Page:Barbour--Peggy in the rain.djvu/73

 interest. His own real estate holdings he found placed at fifty millions, while his mother's personal property was figured at twenty-five. Gordon smiled, but the smile faded the next moment. "The present head of the Ames family," he read, "is but twenty-seven years of age and of his ability to add to the fortune of which he became possessed on the death of his father little is known. So far he has been seemingly content to leave the conduct of his affairs in the hands of older and wiser men. He is an enthusiastic sportsman, with horses and yachts his main hobbies. In society, where he is a notable figure, he is immensely popular, although his democratic tastes have at times quite shocked his friends. Gordon Ames is still young, and it may be that when he is tired of playing he will buckle down and show that he is, after all, a true son of the hardy New Englander who, in the last century, carved his fortune from the granite hills. But even lack of ability will scarcely affect so much of his fortune as is represented by New York real estate, which, barring the most unimaginable influences, will continue to increase in value from year to year."

"Who the devil writes these things for the