‘Yes, sir,’ agreed Pud. ‘Gee, I wish I’d been along! Wouldn’t it have been great, Tim?’ ‘Yes,’ said Tim. But somehow it sounded a lot more like ‘No’! At that minute the door opened and a man of about forty years entered briskly. ‘Afternoon, Mister Sheriff! So these are the boys, eh?’ ‘Yes, sir, here they are. Boys, this is Mr. Hosford, president of the Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Hosford, this is Anson Pringle, and this is Timothy Daley. Anson’s pa runs the _Courant_ up to Millville. Maybe you know him.’ Mr. Hosford regretted that he hadn’t that honor as he shook hands with Pud and Tim. Then he took the chair that the sheriff set for him and smiled at his audience. ‘Well,’ he said, ‘I guess we don’t have to make a ceremony of this, young gentlemen. I’ve brought the check with me and I’ll just hand it over, with my congratulations.’ He put a hand into an inner pocket and produced a long, slim oblong of pale-green paper. ‘We made this out to Anson Pringle?’ He looked inquiringly at the sheriff. ‘That’s what you said, eh?’ ‘That’s right, Mr. Hosford. It was him that had the bundle of money, so――’ ‘I don’t know what you mean,’ said Pud faintly. ‘Why, I’m talking about the reward,’ said Mr. Hosford. ‘You knew there was a reward of five hundred dollars offered, didn’t you?’ ‘I reckon he didn’t,’ laughed the sheriff. ‘We didn’t say anything to him, Mr. Hosford. Thought we’d wait and――’ ‘You mean,’ gasped Pud, ‘that my father offered five hundred dollars for――for me?’ ‘Well, hardly,’ answered Mr. Hosford, smiling, ‘although I dare say you’d be well worth it. No, this reward was offered a week or so ago by the Livermore Chamber of Commerce and the banks for information leading to the apprehension of the persons engaged in circulating counterfeit bank-notes hereabouts. Thought, of course, you knew about it. The sheriff here and a Mr. Kinsey, sent by the Department of Justice awhile back, assured us that you had earned it and so――well, here it is, my boy! And my congratulations go with it!’ Still dazed, Pud accepted the check, looked at it vaguely, and then turned to Sheriff Bowker. ‘You mean that――that it’s _mine_?’ he asked incredulously. ‘Sure is, Anson! Earned it, didn’t you? If you hadn’t given the information you did, they’d still be searching for those fellows, I reckon.’ ‘Well, I must go along.’ Mr. Hosford again shook hands with the boys, nodded to the sheriff, said ‘Good-afternoon!’ and departed. With the closing of the door behind him, Tim darted from his seat. ‘Gosh, Pud, let’s see!’ he stammered. Pud and he both looked then. ‘Livermore Trust Company,’ they read. ‘Pay to the order of Anson Pringle Five Hundred Dollars.’ ‘Gosh!’ said Tim in an awed voice. ‘What are you going to do with it, Pud?’ Pud shook his head helplessly. Then he brightened as he exclaimed: ‘’Tain’t all mine, you silly chump! It’s half yours!’ ‘Mine!’ said Tim. ‘I guess not! What did I have to do with it? You’re crazy!’