"Is the place clear?"
"No; it is mortgaged for eight hundred dollars."
"Who holds the mortgage?"
"Squire Bates, of our village."
"I know him. He is the man with very prominent teeth."
"Yes."
"Is he a rich man?"
"We all think so, but he keeps his affairs very close."
"Don't the assessors know?"
"He says most of his property is in government bonds, and these are not taxable, you know."