Cheques have largely replaced money as a means of exchange, for they are widely accepted everywhere. Though this is very 1 for both buyers and sellers, it should not be forgotten that cheques are not real money: They are quite 2 in themselves. A shopkeeper always faces a certain 3 when he accepts a cheque and he is quite within his rights if, on occasion, he 4 to do so.
People don't always 5 this and are shocked if their good 6 is called into question. An old and very wealthy friend of mine told me that he had ever had an extremely 7 experience. He went to a famous jewelry shop which kept a large stock of precious stones and asked to see some necklaces. After examining carefully, he 8 to buy a particularly fine diamond necklace and asked if he could pay by cheque. The assistant said that this was quite in order, but the moment my friend 9 his name, he was invited into the manager's office.
The manager was polite, and he explained that someone with exactly the same name had 10 them with a worthless cheque not long ago. My friend got very 11 when he heard this and said that he would buy a 12 somewhere else. When he got up to leave, the manager told him that the police would arrive at any moment and that he had better stay there 13 he wanted to get into serious trouble. Sure enough, the police arrived soon afterwards. They politely 14 to my friend for the inconvenience, but explained that a person who had used the same name as his was 15 for a number of recent robberies. Then the police asked my friend to 16 a note which had been used by the thief in several shops. The note read: "I have a gun in my pocket. Ask 17 questions and give me all the money in the safe." 18, my friend's handwriting was quite unlike the thief's. He was not only 19 to go without further 20, but to take the diamond necklace with him.
