The Confidence-Man Chapters 1 and 2

In which a mute and deaf stranger, garbed in cream and bearing only a slate inscribed with words of charity, embarks upon the Mississippi steamer Fidèle, drawing both curiosity and derision from a motley crowd of passengers and onlookers alike. Meanwhile, the vessel itself becomes a floating microcosm of diverse humanity, its decks peopled by a colourful miscellany of travellers whose restless spirits mirror the restless river upon which they journey.