ithout seeing her.
The coroner drummed on his desk; he wondered what had taken Moxlow from
the room in such haste. The prosecuting attorney's brisk step sounded in
the hall again, and he reentered the room and resumed his chair.

"Just one or two more questions, North, and then I guess we'll have to
let you go," he said. "You have been on very friendly terms with the
murdered man for some time, have you not?"

"He was very kind to me on numerous occasions."

"In a business way, perhaps?"

"Largely in a business way, yes."

"It--pardon me--usually had to do with raising money, had it not?"

North laughed.

"It had."

"You were familiar with certain little peculiarities of his, were you
not, his mistrust of banks for instance?"

"Yes, he had very little confidence in banks, judging from what he said
of them."

"Did he ever tell you that he had large sums of money hidden away about
the store?"

"Never."

"But always when you had business dealings with him he gave you the
ready money, very rarely a check?"

"Never in all my experience a check, always the cash."

"Yet the sums involved were usually considerable?"

"In one or two instances they reached a thousand dollars, if you call
that considerable."

"And he always had the money on hand?"

"Well, I can't quite say that; it always involved a preliminary
discussion of the transaction; I had to see him and tell him what I
wanted and then go again after the money. It was as if he wished me to
think he did not keep any large sum about him at the store."

"Did he ever, in talking with you, express any apprehension of robbery
or violence?"

"No, never."

"You had spoken to him about those bonds before?"

"Yes, Monday I saw him and asked him if he would take them off my hand."

"And he gave you to understand that if you would wait a day or two he
would buy the bonds."

North nodded.

"Hadn't you learned prior to going to the store that McBride had just
received three thousand dollars in cash from Atkinson?"

"Yes, I knew that,--Langham told me."

"So that it is reasonable to suppose that McBride had at least four
thousand dollars in his safe Thursday afternoon."

"I suppose it is, but I saw only the thousand he paid me for the bonds."

"That came from the safe?"

"Yes."

"I guess that's all for the present, North."

"Do you mean you shall want to see me again?" asked North, rising.

"Yes, you won't leave town to-day; the inquest is to b