amined the little book with keen enjoyment. Johnny had opened
an account with himself and had made five entries. On the debit side
appeared the following items:

April 22. To three working hours, $15,000
April 23. Sunday.
April 24. To desk rent, ...$38
April 24. To seven working hours, $35,000

On the credit side was this:

April 22. By skinning Paul Gresham--good work, ..... $15,000

"How is it?" asked Gamble anxiously.

"Good work!" pronounced Loring with a chuckle. "They may not teach this
sort of bookkeeping in commercial colleges. Their kind is stiff and
dry. This has personality. Why am I two dollars shy on desk rent,
though? I thought you were to take forty days to make your million
dollars?"

"That's right," admitted Johnny; "seven hours on week-days and three on
Saturdays--two hundred hours at five thousand an hour. I started on
Saturday, however. To-day is Monday. This morning is when I begin to
use your desk-room. Here's your dollar a day until four P.M., May
thirty-first." And he handed Loring thirty-eight dollars.

"You're not really going to try that absurd stunt?" protested Loring
incredulously.

"I have to. Miss Joy will think I'm a four-flusher if I don't."

"Miss Joy again!" laughed Loring. "You only met her Saturday, and I
don't think you've thought of another thing since."

"Gresham and her million," corrected Johnny, and he started for the
door.

"Where are you going--if anybody should ask for you?" inquired Loring.

"Fourth National."

"To deposit Gresham's fifteen thousand?"

"No," laughed Gamble. "Polly took that away from me."

"That's a good safe place for it," returned Loring, relieved.

"Safe as the mint," corroborated Johnny, and hurried out.

As he went up the steps of the Fourth National Bank a pallid-faced
young man, with eyebrows, eyelashes and hair so nearly the color of his
skin that they were invisible, watched him out of the window of a taxi
that had been standing across the street ever since the bank had
opened. As soon as Johnny entered the door the young man gave a
direction to the driver, and the taxi hurried away.

President Close was conservatively glad to see Johnny. He was a
crisp-faced man, with an extremely tight-cropped gray mustache; and not
a single crease in his countenance was flexible in the slightest
degree. He had an admiration amounting almost to affection for
Johnny--provided the promising young man did not want money.

"Good mo