- Michael Anthony: [Anthony enters an outdoor area to witness Tipton working on his miniature Japanese rock garden. Tipton is off-camera with only his gloved hands visible to the viewers] You sent for me, sir?
- John Beresford Tipton: Look at this miniature garden, Mike. Peaceful, isn't it?
- Michael Anthony: Yes, sir.
- John Beresford Tipton: Yet with a gesture,
- [picks up a toy tree]
- John Beresford Tipton: I can uproot this toy tree and replant it elsewhere.
- [Tipton hands an envelope to Anthony]
- John Beresford Tipton: Let's see what happens when this person is uprooted from his normal, daily routine by a million dollars.
- Michael Anthony: [to the viewers] My name is Michael Anthony. I'm about to tell you about John Beresford Tipton. He gave away $1,000,000 anonymously to people he picked by a method I never knew. As his Executive Secretary, it was my job to follow up this philanthropy and give him a detailed report which, since his death, I can now make public. Here at Silverstone, John Beresford Tipton lived, worked, and relaxed. One day, he sent for me and I found him in his garden, indulging in a favorite form of relaxation, building a miniature Japanese rock garden.
- Michael Anthony: [to the viewers] Fate had a most curious rendezvous with this new millionaire: Cobb Marley, a proprietor of a general store in Cross Village.
- Cobb Marley: [In the office of bank president Andrew V. McMahon] A million dollars? I don't understand. I don't understand.
- Andrew V. McMahon: I can't explain any more than I have. I hope you find happiness with this money, Mr. Marley. It'll probably change your whole life.
- Cobb Marley: Change my life? It would have changed my life.
- Andrew V. McMahon: Pardon?
- Cobb Marley: Nothing, Mr. McMahon.
- Andrew V. McMahon: [Handing him a document] Here's the agreement for you to sign, pledging to tell no one how you got this money or the exact amount. No one, of course, but your wife.
- Cobb Marley: [Signing the document] Don't worry. I couldn't tell her even if I wanted to.