A surety on a bond in a recognizance may, after default, pay into the court from which the process has issued, or may issue thereon, the amount for which he is bound, with such costs as the court may direct, and be thereupon discharged.
Code 1950, § 19.1-143; 1960, c. 366; 1975, c. 495; 1991, c. 581.