He had come out of the strife shorn in his fleece of worldly wealth and mutilated as to his body.

He limped stiffly on a wooden leg, and his fine buildings had gone up in fire and smoke.

But during the years since the war he had retrieved his fortunes.

People said he was worth more than before; everything he had handled had prospered.

He was one of those men whose very touch seems to multiply possessions.