"Be clear, Contini. Tell me what you mean."
"I mean this. For a month past the bank could not have discounted a hundred francs' worth of our paper. Del Ferice has taken it all and advanced the money out of his private account."
"Are you sure of what you are telling me?" Orsino asked the question in a low voice, and his brow contracted.
"One can hardly have better authority than the clerk's own statement."
"And he distinctly told you this, did he?"
"Most distinctly."
"He must have had an object in betraying such a confidence," said Orsino. "It is not likely that such a man would carelessly tell you or me a secret which is evidently meant to be kept."
He spoke quietly enough, but the tone of his voice was changed and betrayed how greatly he was moved by the news. Contini began to walk up and down again, but did not make any answer to the remark.
"How much do we owe the bank?" Orsino asked suddenly.
"Roughly, about six hundred thousand."