as it was ready Johnny signed it without a question. "Get this, Ashley?" he remarked, handing back Loring's pen and reading gleefully from another paper: "'A subway entrance into the new terminal station is being negotiated—'" "All right," said Loring, putting on his hat. "Good-by!"—and he was gone. If Loring professed but slight interest in the flamboyant plans for the new hotel, there were others who were painfully absorbed in the news of the project. Gresham, for one, read the account with contracted brows at his late breakfast; and at noon, inspired by a virtuous sense of duty, he sauntered over to Courtney's club. "I see you're involved in another hotel proposition," he ventured. "I hope involved is not the word," returned Courtney with rather a wry smile. "Is your company fully organized?" asked Gresham with a trace of more than polite interest. "I think not," answered Courtney. "I'm not in a position to state, however, as the matter is out of my hands. I am taking some stock in it, of course; but I have nothing to do with the organization of the company, since I have sold the ground to Mr. Gamble." "Gamble?" repeated Gresham. "Oh, is that so?" His tone was so deprecative that Courtney was sharply awakened by it. "Do you know anything against Gamble?" he quite naturally inquired. "Not a thing," Gresham hastily assured him. "Anyhow, you have sold him the property and are fully secured?" "I've sold it to him under contract," replied Courtney, ready, in view of his recent experiences, to become panic-stricken at a moment's notice. "Of course, if anything happens you can reclaim the property," Gresham considered. "It forms its own security; but still, any one holding a private claim against Gamble might try to attach it and give you a nasty entanglement." "There doesn't seem to be any danger of that," argued Courtney, looking worried, nevertheless. "He was able to show me an extremely clean bill of health. The only drawback I could find in his record was the payment of some
Prev.
Back
Top