Looking back

Another story from the 1950s or 60s. This time, a hooded and cloaked stranger wandered the streets of a village in Lewis, looking for lodgings for the night. He went round, knocking on doors, but everybody turned this insidious stranger away. Until the local shopkeeper took pity and put him up for the night. He departed early the next morning.
Later, the shop was buzzing, even more so than usual. Everybody was quizzing the shopkeeper - who was this man, where did he come from, where was he going, what was his name. The shopkeeper got increasingly disgusted by her neighbours. They had all turned him away, squandering (in her mind) the chance to find out for themselves. So, she decided to play a little trick. She went into the house behind the shop, and after a minute or two returned flashing a small piece of paper.
"Look!" she exclaimed. "This is what he gave me to pay for his night's stay!" The villagers crowded round the counter and saw a cheque, made out to the shopkeeper, for a handsome amount. In those days, cheques were scarce and only those better off had a chequebook. Hardly anyone in the village had a chequebook. And they therefore failed to recognise that their shopkeeper had written a cheque to herself.