Carman appealed to the court for protection against an allegation
of such an outrageous character; but he was peremptorily ordered to be
silent. James went on in a firm voice,--
"Only a few weeks after I went into his employment I examined a bill
by his direction, and discovered an error of twenty dollars."
The face of Mr. Carman crimsoned.
"You remember it, I see," remarked James, "and I shall have cause to
remember it as long as I live. The error was in favor of Mr. Carman. I
asked if I should correct the figures, and he answered 'No; let them
correct their own mistakes. We don't examine bills for other people's
benefit.' It was my first lesson in dishonesty. I saw the bill
settled, and Mr. Carman take twenty dollars that was not his own. I
felt shocked at first; it seemed such a wrong thing. But soon after he
called me a simpleton for handing back a fifty-dollar bill to the
teller of a bank, which he had overpaid me on a check, and then--"
"May I ask the protection of the court," said Mr. Carman.
"Is it true what the lad says?" asked the presiding judge.
Mr. Carman hesitated and looked confused. All eyes were on his face;
and judges and jury, lawyers and spectators, felt certain that he was
guilty of leading the unhappy young man astray.
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