$60,000 or not. Would half of it look good to you?"

"You bet," said A. P. "I'd take a trip around the world, then come
back and get married; I believe I'd settle down somewhere out here."

"Who would you marry?"

"Oh, anybody. I feel right now as if I could fall in love with
anything."

Evan laughed, but soon sobered in thought,

"I think, A. P.," he said, after a pause, "that I can suggest a better
trip than one around the world. I've often dreamed about it since my
bank stuff has been well received. You know I've been drumming up the
idea of Bank Union pretty strong. Why not bestow an everlasting favor
on Bankerdom by travelling into every nook and corner of Canada and
organizing the clerks? You and I could do it. They all know me by
reputation, and I would give you credentials."

Henty ran his hands through his hair and looked wild.

"By the jumping Jehoshaphat!" he exclaimed, "what a hit that would
make! Why, the boys would make a bronze image of you and a stone one
of me to pickle our memory forever! Do you think we could do it?"

"Sure," laughed Evan; "haven't we got all the big newspapers in the
country on our side? And aren't the banks in the legislative
limelight? They couldn't pull off anything mean on us, because we
would keep in touch with our editor friends. If they started firing
the boys we could appeal to the public."

Henty grew more and more interested, not to say excited.

"You seem to have got the thing all cut and dried!"

"I have," said Evan; "I've been conning it over for months. At first I
wondered if I couldn't get some rich man to endow such a movement, and
make a real philanthropist of himself. But the trouble with rich men
is that they want to get richer, and bucking the banks is no way to do
it--in Canada, anyway."

A. P. let his eyes wander over the valley and up the mountain side. A
smile gradually spread over his features.

"Nelsy," he said, "are you sure you haven't got an axe to grind?"

"You bet I have. Was there ever any sort of reform started by a man
unless he had known the evil in his own experience? My grudge against
the bank is going to be the boys' safeguard, and they will know it.
They will know I'm out to organize a union because I want to show the
banks that they are not supreme. Of course if it were for the
satisfaction alone, I wouldn't spend a lot of money working it up. I
know it will be a great thing for present and future bankclerk