Argosy All-Story Weekly — page 27: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

Nike y J i he By HENRY PAYSON DOWST Author of ‘‘ Wanted: A Bank President.’’ A NOVELETTE—COMPLETE IN THIS ISSUE one end of the directors’ room of the Benson Bank of Templeton sat the president of that substantial institution. Ordinarily the president occupied a smaller desk out in front, where all the bank’s cus- tomers could have ready and welcome ac- cess to this necessary official. But even a bank president must have some hours of privacy, and Beth Benson usually retired to the solitude of the directors’ room to think out her problems. Beth wasn’t exactly a small girl, yet she looked, somehow, dwarfed by the huge desk with its broad expanse of glass-covered top. That was largely because the desk had been built for her father, old Joe, a rugged moun- tain of a man, now junketing at his leisure around the world in company with Beth’s mother. ‘This absence of the elder Benson accounted for the incumbency of his office 2A B xe a huge double-flat desk at and desk by his enterprising daughter—a matter still provocative of wondering dis- cussion among the good but conservative people of Templeton. Gosh! Who ever heard of a girl being a bank president? Still, it had to be admitted that Beth was giving every promise of making good. It wasn’t exactly an easy chair to fill, as you may well imagine. If Beth hadn’t been possessed of more than the average young woman’s energy and determination she never would have got away with it; but Beth was smart; yes, sir. All Templeton agreed she was a chip of the old block, as you might say. Beth was now engaged busily with pencil and scratch pad and interest tables. Her brow was slightly furrowed with the stress of her mental processes. She was thinking hard; but she liked it. Since her father had turned over the bank to her she had 497 eonnicbooks.conn