“I had several things to catch up.”
“What? Invoices, or letters, or accounts, or what?”
“I had the petty-cash to balance.”
“That is supposed to be done every day, is it not?”
“Yes; but I had got rather behind.”
“How many days behind?” said Mr Barnacle.
“Really I can’t quite say,” said Hawkesbury, who did not seem used to being driven into a corner. “My journey North threw me out of it.”
“Then you have not balanced the petty-cash since before you went North, nearly three weeks ago? Am I to understand that?”
“Yes,” said Hawkesbury.
“Is this the first morning you have come here early?”