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 bringing her in here to speak to you, but her room-mate, Sally Boyd, gave such a terrifying account of you that she lost heart and ran away."

Austin felt less satisfied with his newly acquired manner. He held out his hand to Miss Curtis.

"Oh, Mr. Bevans," she began, as if she were about to ask some personal favor, "might we—would you be so very kind—as to send us out a bookkeeper once a week? Our old one has left, and, oh, dear me! I don't understand accounts and—"

"I'll send you out a young man from the bank," said Mr. Johns.

"A very steady one, please, Mr. Johns," said Miss Curtis, with unusual firmness, "because, you know, the school bookkeeper gives the seniors individual instruction once a week—at a small salary."

"Well, if any one can teach my granddaughter to keep accounts, he ought to have a halo, not a salary. Come along, Bevans."

"You'll see that he's steady?" Miss Curtis pleaded, following them to the hall door.

"All my young men are steady," grunted Mr. Johns, getting heavily into the car, and added, under his breath, "What does she think a bank is?"