Her confusion under Starr's baleful espionage sent her wits scattering. She jotted down the total, as she made it.
“Wrong!” announced the examiner. “And your figures are different, even, from the wrong total you have on the books. Try again.”
She set her lips and controlled her emotions and went over the work once more.
Starr exhibited figures which he had jotted on a bit of paper that he had palmed. “You're right, as the figures stand! But your book total doesn't agree with those figures. Now what say?”
Vona was distinctly in no condition to say anything sensible; she stared from the figures to Starr, showing utter amazement, and then she mutely appealed to the cashier.
“I'm sure that Miss Harnden is remarkably accurate in her work, Mr. Starr,” asserted the young man. “I have been in the habit of going over it, myself, and I have found no errors.”
“Oh, you go over it, do you? That's good!” But Starr's tone was not one of satisfied indorsement. He picked up the big book and carried it to the center table. He fished from his waistcoat pocket a small reading glass, unfolded the lenses, and studied the page. He turned other pages and performed the same minute inspection. Then he took the ledger to the window and held page after page against the glass, propping the book in his big hands.
When he turned, Vona was sitting in a chair, trembling, tears in her eyes, apprehension ridging her face.
“Cashier Vaniman, I don't want to hurt this young lady's feelings any more than I have. There's no sense in blaming her until I understand the which and the why of this thing. I have found column after column added wrongly. Perhaps she has done her work, originally, all right. But the pages of this ledger are pretty well speckled with erasures. The two of you will have to thresh it out between yourselves. I'm looking to you as the responsible party in this bank, Vaniman. I'll do the rest of my talking to you. After you have found out what the trouble is you must explain to me.”
“There can be no trouble with our books!” But the cashier stammered; his incredulity would not permit him to discuss the matter then or to offer any sort of explanation; in his amazement he could not think of any possible explanation. He could not convince himself that Vona needed other protection than her own thoroughness and rectitude gave her; however, he wanted to extend his protection.