I Stubbed My Toe O

NE MORNING in 1920,1 left my office in the Commercial
Trust Building in Philadelphia and walked down Chest-
nut Street, on my way to see a prospect. Suddenly I felt
someone tapping me on the shoulder. I turned around and
faced a gentleman whom I had never seen before. "Is your
name Earl Prevette?" he inquired. "Yes," I replied. "Are you
originally from North Carolina?" "That's right!" I said. At
this juncture he extended his hand very graciously and in-
troduced himself as George Peabody, Jr., an attorney-at-law
from Boston, Massachusetts. Still this did not mean much
to me. Then he told me that my uncle, Henry Slater of Prov-
idence, Rhode Island, and more recently of Boston, Massa-
chusetts, had passed away and that his law firm Peabody,
Peabody, and Peabody had been appointed the administra-
tors of his estate. He also informed me that, in going over
the will of the late Henry Slater, his firm had discovered
that I had been named as one of the beneficiaries. He said
that a sizable sum of money was waiting for me in Boston
and that his firm was prepared to make a settlement with
me.
Without further ado, he suggested that I should journey
to Boston with him in order to claim my inheritance. Soon
we were on the train, and, upon our arrival in Boston, I made
an appointment to call on his law firm the following morn-
ing.


I arose early the next morning. It was one of those beau-
tiful spring mornings in Boston. The sky was clear and
flooded with bright sunshine. The air was crisp, fresh, and
fragrant. It was a most invigorating day, and I was thrilled
and exhilarated. I was walking on air, all aglow with the
hope and expectation of what was soon to be realization.
Exactly at 9 o'clock I was in the Old Colony Bank and
Trust Building, on my way to keep my appointment with
the law firm of Peabody, Peabody, and Peabody and claim
my legacy. The receptionist at the office of the law firm was
very gracious and most accommodating. In a moment Mr.
George Peabody, Jr., came forward and greeted me with a
most cordial and pleasant, "Good morning."
Immediately he escorted me into the office of Mr. George
Peabody, Sr., who was the titular head of the law firm. Of
course he was very delighted to see me and to realize that
I was the nephew of his old friend and colleague, the late
Henry Slater. After a few remarks that established my iden-
tity securely in his mind, he said that my uncle, Henry
Slater, had willed me quite a sizable sum of money, and that
his firm was now ready to give it to me, after I had signed
a few routine papers. Indeed, I was most happy to sign those
papers as a token of my sincere gratitude. After I had signed
all the necessary papers, Mr. Peabody called his secretary
and asked her to draw a check to my order. This she did.
Then he asked me if I would like to cash the check in Boston
before returning to Philadelphia. This I thought a splendid
idea. He called his son, George Jr., to take me down to the
first floor, where the Old Colony Bank and Trust Company
was located. There, George, Jr. introduced me to Mr. Jerome
Knickerbocker, the cashier, who said he would be glad to
give me the cash when I had endorsed the check.
I endorsed the check, and Mr. Knickerbocker asked me
how I would like to have the money. I told him that I would
like to have it in thousand-dollar bills. He walked over to

the vault and casually brought back 100 thousand-dollar
bills. He counted them out one by one, deliberately and care-
fully. I put these 100 thousand-dollar bills into an envelope
and thanked Mr. Peabody and Mr. Knickerbocker very gra-
ciously for their splendid courtsey and co-operation. I picked
up the envelope containing the one hundred thousand dol-
lars and placed it very carefully and securely in my inside
coat pocket. Just as I turned to leave the bank, lo and behold,
I stubbed my toe and woke up!