"Yes, I got my watch and several other trinkets, which I had all together in one box. See, here they are," she said, producing a box.
Ingham looked at them with great interest, and, among the old sleeve-buttons, odd earrings, and other broken pieces of jewelry, he saw two gold shirt studs, one diamond-shaped, and the other star-shaped. This was a small matter, but it was one of the connecting links, nevertheless, in the chain of evidence against her; for, from the description, I felt sure that these were young Trafton's missing studs.
Ingham spent the evening with her, and she was very friendly indeed, seeming anxious to remove any suspicion he might have that she was responsible for his arrest. She had made no arrangements for him to sleep there, however, and so he went to a small hotel for the night. When he reported at my office the following day, I gave him four hundred dollars in money, and told him to show it to Mrs. Sanford as the proceeds of the sale of the stolen bonds. Accordingly, when he went there in the afternoon, he counted over a large pile of bills before her astonished eyes, and asked her if he didn't know how to make things pay well.
"Why, where did you get all that money?" she asked.
"I sold those bonds which I showed you the other night," he replied. "I tell you, it isn't every man who knows how to dispose of property when it falls into his hands."
"Now you will be flush for a long time, won't you?" she said, in her most amiable manner. "What are you going to do with all that?"
"Oh! I shall have to divide with my partner first," he replied.
"Did you have a partner in this affair?" she asked. "You did not tell me about him."
"Oh! yes; I had the same partner as in the other case," Ingham replied. "He held Adamson, and I struck him with a brick. However, here is a present before I go, May," he continued, tossing two ten-dollar notes into her lap. "I will give you some more in a day or two."
Mrs. Sanford was very much gratified, and said that she cared more for him than for any one else, and he could depend upon her for anything. Ingham then left her, and came to my office to return the money. In the evening he took Mrs. Sanford and Miss Ida Musgrove to the theatre, and the latter, evidently having heard of his improved fortunes, treated him with great cordiality. They returned to the rooms of Miss Ida after the theatre was out, and Mrs. Sanford gave some fine imitations of different actors and actresses, in a way which showed great powers of mimicry, as well as considerable dramatic force. It was very late when Ingham and Mrs. Sanford got home, and they immediately went to bed.