Jim Harker, the Mesa City banker, a small, wiry man, with heavy glasses, welcomed them cordially. He had known the sheriff for years.
‘Well, what’s on your mind, Lem?’ he asked, after Lem had introduced the others.
‘Peter Morgan banked with you, didn’t he, Jim?’
The banker smiled slowly. ‘What banking he did—yes.’
‘What do yuh mean by that, Jim?’
‘He didn’t do much banking, Lem. Peter Morgan was rather a queer person, and preferred having his money nearer than a bank vault.’
‘You mean, he kept it at the ranch?’
‘I suspect he did, Lem.’
‘Well, here’s somethin’ we want to find out, Jim.’ And Lem explained about Rex’s mother receiving the seventy-five-dollar check. The banker listened closely, and when Lem finished he shook his head thoughtfully.
‘Was that the only check from here that you have seen?’ he asked Rex.