"Would you mind telling me, in strict confidence, the amount of the check?" asked Peter, persuasively. "I promise you, on my word of honour, that it'll go no further. You can see for yourself that, if there was a robbery, it's important for us to know whether there was any large sum of money in the house." "I see," said the cashier, thoughtfully. "Well, I don't think there's any harm in telling you. The Fifth Avenue vouches for you, and Mr. Morris does, too. No. There can't be any harm. It was a check for five thousand dollars." Peter sat up in his chair. "Five thousand!" he exclaimed. "Five thousand dollars? Did she often draw as much as that?" "No, never anywhere near as much as that before. And she took cash, too. Parsons warned her that it wasn't very safe, these days, to carry so much money around, and suggested that she take it in A.B.A. checks. He thought she was going to, for she asked to see the blanks, and then she decided that she wasn't afraid to take the cash." "I'm not awfully familiar with those checks," said Peter, apparently, for the moment, losing interest in his main subject, "but I understand they're a great convenience when you're travelling. Got one handy? I'd like to see one." "Yes, they're great," said the cashier, producing a pad of blanks from the drawer of his desk, and laying it before the detective. Peter looked at it for a moment, curiously. "You sign here, in the body of the check when purchasing, don't you," he said, slowly, "and then, when you sign again, here at the bottom, it identifies you. Yes. Very clever. Very convenient. I'll remember, when I have another long trip to take. Thanks." He sat considering in silence for a little time. Then he asked: "How does Miss Blake's account stand with the bank? I mean, is it a joint account? Can she and her sister both draw checks against it?" "Yes," Dunne answered, promptly. "Then, if Miss Mary should--die--Miss Anne could still go on drawing against the account without any bother about a will, or anything." "Naturally, but I don't quite see how this applies----" "No," agreed Peter, genially. "It probably doesn't. I was only thinking----" He continued thinking silently for a moment, then he went on: "Would you feel that there was any harm in telling me how much money Miss Blake has on deposit here?" "I really couldn't do that, Mr. Clancy. It's against the rules of the bank. I'm sorry." Peter grinned--computing swiftly in his own mind. "Would I be safe, do you think," he asked, "in extending credit to Miss Blake to the amount of twenty-five thousand dollars?" The young cashier laughed. "You would, Mr. Clancy. You certainly would." "Suppose it were necessary, and I doubled the credit?" Dunne's eyes twinkled with merriment, and he shook his head. "I wouldn't advise you to go much above that, Mr. Clancy," he said, "but at the present moment you wouldn't be risking your fifty thousand to any extent."