“I must have left the rest at home,” replied the preacher, fumbling among the compartments of the pocket-book.

Having accomplished the object of his mission without perpetrating, as he thought, any disastrous blunder, Mr. Sapp brought the interview to a close with a few commonplace remarks, and hurried away to enjoy in solitary self-communion the thick-crowding visions of future affluence.

With the last doubt satisfactorily overcome, the plans of the prospective millionaire rapidly took shape.  He could raise five hundred dollars, which at the proposed rate of interchange would purchase twenty-five thousand of the “absolutely perfect imitations.”  The sum seemed vast—­incalculable.  His imagination, hitherto bound down by the narrow circumstances of remote rural life, staggered while trying to grasp the conception of so much wealth.  Like the mysteries of time and space, it appeared too grand for comprehension.  Then his reveries strayed into another channel.  What noble fellows were Ragem & Co.  Why, among forty millions of people, did they pick out him, an unknown clergyman, living in an obscure place hundreds of miles from the metropolis, to be the favored recipient of untold wealth?  Surely, this is a special Providence.  Not a sparrow falleth to the ground without His knowledge.  He watches over his own.  Suddenly the erring clergyman feels a terrible pull at his heart-strings.  What right has he, about to betray a sacred trust, and engage in operations branded as infamous by the laws of the land, to claim the watchful care of Providence?  Will not the all-seeing eye follow him?  Will not the omnipotent hand strike him heavily in wrath?  The poor man wipes the cold perspiration from his forehead, and wonders if it will pay.

But he has paltered too long, and now the devil claims him for his own.

Returning home, Sapp wrote to Ragem & Co., stating the amount of his available resources, and saying that upon a given day and hour he would meet them at the appointed rendezvous.  On the following Sunday the congregation were startled at the close of the afternoon services by an extraordinary announcement from the pulpit.

Before pronouncing the benediction the pastor said:  “I take this opportunity to communicate to you collectively a piece of personal intelligence which I have hitherto kept secret.  Under the will of a relative who recently died in the State of Michigan, I inherit a large sum—­to me, with my humble wants, a very large sum.  By appointment, I am to meet the executor of the estate this week in New York City to receive the first installment of the legacy.  I do not propose to leave you, my dear parishioners, but to remain among you and toil with you as I have done for so many years.  A goodly portion at least of my inheritance I intend to invest in this community, that neighbors and friends may share jointly in my prosperity.  I trust I may be guided to make a wise use of the talents thus unexpectedly, and I may say providentially, committed to my keeping.  We know from the teachings of Scripture that wealth brings great responsibilities, and that we shall be held to a strict account for the manner in which we employ it.  May your prayers go with me.”