“I’ll appoint you all a bodyguard to go with me while I deposit this,” said Dick, laughing. “Brady, you’d better keep a sharp eye on Maxwell.”
Laughing, they all went out together to make the trip to the bank. It was a hot day, and they walked slowly. Moreover, they were all talking among themselves, and they did not happen to notice that their progress attracted the close attention of Barrows himself, who walked along, a large Panama hat shading his face, on the other side of the street, and waited in the doorway opposite the bank until they had completed their business and emerged. They all went down to the water, intending to take a little trip to cool off with a swim at a near-by beach later on. But Barrows did not follow them. Instead, as soon as they had passed out of sight, he entered the bank, and signaled to Riggs, who was making a bundle of the yellow bills that Dick had deposited.
“Did Merriwell make a deposit?” asked Barrows peremptorily. He had caught Riggs in his landing net now, and there was no longer any need to be polite and diplomatic with him.
“Yes,” said Riggs. “Fifty hundred-dollar bills.”
“You are required to make a note of the numbers of such bills, are you not?” asked Barrows, who seemed to know a good deal about the banking business.
“Yes,” said Riggs. “I’ve got the note here.”
“Give it to me!” commanded Barrows. “And enter up series numbers for those bills well ahead, do you see? So that no one can trace the real ones properly. Keep a note of the false numbers that you enter up, and give that to me to-night. And, when you come to-night, bring all the other information I asked for. At half past ten, remember, at Marston’s place.”
“All right,” said Riggs, trembling. He was nervous, though there seemed a chance for him to escape.