I had acquired a knowledge of loans, and
loan business, and I had amassed, I can
scarcely tell how, the substantial sum of
eight hundred pounds. I was quite a
capitalist, and I behaved like one. I opened
a banking account with the old and
respectable house of Croupy, Dross, and
Croupy, and I prepared to commence a
business on my own account, that had
hitherto been very rudely organised—if
organised at all—the business of An Innocent
Holder.

Owen Griffiths, of the Slate Quarry, had
not been so fortunate as myself in his
position as Director of the Peace and Concord
Loan Office. In the first place, he had not
received so large a share of the gains; in the
second, he was not of a prudent and economical
turn of mind; and, just as I was about
to propose to him some mutual arrangement,
he saved me a world of trouble by begging
me to devise a scheme that would keep him
from going back to Capel Court, and give
him congenial employment. After some little
apparent hesitation, I developed my plans,
and he fell into them with enthusiastic
eagerness. A third person was wanted to
complete the secret association, and this
person Owen Griffiths immediately provided.
His name was Affy Davit, a professional
witness, who had lingered about the courts
of law for many years, attesting deeds,
proving alibis, and swearing to identities,
births, deaths, and marriages, in a
prompt and unwavering manner. His gains
had been precarious, his habits had been
loose, and his indulgence had been gin, and
was so still, whenever he could get it. By
degrees his reputation for nerve to stand a
cross-examination faded away, and he found
himself passed by for newer and, as it was
supposed, more reliable men. In this
conditionhe was sent to me, and I approved of
Owen Griffiths's choice. His idea of
payment was humble, while his powers of
impersonation and disguise still remained; and
in the event of his ever proving unfaithful,
his testimony was too notoriously valueless
to be feared.

In a few days Affy was established, under
the name of Mr. Barking, in a small but
comfortable office, in a good neighbourhood, as a
gentleman of some capital who discounted
bills; while Mr. Owen Griffiths, acting under
my directions, moved about in billiard-rooms
and other fashionable circles, in search of
young gentlemen and others who had
expectations, and wanted bills done. From that
hour I held no visible communication with
these two men, but lived in such a manner
that my respectability increased, day by day,
while all my payments, large or small, being
made through such old-established bankers
as Messrs. Croupy and Company, helped to
foster the delusion of my being a good member
of society. I was the Innocent Holder,
and I did nothing that might destroy the
belief in my innocence. Owen Griffiths was
the agent, Affy Davit was the discounter,
and I was the person who finally held the
bill for which I had given full and valuable
consideration. When the young gentleman
of full age was found—a very easy task—
who wished to anticipate his property by a
loan, a bill negotiation was suggested;
and, if no companion could be found
silly enough to join his friend and write
his name across a stamp, Owen Griffiths
volunteered to draw and indorse the document
for a handsome ready-money present.
When the bill was properly manufactured it
was taken to Mr. Barking to be turned into
cash, and that cautious gentleman always
required it to be left with him for at least
two days that he might make inquiry about
the stability of the drawer and the acceptor.
Much against Mr. Griffiths's wish, but with
the full consent of the young gentleman, this
was done, and no more was ever heard of the
transaction until Mr. Barking had, in a few
hours, changed his name, his office, and his
wig, and I was in quiet and legal possession
of the stamped document. When it arrived
at maturity in the course of one month or
two, as the case might be, I took steps to
recover my property as an Innocent Holder. So
careful were Mr. Griffiths and Mr. Barking
(who sometimes changed places as discounter
and agent) in selecting their dupes, that the
amounts were always considerable, and
tolerably secure, and the position of the men
such that they could not defend any action
for fear of an exposure. A crafty advertisement
in a clerical journal procured a plentiful
batch of curates and rectors, who dared
not brave a trial, when they found they had
been deceived, and who made the best terms
they could with me, rather than risk their
gowns, their characters, and their livings.
Expectants, on the other hand, were equally
tongue-tied, for fear that in contesting the
payment of a thousand or fifteen hundred
pounds, they might lay bare their lives, their
hopes, and their associates, and lose, in the
process, a sum of fifty times the value. Nor
would their obstinacy have defeated me, for
my measures were too carefully prepared.
There might have been abundant suspicion
as to my moral claim to the bill, but I was
its possessor; there would have been no proof
that I obtained it without giving full
consideration, while my cheque-books (arranged
by myself) would have testified in my favour,
and the jury would have been directed by
the judge to pronounce me an Innocent Holder.
I was not harsh—not unreasonable to my
unfortunate debtors. I was always to be
spoken to; and many a time I have taken
something considerably less than the law
entitled me to demand.

My banker's balance rapidly increased; and
with it my outward respectability and my
motive force. I was scarcely forty years of
age, but I was beginning to get pursy and to