The Wolf Point herald. (Wolf Point, Mont.) 1913-1940, 1931-02-20

their fitness to superintend the ed
ucation of the young by providing
the community with young to edu-
cate.
In an indefinite and roundabout
way Elmer sensed a covert slam
In this. At any rate it aroused
all of his newborn antagonism to
provincialism. Egged on by his
friends, he decided to demonstrate
to ~PilarcitoA that a young unmar-
riea-man should, and would, func-
tion on that board or know the rea-
son why. Immediately he announced
himself as a candidate for the Of
flee.
Nellie was delighted, because this
evidenced on Elmer's part a subcon-
scious decision to continue to live
In Pilarcitos and grow up with the
town. She advised him to conduct
a furious campaign against the
mossbacks of the community, to
prove that he had it's interests at
heart as truly as did his opponent,
Henry Tichenor, who was the IA
Their of twelve children. Indeed, In
the midst of her subtle blandish-
ments she suddenly conceived the
idea of making Elmer the leading
citizen of the county, II not of the
state.
In one Illuminating instant she
caught a vision. that caused her to
tremble. AS the sole proprietor of
Elmer's place. she knew her man
couldn't be elected town dog catch
er, but as president of the Pillar
citos Commercial Trust and Saw
ings bank she could elect him mayor
at the primary election. From
mayor to the state legislature, from
the state legislature to lieutenant
governor, from that to governor, to
congressman. to United States SEN
ator, to the Vice Presidency-to the
White House.
ITS a big Dream" she reflected,
"but only those who have the abtl-
fly to dream big dreams ever
amount TO anything. Just as easy
to dream big dreams as little ones
and Ansel p. Moody has battened
on this community long enough. Ell
mer Is right. He's a pawnbroker,
not a banker, and a banker should
be the big man in any community.
He should know better than any
mar its needs, it's aspirations and
his duty toward it. When the time
comes I'll tell Ansel p. Moody
where he gets of. He'll sell his
controlling interest in that bank
to me at q fair price. or I'll start
a new bank and run him and his
competitor out of business In ten
years"
With difficulty she repressed a
cheer. "Tll open my bank with a
hundred thousand dollars capital,
fully paid up. I'll start with my
own deposit of at least four hum
dred thousand dollars and I'll he
come q member of the Federal Re-
serve bank, which no banker In
this town has sense enough to be-
come. I'll take over every loan
Anse Moody has as 1t falls due.
I'll cut the interest rate on those
two blOodsuckers and I'll lend
money on honesty. ability and In
dustry; In the long run I'll cOnsol-
idate the other two banks In this
town with mine-I mean Elner's
and mine. Oh. Elmer darling,
you're playing into my hand. and
that means you'll veal out your
life, not drag it out and rot 1t out,
And nobody shall ever know who
put up the money
At their next meeting. after In
culcating in Elmer such a sense of
power as he had eve known he
fore. Nellie adroitlv shifted rho
conversation tn a subject which Is
never very far from pleasing to
nine men out of ten, to wit. him
self.
"Dearie," she charged suddenly.
"do you know that suit you're
wearing is beginning to look just
a little bit sifaIhy?. I don't like to
see Fry l1Lmer~ letting himself go
like this. You should be the hest
dressed man I'm town-and usually
o are. I'm afraid you've been
trying too hard to save money to
equip Elmer's place"
He squeezed her hand CRATE
fully.
"The idea of that business Of my
own 0bsessed me, Nellie" he adj
mitted. ST have been scrimping
more than usual lately. I wanted
TO get going-to be independent
and make enough money to enable
me to marry you and give you
everything you desired"
"But darling-I would have mar
ried you on far less. ! would have
been q help to you, not a source OF
expense"
al know It, old lovable. But you
were doing as we'll in your job as I
was doing In mine. and 81 isn't 4