The girl asked her father about them.
He shook his head.
"I don't understand it, my dear," he said. "And what's more, I don't believe Mr. Silver do himself. I see the accounts published in the paper. Accordin' to them the Bank had five millions in cash. You'd think you couldn't go very fur wrong with five millions in cash in the till."
"Perhaps a clerk's been taking some," said the girl eagerly.
Once, but only once, there had been a clerk at Putnam's.
The old man was not to be convinced.
"Take a tidy-sized clurk to go off with five million in his pocket," he said. "Course I don't say he couldn't do it, Gob 'elpin' 'im. Only he'd be carryin' a lot o' dead weight, as the Psalmist said. Too 'eavily penalised, I should say. No, my dear, 'tain't the clurk. 'Tis the li'bilities."
"What are the liabilities?" asked Boy.
"They're the devil, my dear," said the old man. "That's all I can tell you. Land you in the lock-up soon as look at you."
Later that evening the girl went to call on her friend, Mr. Haggard.