The first
thing, Captain Dave, is to send these books to an accountant, for him
to go through them and check my figures."
"There is no need for that, lad. I know how careful you are, and you
cannot have gone so far wrong as all this."
"No, sir, I am sure that there is no mistake; but, for your own sake
as well as mine, it were well that you should have the signature of
an accountant to the correctness of the books. If you have to lay the
matter before the magistrates, they would not take my testimony as to
your losses, and might even say that you were rash in acting upon the
word of a boy like myself, and you might then be obliged to have the
accounts made up anew, which would cost you more, and cause much
delay in the process; whereas, if you put in your books and say that
their correctness is vouched for by an accountant, no question would
arise on it; nor would there be any delay now, for while the books
are being gone into, we can be trying to get to the bottom of the
matter here."
"Ay, ay, it shall be done, Master Cyril, as you say. But for the life
of me I don't see how we are to get at the bottom of the ship to find
out where she is leaking!"
"It seems to me that the first thing, Captain Dave, is to see to the
warehouse. As we agreed that the apprentices cannot have carried out
all these goods under John Wilkes's eye, and cannot have come down
night after night through the house, the warehouse must have been
entered from without.
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