"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?"