I was amazed, and even vexed. I did not like to say anything to Mr. Whippleton, because I wished to surprise him with my knowledge of accounts on the first of the month. It would astonish him to learn that the firm had lost over ten thousand dollars in five months, several of them the best in the year for business. I came to the conclusion that my laudable design would be a failure, or only prove that I was a vain and conceited boy, who knew but little of the science of accounts. I did not suspect that anything was wrong, except in my own calculations. Probably Mr. Whippleton knew all about the matter, and in due time would set it right, showing that the concern had made twenty or thirty thousand dollars in five months, instead of losing ten thousand. "Is Mr. Whippleton in?" asked a gentleman, one day, while I was harassing my brain over the knotty problem. "No, sir," I replied. "He went out at ten o'clock, and I have not seen him since." "Sorry; I wanted to see him." I soon found that this gentleman was the agent of the Michigan Pine Company, in whose invoice the discrepancy of ten thousand dollars appeared. Without indicating my purpose, I made such inquiries of him as enabled him to give the information I wanted. I was satisfied that the invoice on file was correct, and that no lumber had been purchased for which the firm had not received a bill. Of course this discovery only added to my perplexity, and I worked half a day over the head salesman's lumber book; but I finished the investigation no wiser than I had begun it. On the cash book it appeared that the amount of the actual bill had been paid at one time, and the ten thousand dollars at another. I give the amount in round numbers, though it varied somewhat from these figures. I worried myself over the matter till I was afraid it would make me sick, and then I gave it up in despair. The first day of the month came, and when I added the month's business to my trial balance, I found another amount of five thousand dollars unexplained by any invoice. The balance against the firm remained about the same. Mortified at my defeat, I decided to show my statement to Mr. Whippleton, for I was deeply interested to know where "the figures lied." "What's that?" demanded the junior partner, as I laid my balance sheet and statement before him. "I have made out a trial balance and statement, sir," I replied. "Who told you to do that?" he asked, with a glance at the sanctum of Mr. Collingsby. "No one, sir." "What do you mean by wasting your time in that way?" "You told me to look into the system of keeping the books, and I thought I could not do it any better than by getting out a trial balance for the last six months." "We don't take a trial balance but once a year." "I only did it for practice, so that I might understand it better when I had to do the real thing."