen such extravagance in the waste of you have refused men whom thousands in the highest circles circle rs lieve nave sought and now you refuse the very choice of them all I 1 what or whom do you want galls red spots were deepening but she only clasped her knee in he her r inter locked fingers her brown hair about her face and her chin you cant always expect to retain your youth and beauty and ch charm arnit 1 went on her aunt helen you cant expect to come to new york every year and look over the until you find one to suit your fastidious taste youre capricious youre ungrateful and youre unsatisfactory I 1 galls eyes turned suddenly moist and the red flashed out of her cheeks oh aunt helenl she aho exclaimed in instant contrition im so very very sorry that I 1 am such a disappointment to youl you I 1 but it if I 1 just cant marry mr air van aloon I 1 cant can I 1 dont you see she was up now and down again sitting on a hassock in front of airs davies and the face which she upturned had in it so much of beautiful appeal that even her chaperon and sponsor was softened 1 I 1 was nasty a while ago and I 1 had no excuse for it for you have been loving and sincere in your desire to make my future happy im so very very corryl ill tell you what ill dot dol you may go down and tell mr air van aloon and hla his daughter that I 1 will see houston this evening and then she smiled but you say with pleasure 0 0 the soft air which blew upon galls cheek was like the first breath of spring and there was tho the far off prophecy of awakening in the very sunshine as she sped out ane river road with allison in his powerful runabout run abouL its exclaimed gall her cheeks answering to the caress of the air with a flush of blossom like delicacy she was rh contented today allison find been so fio busy of 0 late and she had missed him with all his strength he was restful 1 I feel like a now new man at this llila time of the year returned allison All lson glancing at gall with cool appreciation A car full of men passed them and the looks they cast u n his runabout pleased him gall call do ekl MU remember the first time we drove out here indeed yes yee she laughed with the snow to in our eyes and the roads all white with the lights gleaming through the flakes like arctic arcile wilio hlll o the wisps wo we ran away that night and dined at Rose roseleaf leat inn and worried the folks to death for tear fear we bad had an accident 1 I had bad more than an accident that night said allison All lson 1 I 1 had a total wreck gall glanced at him quickly but his face was clear of any apparent purpose ile he was gazing straight ahead hn clean cut profile always a pleasant thing to look upon set against the shifting background of rocky banks as it it wore were the one steadfast and unalterable thing in the universe and he was smiling introspectively it was about hero here that it happened he went on 1 I think id been bragging a little and chink you meant to slyly prick my balloon which I 1 will admit seemed a kind and charitable thing to do what was it wondered gall trying to recall that unimportant conversation oh a gentle intimation that I 1 done dho so much he laughed 1 I 1 had just finished consolidating all the traction |