A second telegram went to the Chief of Police of Denver. It was:
"Please wire if any financier, banker or business man has been out of your city for five weeks or more, presumably on business trip. Do you know John Doane?"
Then The Thinking Machine sat down to wait. At last the door bell rang and Hatch entered.
"Well?" demanded the scientist, impatiently.
"The expert declares those are not counterfeit," said Hatch.
Now The Thinking Machine was surprised. It was shown clearly by the quick lifting of the eyebrows, by the sudden snap of his jaws, by a quick forward movement of the yellow head.
"Well, well, well!" he exclaimed at last. Then again: "Well, well!"
"What is it?"
"See here," and The Thinking Machine took the hundred-dollar bills in his own hands. "These bills, perfectly new and crisp, were issued by the Blank National Bank of Butte, and the fact that they are in proper sequence would indicate that they were issued to one individual at the same time, probably recently. There can be no doubt of that. The numbers run from 846380 to 846395, all series B.
"I see," said Hatch.