"Not much activity just now in this section. Some of the old mines are shut down and there is but little prospecting being done. Are you interested in the mining business?" "No, not particularly." "There is a small mine near here that could be purchased at a bargain. A couple of crooks got the old man who owns it in debt to them and took a mortgage on the mine. The old man is very illiterate and did not understand the contracts that he had with these men. He is forced to sell to save himself. If he loses all that he has in this mine it is quite likely that he will be ruined for life, as he is too old to come back. I would be very sorry to see anything like that happen." "It's a shame that there are individuals who will stoop to crookedness to beat men who are along in years out of the savings of a lifetime." "Back in my home town----" "What is your home town?" asked Watson, interrupting King. "Wilford Springs. I was going to tell you about a man by the name of Babcock who used to own the controlling interest in a bank at Zala. (Watson gave a start and his face whitened.) This man Babcock was in some sort of a deal with a banker in Wilford Springs. One night the Wilford Springs banker, whose name is Jim Stover, went to Zala and had a conference with Babcock. The next day Babcock turned the bank over to him. That afternoon Babcock was injured in an automobile accident, and that night his cashier disappeared." (The bookkeeper became very nervous. He got up, poked the fire and then came back to his desk and sat down. He clasped his hands together to hold them from shaking.) "Did Babcock recover from the accident?" "Not fully. He suffers a great deal from a pain in his head at times, and he has no memory of anything that happened before the accident in which he was injured." "You say he can't remember anything that happened before he was injured?" "No, not a thing." "Can he remember things that have happened since he was hurt?" "Yes, that is the strange part about his condition. He can remember everything that has transpired since he was injured as well as the average person." "Very strange indeed," Watson commented. "When his daughter Ruth inquired about the business Stover informed her that he had purchased her father's bank stock. When she asked about the money she was told by Stover that her father had owed him an amount of money equal to the stock and he had taken it to help her father out." "This Stover claimed that Babcock was indebted to him?" "Yes. Babcock has been trying to remember what became of his money. He thinks that he has recalled the combination to the safe and that the man to whom he showed the combination robbed him." "I must be going. My wife will be waiting supper for me. I would like to talk longer with you. Could you come back to the office later in the evening?" "Yes, I can come any time." "How will eight o'clock be?" "That will be all right."