d not bring
himself to assault this fountain of sacred aphorisms.

He turned and marched away down the middle of the road, stamping hard
into the snow.

One of the listeners was a man who came bearing a pair of shoes. Usial
Britt took them from the man's hand. "You can have 'em to-morrow night."

"But there's only a little patch needed--"

"To-morrow night, I said. I've got other business for to-day." He went
into the house and slammed the door.

The Prophet set his umbrella over his head and went away on the trail of
Egypt's Pharaoh.

CHAPTER III

MORE COLLECTIONS

There was a door in the middle of the facade of the low brick building;
there were two windows on either side of the door. On the left-hand
windows was painted in black letters, "Egypt Trust Company." On the
right-hand windows was painted, "T. Britt." There was no legend to
indicate what the business of T. Britt might be. None was required. The
mere name carried full information for all Egypt.

Mr. Britt glanced in at the left-hand windows as he approached the door.
Cashier Frank Vaniman was sweeping out.

When President Britt of the new Egypt Trust company went down to
a business college in the city in search of a cashier, he quizzed
candidates in quest of what he termed "foolish notions." Young Mr.
Vaniman, who had supported himself ever since he was fourteen years old,
and had done about everything in the ten years since then in the way of
work, grabbing weeks or months for his schooling when he had a bit of
money ahead, passed the test very well, according to Mr. Britt's notion.
Young Mr. Vaniman had secured a business education piecemeal, and was a
bit late in getting it, but Mr. Britt promptly perceived that the young
man had not been hung up by stupidity or sloth. So he hired Vaniman,
finding him a strapping chap without foolish notions.

Vaniman was cashier, receiving teller, paying teller, swept out, tended
the furnace, and kept the books of the bank until Britt hired Vona
Harnden for that job. Vona had been teaching school to help out her
folks, in the prevailing Egyptian famine in finance.

But folks stopped paying taxes, and the town orders by the school
committee on the treasurer were not honored; therefore, Vona gratefully
took a place in the bank when Mr. Britt called her into his office one
day and offered the job to her. He said that the work was getting to
be too much for Frank. That consideration for hired help impressed