Then it was not yet paid for—not actually bought. Clip saw instantly what Cora was striving for, but she pretended to be interested in the locked case in which rested the much-looked-for promise book.
"How do you know it will be paid for?" hazarded Cora. "Young folks often change their minds. I suppose you have a good deposit?"
"Well, no. I wanted one, but the gentleman is gone for to cash a check—"
Cora laughed. The old man's face changed.
"If they wanted the table why did they not bring the money?" she said. "I should think it would save you trouble to sell the table directly to me—if it suits me, of course. I am going away from here, and suppose the other customer never comes back?"
Still the old man did not speak. Cora saw her advantage and took out her purse.
"How much is it?" she asked boldly.
"They will pay me fifty dollars for that table," he said dramatically.
"So will I, if it suits me," she declared. "Come, let me see it."
The old man saw the new bills in her hands,