Part 1 Summary

Hadleyburg is a small town that has long been noted for its honesty and uprightness. This reputation has remained intact for three generations and is something the town's residents are extremely proud of. The virtues of honesty are taught to each of Hadleyburg's residents from the time they are babies, and those lessons continue through all the years of schooling. Further, great care is taken to ensure that temptations are removed from the paths of the town's young people so that the lessons in honesty will have every chance to be absorbed and ingrained in their characters. Further, while the residents of nearby towns seem to begrudge the citizens of Hadleyburg their due recognition, it is also assumed that any young man coming from Hadleyburg need not supply any other references; his citizenship in that town is all that is needed to vouch...