ler, "more practicable or
of greater value than foreseeing events and being prepared for them.
Now, here you are in the very midst of this flood of immigration, and
with the tidal wave of commerce at your very door. Is your property in
a position to avail you handsomely in case you accede to the demands of
reason and conclude to yield to the persuasions of immigration and
commerce? The consideration which should be paramount with you is
this: 'Having secured this property, how can I get rid of it to the
best advantage?'"

"But it is n't for sale," said I.

"True, quite true," answered Colonel Doller, with a weary, patient
smile, "but it will be. What is North Shore property for if not for
sale? You certainly do not intend to violate all the customs and
traditions of the community by holding out against an opportunity to
benefit yourself? That, my dear Baker, would be folly."

"But nobody has asked us to sell," said I, apologetically.

"That is because your property is not in desirable shape," said the
colonel. "If it were, you would have chances to enrich yourself in
less than a month. You see your lot fronts one hundred feet on
Clarendon Avenue, and runs back two hundred and thirty-nine feet to a
prospective alley; this gives you one hundred feet of salable property,
but with a depth that actually involves a wicked waste of land. Now
suppose you were to buy the twenty-five feet that lies to the south on
Clarendon Avenue just between your lot and Sandpile Terrace. That
would give you a frontage of two hundred and thirty-nine feet on the
terrace, with a depth altogether of one hundred and twenty-five feet!
Do you follow me?"

"Yes, I see," said I, as this good and shrewd man's meaning gradually
stole upon me.

"With that additional twenty-five feet," resumed Colonel Doller, "you
could divide up the whole property into what you might call (if you
chose) Baker's Subdivision: then you could parcel it off into
twenty-foot lots with frontage on Sandpile Terrace--and there you are,
a rich man almost before you know it."

"Gracious me! That _is_ a great idea!" said I, and I whistled softly
to myself.

"Great? Well, I should say so!" exclaimed Colonel Doller. "I knew it
would appeal to you, for you are a man of intelligence and capable of
foreseeing and appreciating potentialities."

"Who owns that strip?" I asked, referring to the twenty-five feet
adjoining our lot to the south.

"Well, it happens to b