 Although automobiles were common in the United States in 1914, a $2,000 sports car would have been very rare in the more remote areas of the Western United States.How the heroes paid for this expensive ride was rather unusual, as well.They undertook work which could be considered "private security" for a prosperous clientele, and rather than charging a traditional fee, they extracted from the client a blank check, with the amount charged to be determined by just how difficult or dangerous the job proved to be once it was completed.