"I suppose so."
"And now you want me to have a look at the accounts?"
"That's it."
"Right; bring them along."
Roland laid out his personal accounts, his hotel bills, his railway fares, his entertaining expenses.
"And, as far as I can see," he said, "there's a balance of about thirteen pounds in your favour."
"We'll have a look and see," said Mr Perkins, and he began to scrutinise the accounts carefully, adding up every bill, and checking the amount of the German balance-sheet. Roland had taken a great deal of trouble over these accounts. He would not have minded making a few slips in the figures he had placed before Mr Marston, but he was desperately anxious to present no weak spot to Perkins.
"Yes, yes," said Perkins, "these seem to be all right, and there's a balance, as you say, of thirteen pounds, five and threepence."
"Right," said Roland, and began to count out the money.
"Yes, but as far as I can see, there aren't any—well, how shall I put it?—any special expense accounts here. I usually let one or two of them through all right."