"I will show you mine," said Mrs. Sanford. "I am going to sell one of them soon, as my lease is up at the end of the month, and I want to buy a house."
She then went into her bedroom, closed the door, and remained several minutes. When she came out, she had a fat pocket-book in her hand, and she took from it the two pieces of folded paper which she had shown to Morton. On opening them, she spread them out, and both Barlow and Morton saw the numbers plainly, as they looked over her shoulder.
"There, these little tickets are coupons," she explained to Barlow; "and every six months I can get fifteen dollars in gold by cutting off one from each bond."
"Did you say you wanted to sell one?" asked Morton. "If you do, perhaps you might sell it to Mr. Barlow, as a sample of the kind he wants to get."
"Yes, that would be a good idea," said Barlow; "then they can't fool me with any other kind, when I go to buy."
"Well, I guess I will do it," said Mrs. Sanford; "at any rate, you can see me about it before you go to buy yours."
She then put the bonds into the pocket-book again and went into her bedroom. On her return, Barlow told her that he must go down town to get paid for his cattle, and he asked Morton to go with him. Accordingly, the two men went out about noon, but Mrs. Sanford called Morton back a moment to tell him to stay with Barlow all day.
"Don't you lose sight of him for a minute," she said; "and bring him back here with all his money."
They did not return until after four o'clock, and Barlow told her that he had been obliged to go to the stockyards to get paid. He then went to his room for a few minutes, and Mrs. Sanford asked Morton whether Barlow had his money with him.
"Yes, they gave him a check for the amount, but it was too late to get it cashed, and he will have to wait until to-morrow."
"Couldn't we get it away from him and forge his name to it?" she asked. "We could get it cashed the first thing in the morning."
"It would be too risky," he replied, "as they probably know him at the bank, and we should be arrested at once. But you can offer to go with him to the bank in the morning, and he is so soft that you will not have much trouble in getting a large sum out of him."