man! A wonderful educator! You know—president of Abernathy College!"
Looking her admiration at a boss who had such distinguished callers, Miss Bundle bundled out.
Dr. Dodd was a florid man with a voice, a Kiwanis pin, and a handshake.
"Well, well, well, Brother Gantry, I've heard so much of your magnificent work here that I ventured to drop in and bother you for a minute. What a magnificent church you have created! It must be a satisfaction, a pride! It's—magnificent!"
"Thanks, Doctor. Mighty pleased to meet you. Uh. Uh. Uh. Visiting Zenith?"
"Well, I'm, as it were, on my rounds."
("Not a cent, you old pirate!") "Visiting the alumni, I presume."
"In a way. The fact is I—"
("Not one damn' cent. My salary gets raised next!")
"—was wondering if you would consent to my taking a little time at your service Sunday evening to call to the attention of your magnificent congregation the great work and dire needs of Abernathy. We have such a group of earnest young men and women—and no few of the boys going into the Methodist ministry. But our endowment is so low, and what with the cost of the new athletic field—though I am delighted to be able to say our friends have made it possible to create a really magnificent field, with a fine cement stadium—but it has left us up against a heart-breaking deficit. Why, the entire chemistry department is housed in two rooms in what was a cow-shed! And—
"Can't do it, doctor. Impossible. We haven't begun to pay for this church. Be as much as my life is worth to go to my people with a plea for one extra cent. But possibly in two years from now— Though frankly," and Elmer laughed brightly, "I don't know why the people of Wellspring should contribute to a college which hasn't thought enough of Wellspring's pastor to give him a Doctor of Divinity degree!"
The two holy clerks looked squarely at each other, with poker faces.
"Of course, Doctor," said Elmer, "I've been offered the degree a number of times, but by small, unimportant colleges,
