He hoped the clerk had not heard the name by which he had been addressed; but he hoped in vain. The latter, pausing in his writing, came to the counter and said:
“Didn’t this gentleman call you Congreve?”
“Yes,” admitted Congreve, uneasily.
“You just gave your name as John Baker.”
“Oh, no! That is, I didn’t say my name was John Baker. That is the gentleman for whom I am selling the bonds.”
“Then they do not belong to you?”
“No.”
“Where does Mr. Baker live?”
“In New Haven,” answered Congreve, glibly, for he had a ready invention.
“We do not care to buy,” said the clerk, coldly, for there was something in Congreve’s manner which made him suspicious.