The million pound banknote

He smiled and took the banknote. He had one of those large smiles which goes all around the face. There are folds in it, and it curves, and it looks like where you have thrown a brick into a pond. Then when he looked quickly at the banknote this smile froze solid. His face turned yellow, and the smile looked like those wavy, worm-like spreads of lava which have hardened on the side of Mount Vesuvius.

I never before saw a smile which froze into place like that. The man stood there holding the bill, and looking like that until the shop owner came over to see what was the matter. He said, briskly: 'Well, what's up? what's the trouble? What does the customer still need? Come on; get him his change, Tod; get him his change.'

Tod replied 'Get him his change! It's easy to say, Sir; but look at the bill yourself.' The owner took a look at the banknote and whistled under his breath with a lot of feeling. Then he dived for the pile of rejected clothing. He began to throw the clothes around, all the time talking excitedly to himself;

'Sell an eccentric millionaire such a terrible suit as that! Tod's a fool - a born fool. He is always doing something like this. He pushes every millionaire away from this place, because he can't tell a millionaire from a tramp, and never could. Ah, here's the thing I am after. Please get those things off, Sir, and throw them in the fire.'