Thomas ("Soapy") Molloy is a fine, handsome, open-faced man of early middle-age, qualities that are, no doubt, an advantage in many professions, but in none more so than that of confidence trickster. For Soapy's vocation in life is to sell worthless oil stocks to anyone wealthy enough to afford them, and gullible enough to buy them. Being an American of impressive appearance (and far-from-impressive intellect), Soapy has no difficulty in posing as a US senator, a role in which he had been particularly successful while temporarily enjoying the facilities at Sing Sing prison.

In Sam the Sudden, Soapy has recently married Dolly Gunn, another American petty criminal. Soapy is rather older than his bride, a circumstance about which he is a little sensitive but which allows them to pass as father and daughter, for which purpose Soapy adopts the pseudonym Thomas G Gunn, an affectionate tribute to his wife; in fact, Soapy wanted to call himself J Felkin Haggenbakker but that suggestion was, not surprisingly, vetoed by his "daughter".

Valid XHTML 1.0 Strict