cried, "to think your bank is so strong, Evan.
Just think of all those deposits."

"Humph!" grunted the father, "and a fellow can't get a loan to save his
neck."

He stole a look at his son, but Evan was not familiar with loans, yet.
His first business in that direction was going to be done with Watson,
a few days later. Mr. Nelson's hint affecting the management of a bank
passed over Evan's head, for Evan was a clerk, not a banker. When it
came to actual banking the father knew much more than our banker did,
but his knowledge was not comprehensible to the boy, much less to Mrs.
Nelson. The "Dad" could only eat his baked potato, look at his dish of
strawberries--and trust to the future.

Saturday evening was a small triumph for Evan. He walked up and down
the village street with Frankie and Lou, ravaged the refreshment
parlors, chatted at every crossing with a bevy of old schoolmates, and
spent an enjoyable and typically "village" night.

Sunday morning was bright, and the Nelson family was gay. The word
"bank" reverberated throughout the kitchen, the dining-room and parlor,
floated around the verandah, tinkled among the Chinese jingles clinking
in the breeze, and bounced like a ball on the lawn. Evan was happy all
forenoon. And he talked a great deal at dinner.

After dinner, though, Our Banker's mind took a business turn. He
thought of what the manager had said to him about work piling up and
waiting for the clerk. While he sat for a few moments alone on the
verandah he mentally sorted over a bunch of bills, entered them up
wrong, heard Castle's squawking voice, and eventually yawned over a
heap of mail. He found several envelopes returned from wrong banks and
was (still mentally) expecting a memo from head office about them.

His father came quietly out of the house and took a chair beside him,
driving away his routine ruminations.

"Evan," he said seriously, "I had a talk with your old teacher not long
ago and he said it was a shame for you to quit school just when you
did. He said you should have got your matric. at least, so that if
ever you tired of the bank you could jump right into college. Now, if
ever you feel like quitting, remember I'll be only too glad to send you
back to school."

Those words had an effect exactly the contrary to what was intended.
Evan felt the force of his father's generosity and unselfishness; he
was strengthened in his resolve to be independent; not only
independ