Section 8. Except as otherwise provided in section thirty-seven of chapter two hundred and fifty-five, before the officer serving the writ delivers the goods to the plaintiff, he shall take from the plaintiff or a person in his behalf a bond payable to the defendant in a sum equal to double the value of the goods, with sufficient sureties, conditioned to prosecute the replevin to final judgment and to pay such damages and costs as the defendant shall recover and to return the goods if such shall be the final judgment. The officer shall appraise the goods and return the writ in the manner provided in sections three and four; but if the writ is returnable to the superior court, the bond shall be left with the clerk of the court for the use of the defendant.