Show jeom mom LILLIAN tr D anode I 1 I 1 SYNOPSIS at a vestry meeting of the market square church gall sargent listens to discussion about the sale of tb church tenements to edward E All laon local traction king and when asked her opinion ot the church by rev smith boyd aag it Is apparently a lucrative business enterprise allason takes gall riding in his motor car when he tuge eats he Is entitled to rest on the laurels ot ats achievements she asks the disturbing question why gall returning to her uncle jim s home from her drive with al allson finds cold disapproval in the ey of rev smith boyd who Is calling there at a bobsled party gall finds the world uncomfortably full of men and allason tells jim sargent that hi new ambition Is to conquer the world starts a for consolidation and control of the entire transportation system of the world CHAPTER V continued lie allowed himself four hours for steep that night and the next after noon beaded tor denver on the way be studied maps acain but the one to which be paid most attention was a new one drawn by himself on which the various ranges of the rocky moun balna were represented by scrawled lead penciled spirals right where bis thin line crossed these spirals ata converging point was yando chasm A pass created by nature which was the proud possession of the inland pa cefic now the most prosperous and dl of all the pacific systems and the inland with an insolent pride in the natural fortune which had been found for it by the cleverest adt all engineers guarded its precious right of way as DO jewel was ever protect ed just east of yando chasm there crossed a little one horse railroad which starting at the important city of served some good aln ing towns below the inland s line and on the north side curved up and around through the mountains ram bling wherever there was freight or passengers to be carried and ending on the other side of the range at nug get city only twenty miles north of the inland s main line and a hundred miles west into the fair country which eloped down to the pacific this road which had its headquarters in denver was called the and nugget city and into its meeting walked al allson with control his course here was different from that in jersey city he ousted every director on the board and elected men think of it declared wll cox looking at the map of bis own immediately after in the directors meeting he elected himself president and kindly consenting to talk with the reporters of the denver newspapers hurried back to chicago where he drove directly to the head offices of the inland pacific I 1 ve just secured control of the sll and nugget city he in formed the general manager of the in land so I 1 noticed returned wilcox who was a young man of fifty and wore picturesque velvet hats tho papers here made quite a sensation of your going into railroading theyra welcome grinned allason say it you 11 build a branch from pines to nugget city well give you our nugget city freight where we cross at copperville Copp erville east of the range allcox headed tor tha map chats the distance he inquired twenty two miles fairly level grade and one bridge coulden couldn t think of h decided wll cot looking at the map we d like to have your freight jor there s a lot at traffic between and nug get city but its not our territory the are at and they over the white range line anyway why do you want to take away the haulage from your northern branch figure on discontinuing it the grades are steep the local traffic Is plight and the road bedis in a rotten condition woods rebuilding through waie out ill make you another propose tion I 1 II 11 build the line froan pines to nugget city myself if you 11 give us track connection at and at pines and will give us a traffic con tract for our rolling stock on a rea basis again allcox looked at the map the and nugget city road began nowhere and ran nowhere so far as the larger transportation world was concerned and it could never fig ure as a competitor the hundred miles through the precious natural pass known as the yando chasm was not so busy a stretch of road as it was important and the revenue from the passage of the and nugget city a trains would deduct considerably from the expense of maintaining that much prized key to the golden west take U up with Pr lesty and german promised allcox how soon can you let me know monday that afternoon saw allison headed back tor new york and the next morning be popped into the offices of the pacific slope and puget sound where he secured a rental privilege to run the trains of the orange valley road into san francisco and down to los angeles over the tracks of the P S and P S the orange valley was a little blind pocket of a road which made a juncture with the P S and P S just a short haul above san francisco and it ran up into a rich fruit country but its terminus was tar far away from any possible connection with a northwestern competitor and that bargain was easy that night allison glowing with an exultation which erased his fatigue dressed to call on gall sargent CHAPTER VI had they spoiled her music re sounded in the parlors of jim sargent s bouse music so sweet offid compelling in its harmony that aunt grace slipped to the bead of the stairs to listen in mingled ecstasy and pride up through the hallway floated a clear mellow soprano and a rich deep baritone blended so perfectly that they seemed twin tones aunt grace drawn by a fascination she could not resist crept down to where she could see the source of the mel ody gall exceptionally pretty tonight in her simple dove colored gown with its one pink rose sat at the piano while towering above her with his chest expanded and a look of per feet peace on his face stood rev smith boyd enraptured aunt grace stood and listened until the close of the ballad leafing through her music for the next treat gall looked up at the young doc tor and made some smiling remark her shining brown hair waving about her forehead was caught up in a simple knot at the back and the dell cate color of her cheeks was like the fresh glow of dawn rev smith boyd bent slightly to answer and he too smiled as he spoke but as he happened to find himself gazing deep into the brown eyes of gall the smile began to fade and aunt grace sargent scared ran back up the stairs and into her own room where she took a book and held it in her lap upside down the remark which gall had made was this you should have used your voice professionally the reply of the rector was I 1 do I 1 dlan t mean she laughed then returned nervously to her search for the next selection she bad seen that change in the smile it Is so rare to find a perfect speaking voice coupled with a perfect singing voice she rattled on here s that simple little may song just bar mony that s all once more their voices rose in that perfect blending which la the roost delicate of all in the melody itself there was an appealing sympathy and in that moment these two were in as perfect accord as their voices there is something in the music of the human tone which exerts a magnetic attraction like no other in the world which breaks down the bar alers of antagonism which sweeps away the walla of self entrenchment which attracts and draws which ex plains and does away with alon this was the first hour they had spent without a clash and rev smith doyd his eyes quite blue tonight brought another stack of music from the rack the butler an aggravating image with only one joint in his body pa craded solemnly through the hall and back again with the card tray while gall and the rector bang juaneta from an old college songbook which the reverend doyd bad discovered in high glee aunt grace came down the stairs and out past the doors of the music salon there were voices of greeting in the hall and aulty aunty returned to the door just as tha rector was spreading open the book at sweet and low pardon me beamed aulty aunty 9 theres a little surprise out here tor you A rush of noise filled the nil la die and ted teasdale handsome dick rodley and arty fosland and houston van aloon bad come clattering in aa a a an escort for sirs dadles whose pet fad was to have aa many young people as possible bring her home from any peace where s the baby demanded handsome dick dodley beading for the stairs silly you cried luclle and started after him flakes should be asleep at this hour I 1 came in for the sole purpose of teaching flakes the turkey trot de dared handsome dick and ran away followed by luclle lucilea a becoming passe cratl dazed ted she s flirting with rodney tor the second time can you blame her defended arly fosland she was sitting in the deep corner of her favorite couch nursing a slender ankle and even her shining black hair to say nothing of her shin ing blaak eyes seemed to be snapping with wicked delight luclle and handsome dick came struggling down the stairway with flakes beewen them and gall sprang instantly to take the bewildered puppy from them both little blonde luclle gaye up her interest to the prior right but rodley pretended to be obstinate about it his deep ayea burned down into gall s as he stood bending above her and his smile to howard s con cent rated gaze had in it that danger ous fascination which few women could resist gall was positively sall ing up into his eyes tableau called ted all ready tor the next reel hold it a while begged arly and even rev smith doyd was forced to admit that the picture was handsome enough to be retained the adonis like dick with bis black hair and black eyes his curly black mus tache and bis black goatee his pink cheeka and his white teeth gall gracefully erect her head thrown back her brown hair waving and her fluffy white flakes between them it was painfully beautiful children go home suddenly corn banded mrs dadles dick put the dog back where you found it I 1 suppose we 11 have to go home drawled ted dick put back that dog put away the dog dick ordered the heavier voice of young van aloon come along gall HI put him away at his approach dick placed the puppy with great care in gall s charge and took her arm van aloon took her other arm and trio laughing went away to return flakes to hla bed they clung to her most affectionately bending over her on either side and they called her gall the others were ready to go when they returned from the collie nursery and the three young men stood for a moment in a row near the door gall looked them over with a puzzled expression what was there about them which was so attractive was it poise sureness polish breeding experience insolence grooming what even the stiff van aloon seemed smooth of bearing tonight they still were standing in the hall and the front door opened brought you a prodigal hailed uncle jim slipping his latchkey in his pocket as he held the door open tor the prodigal in question gall was watching the doorway someone outside was vigorously stamping his feet the prodigal came in and proved to be aillston buoyant of step sparkling of eye firm of jaw and ruddy from the night wind sall ing with the eu reness of welcome he came eagerly up to gall and took her band retaining it until she felt corn belled to withdraw it recognizing again that thrill the barest trace of a flush came into her cheeks and paled again gall changed her garments and let down her waving hair and disdaining the help of her maid performed all the little nightly duties to the putting away of her clothing then in a perfectly neat and orderly boudoir she sat down to take herself seriously in hand there was a knock at the door and on invitation the tall and stately mrs helen dadles came in frilled and rut fled for the she found the dainty little guest boudoir in green tinted dimness gall had turned down all the lights in the room except the green lamps under the and she sat on the divan with her brown hair rippling about her shoulders her knees clasped in her arms and her dainty little boudoir slippers peeping from her flowing pink negligee while the dim green light suited to her pros ent reflections only enhanced the clear pink of her complexion mrs dadles moved over to the other side of gall where ahe could surround her and laid the brown head on her shoulder gall whose quick intelligence no movement escaped lay comfortably on aunt helen s shoulder and a clear laugh rippled out she could not see the smile of satisfaction and relief with which aunt helen dadles received that laugh my dear I 1 am quite well pleased alth you she bald you have a bril llant future before you galls eyelids closed the long brown lashes curved down on her cheeks revealing just a sparkle of brightness while the mischievous little smile twitched at the corners of her lips if you were an ordinary girl I 1 would urge you tonight to make a selection among the ex allent matrimonial material of which lou have a choice but with your ex talents and beauty roy ad vice Is just to the contrary you should delay until you have had a wider opportunity for judgment you have not as et shown any marked preference I 1 hope gall s quite unreasoning impulse was to giggle but she clothed her voice demurely no aunt helen you are remarkably wise comell dented aunt helen a bit of app alon which quite checked gall s am pulse to giggle in the meantime it la just as well to study your of course there s dick hodley whom no one considers seriously and cunningham whose one and only drawback Is such questionable health that he might persistently in with your social activities houston van aloon I 1 am frank to eay Is the most eligible of all and to have attracted his attention Is a distinct trl mr allason All lson while rather ad danced in yeara please cried gall think I 1 was a horse 1 I know just how you feel stated aunt helen entirely unruffled but she sat with her brown hair rip plang around her shoulders you have your future to consider and I 1 wish to invite your confidence and in her voice there was the quaver of much concern thank you aunt helen said gall realizing the sincerity of the older comans womans intentions and putting her arms around mrs davies neck she kissed her it Is dear ot you to take so much interest 1 I think its pride confessed airs dadles naively I 1 won t keep you up a longer gall go to bed and get all the sleep you can only sleep will keep those roses in your cheeks good night and with a parting caress she went to her own room with a sense of a duty well performed gall smiled retrospectively and tried the blue light under the canopy lamp but turned it out immediately the green gave a much better effect of moonlight on the floor she called herself back out of the mists of her previous thought who was this gall and what was she there had come a new need in her a new awakening something seemed to have changed in her to have crys whatever this crystallization was it had made her know that marriage was not to be looked upon as a mere inevitable social episode her thoughts flew back to aunt helen her eyelashes brushed her cheeks and the little smile of sarcasm twitched the corners of her lips aunt helens list of gall reviewed them now deliberately not with the thought of the social addan they might otter her but as men she reviewed others whom she had met for the first time in her life she was frankly and self consciously interested in men curious about them she had reached her third stage of development the fairy prince age the I 1 suppose I 1 shall have to be mar ried one day age and now the age of conscious awakening she won dered in some perplexity as to what had brought about her nascence na sence rath er and she knitted her pretty brows who had brought it ayoutt the library clock chimed the hour and startled her out of her reverie she turned on the lights and sat in front of her mirror to give het hair one of those extra tor which it was so grateful and which it repaid with BO much beauty she paused deliberately libera tely to study herself in the glass why this was a new gall a more |