In his care of the custom-house business he had discovered technical
violations of the revenue laws which already involved the loss to the
firm of a million dollars, and, with his peculiar loyalty to himself,
thought this knowledge ought to be worth a great deal. As Mr. Allen
went down into the deep waters of Wall Street, he saw that it might
be. In saving his employer from wreck he might virtually become
captain of the ship.
After this brief delineation of character, it would strike the reader
as very incongruous to say that Mr. Fox had fallen in love with Edith.
Mr. Fox never stumbled or fell. He could slide down and scramble up to
any extent, and when cornered could take a flying leap like that of a
cat. But he had been greatly impressed by Edith's beauty, and to win
her also would be an additional and piquant feature in the game. He
had absolute confidence in money, much of which he might have gained
from Mr. Allen himself. He knew a million of her father's money was in
his power, and this, in a certain sense, placed him in the position of
a suitor worth a million, and such he knew to be almost omnipotent on
the avenue. If this money could also be the means of causing Mr.
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