“Yes. Why not? He is a fine business man, and he has large interests of his own. Have you any objection?”
“Oh, I don't know. Of course not!” she added quickly, as she caught sight of a rather odd look on her aunt's face. “If we have to—I mean if you find it necessary, you can ask his advice, I suppose.”
“Wouldn't you?”
“Why, yes, I believe I would—just as a matter of business.”
Viola's voice was calm and cool, but it might have been because her attention was focused on a bundle of papers she was taking from the safe. And a casual perusal of these showed that they had a bearing on subjects that might explain certain things.
“Look, Aunt Mary!” the girl exclaimed. “Father seems to have kept a diary. It tells—it tells about that trouble he had with Harry—Rather, it wasn't with Harry at all. It was Harry's uncle. It's that same old trouble father so often referred to. He always declared he was cheated in a certain business deal, but I always imagined it was because he didn't make as much money as he thought he ought to. Father was like that. But see-this puts a different face on it.”
Together they looked over the papers, and among them-among the memoranda, copies of contracts and other documents—was a diary, or perhaps it might be called a business man's journal. Both Viola and her aunt were familiar enough with business to understand the import of what they read.
It was to the effect that Mr. Amos Bartlett, Harry's paternal uncle, had been associated with Mr. Carwell in several transactions involving some big business deals. Mr. Bartlett had been smart enough, by forming a directorate within a directorate and by means of a dummy company, to get a large sum to his credit, while Mr. Carwell was left to face a large deficit.
“And Harry Bartlett acted as agent for his uncle in the transactions!” exclaimed Miss Carwell as she looked over the papers.
“But I don't believe he knew anything wrong was being done!” declared Viola. “I'm positive he didn't. Harry isn't that kind of a man.”