“It's not his character we're curious about. Do you know how he's fixed?”
Sadie was silent for a few moments. The others were young and newly married and had admitted that the purchase of the business had strained their resources. It was plain that a large bad debt might involve them in difficulties. Wilkinson had forced her to fight, and she meant to show him no mercy, but she must say nothing that could afterwards be brought up against her.
“Character counts for as much as dollars,” she remarked. “That was my father's motto, and he was never afraid to take steep chances by backing an honest man. Although he had debts on his books for three or four years, it was seldom a customer let him down. But he cut out a crook as soon as he suspected what the fellow was. However, you want to know how Wilkinson stands? Well, it's a sure thing he finds dollars tight.”
“Anyhow, a man can't disown his debts in this country.”
“That's so; but if he's a farmer, the homestead laws stop your seizing his house and land and part of his stock, unless he has mortgaged them to you. If somebody else holds a mortgage, you generally get stung.”
“The trouble is that if you're too hard on a customer, he tells his friends, and the opposition gets his trade and theirs.”
“Sure,” said Sadie, “Keller's let the opposition have that kind of trade. A crook's friends are generally like himself, and there's not much profit in selling goods to folk who don't mean to pay.”
“Has Wilkinson given a mortgage?” the man asked.
“If he had, it's got to be registered. You can find out at the record office, and I guess it would pay you to go and see.”
“Well, I hear he's just sold a good bunch of horses. That means he'll have some money for a while.”