Which should, perhaps, have been sufficient and convincing. But there were still some unconvinced. For example, Martha happened to meet one morning, while on an errand in the village, the president of the Denboro Trust Company. He explained that he had motored over, having a little matter of personal business to attend to.
“I haven't seen you for some time, Miss Phipps,” he observed. “Not since our—er—little talk about the Wellmouth Development stock. That was the last time, wasn't it?”
Martha said that it was. He lowered his voice a very little and asked, casually: “Still holding on to your two hundred and fifty shares, are you?”
“Why, that was what you told me to do, wasn't it?”
“Yes, yes. I believe it was. Humph! Just so, yes. So you've still got those shares?”
Martha smiled. “I haven't sold 'em to Raish Pulcifer, if that's what you're hintin' at,” she said.
He seemed a bit embarrassed. “Well,” he admitted, with a laugh, “I guess I'll have to own that I did mean that. There seems to be a good many who have sold to Pulcifer. All the little fellows, the small holders. You haven't, you say?”
“I haven't sold a share to him.”
“Humph! Neither has Cap'n Jeth Hallett; he told me so just now.... Hum!... What is Raish buying for? What's the reason he's buying? Have you heard?”
“I've heard what he's told other folks; that's all I know about it.”