On September 20, 1869, Gould and Fisk started hoarding gold, driving the price higher. Gold closed at $141 an ounce on September 22, at which time Fisk and Gould owned between $50 and $60 million in gold between the two of them, about three times the public supply available in New York. The increase in gold prices on this day alone had netted a profit of $1.75 million for the two conspirators. On Thursday, September 23, Gould visited Corbin's house and was informed of Julia's letter, which had arrived that day. After reading it and discovering that Grant was annoyed with Corbin's speculations, Gould knew that Grant was likely to sell government gold on Friday. Subsequently, Corbin asked Gould if he would buy Corbin's account so he could tell Grant that he no longer owned any gold, but Gould refused to bail Corbin out, fearing it would trigger a collapse in the market. Instead, he offered Corbin $100,000 interest and exclaimed, "Mr. Corbin, I am undone if that letter gets out". Gould chose not to inform Fisk of this recent development. When Grant returned to Washington D.C., he found $60,000 worth of gifts from the "Gold Ring" sent to the White House. Sensing bribery, Grant immediately ordered the paintings and statues boxed up and returned.