well proportioned man of perhaps fifty-five years of age. He looked
through large brown eyes, kindly but resolute. His square jaw and firm
mouth denoted will power, his face was ruddy, and his head was crowned
with an abundance of curling hair as white as snow. This was Abram
McLain, the retired member of the firm of McLain, Shaw & Co., the
originators and organizers of the first steamboat line running between
Liverpool and Montreal. From this investment and an interest in
building the great Victoria bridge across the Saint Lawrence, Mr.
McLain had accumulated a large fortune, which, promptly invested in
real estate and safe stocks which were continually enhancing in value
in this rapidly growing municipality, soon placed him among the
accredited millionaires of Canada.

The cottage which he owned and in which he lived was built of gray stone,
one tall story in height, and crowned with a French roof. It was
beautified by a wide door in front with colonial pillars and porch. The
windows were tall, to which iron shutters were attached. The ground on
which this building stood had been bought immediately after the
conflagration of 1852, when Saint Mary's Ward was almost obliterated.
From that date each year had increased the value of all property in this
part of the city, so that this property alone, having five acres, would
have placed its owner among the well-to-do citizens of the community. But
this property was only a small portion of the holdings of Abram McLain. A
unique building was this cottage.

Two skilled mechanics had been brought from Quebec, and no one was
permitted to see their work nor to learn what they were doing. Their
work was to be in the basement, which had been excavated ten feet deep,
the massive walls reaching down until they rested upon solid rock. The
building was seventy-five feet square. A furnace occupied the center of