Money was plenty in our town, and everybody was growing better off.

Dewey was still the manufacturing partner of the large house in New York, whose demand for goods it seemed impossible to satisfy.

He was a great man in S----.

People spoke of him as possessing vast mental as well as money resources; as having expansive views of trade and finance; as being a man of extraordinary ability.

I listened to all these things as I passed around among our citizens, plodding along in my profession, and managing to grow just a little better off each year; and wondered within myself if I were really mistaken in the man--if there was a solid basis of right judgment below all this splendid seeming.
And what of our friend Wallingford, during those busy years?
Like myself, he moved so quietly through his round of professional duties, as to attract little attention.