three thousand pesos, but about the first of April, that took a big
jump. Quite a big jump; two hundred and fifty thousand pesos, all in a
lump."

"When did Kettle-Belly Sam deposit this large sum?" I asked.

"He didn't. The money came to us in a cashier's check on the Ranchers'
Trust Company of New Austin with an anonymous letter asking that it be
deposited to Mayor Bonney's account. The letter was typed on a sheet of
yellow paper in Basic English."

"Do you have that letter now?" I asked.

"No, I don't. After we'd recorded the new balance, Kettle-Belly came
storming in, raising hell because we'd recorded it. He told me that if
we ever got another deposit like that, we were to turn it over to him in
cash. Then he wanted to see the letter, and when I gave it to him, he
took it over to a telescreen booth, and drew the curtains. I got a
little busy with some other matters, and the next time I looked,
Kettle-Belly was gone and some girl was using the booth."

"That's very interesting, Mr. Finnegan. Was that the last of your
unusual business with Mayor Bonney?"

"Oh, no. Then, about two weeks before Mr. Cumshaw was killed,
Kettle-Belly came in and wanted 50,000 pesos, in a big hurry, in small
bills. I gave it to him, and he grabbed at the money like a starved dog
at a bone, and upset a bottle of red perma-ink, the sort we use to
refill our bank seals. Three of the bills got splashed. I offered to
exchange them, but he said, 'Hell with it; I'm in a hurry,' and went
out. The next day, Switchblade Joe Bonney came in to make payment on a
note we were holding on him. He used those three bills in the payment.

"Then, about a week ago, there was another cashier's check came in for
Kettle-Belly. This time, there was no letter; just one of our regular
deposit-slips. No name of depositor. I held the check, and gave it to
Kettle-Belly. I remember, when it came in, I said to one of the clerks,
'Well, I wonder who's going to get bumped off this time.' And sure
enough ..."

Sidney's yell of, "Objection!" was all his previous objections gathered
into one.

"You say the letter accompanying the first deposit, the one in Basic
English, was apparently taken away by Kettle-Belly Sam Bonney. If you
saw another letter of the same sort, would you be able to say whether or
not it might be like the one you mentioned?"

Sidney vociferating more objections; I was trying to get expert
testimony without previous qualification....

"Not at