ank collected its funds, took possession of its new
quarters and made ready for business. Jonas Bubble, changing his
attire to a frock suit for good and all, became its president. J.
Rufus had also been offered an office in the bank, but he declined. A
directorship had been urged upon him, but he steadfastly refused, with
the same firmness that he had denied to Jonas Bubble a share in his
pottery or even his drainage project. No, with his five thousand
dollars' worth of stock he felt that he was taking as great a share as
a stranger might, with modesty, appropriate to himself in their
municipal advancement. Let the honors go to those who had grown up
with the city, and who had furnished the substantial nucleus upon
which their prosperity and advancement might be based.

He intended, however, to make free use of the new banking facilities,
and by way of showing the earnestness of that intention he drew
from his New York bank half of the sum he had cleared on his big
horse-racing "frame up," and deposited these funds in the Bubble Bank.
True enough, three days after, he withdrew nearly the entire amount
by draft in favor of one Horace G. Daw, of Boston, but a week later he
deposited a similar amount from his New York bank, then increased that
with the amount previously withdrawn in favor of Horace G. Daw. A few
days later he withdrew the entire account, replaced three-fourths of
it and drew out one-half of that, and it began to be talked about all
over the town that Wallingford's enterprises were by no means confined
to his Blakeville investments. He was a man of large financial
affairs, which required the frequent transfer of immense sums of
money. To keep up this rapid rotation of funds, Wallingford even
borrowed money which Blackie Daw had obtained in the same horse-racing
enterprise. Sometimes he had seventy-five thousand dollars in the
Bubble Bank, and sometimes his balance was less than a thousand.

In the meantime, J. Rufus allowed no opportunities for his reputation
to become stale. In the Atlas Hotel he built a model bath-room which
was to revert to Jim Ranger, without money and without price, when
Wallingford should leave, and over his bath-tub he installed an
instantaneous heater which was the pride and delight of the village.
It cost him a pretty penny, but he got tenfold advertising from it.
By the time this sensation had begun to die he was able to display
drawings of the quaint and pretty vine-clad Etrusca