It had occurred to me that the concern had been running itself for several weeks, for Mr. Whippleton had not been in the office half the time. I supposed, therefore, from what he said, that he was buying lumber, or attending to the finances of the establishment, in his absence, for he appeared to have injured his health very seriously. From "the speech of people," and from an occasional remark he dropped himself, I had learned that he was engaged in land speculations, but I was not willing to believe that these could add very much to his work. "You have done very well, Phil," said he, kindly. "You have been faithful, and you have kept your books remarkably well; but taking a trial balance isn't your forte yet." "I know I'm stupid, sir." "Far from it, Phil. I never knew a young man of your age who had so deep an insight into the science of accounts as you have; but you can't do everything at once." "Thank you, sir; you are very kind. Perhaps the taking of trial balances is not my forte; but it seems to me that those invoices, when you bring them, will make it all right. Forty thousand dollars added to the stock will leave a balance of thirty thousand in favor of the concern." "Very likely you are right, after all, Phil. Indeed, I think you must be. You are always correct about everything." "O, no, sir; I don't pretend to be always correct, but I try to be so," I replied, blushing at the compliments showered upon me. "But, Phil, you should not attempt to do what you don't understand." "I thought I was perfectly competent to make out a trial balance, sir." "Undoubtedly you are. It isn't that," he interposed, with a pleasant smile. "There are certain details of the business which you don't understand, and you can't make out a correct trial balance without including those details." "I supposed I understood all about the business, and perhaps it would have come out all right if I had only had those invoices." "I don't know how that might have been. But suppose Mr. Collingsby had seen your statement, that the firm had lost ten thousand dollars in six months." "I did not intend to show it to him." "Still he might have seen it. You might have left it on the desk, and a single glance at it would have alarmed him, when, you can see for yourself, the business is paying a large profit." "I made the statement only for you, and I showed it to you in order to have my blunder pointed out." "You did perfectly right, Phil, but an accident might have happened," said he, walking to the desk where my sheets were still lying. He picked them up, tore them into a great many pieces, and threw them into the waste basket. "At the end of the year we will make out a trial balance together," he added.