内特尔威克先生先拿起纸币，用敏捷得几乎像是变戏法的手法，点了扎数。接着，他把海绵盘转到面前，蘸湿了手指，一张张地点数。他那瘦削而雪白的手指像音乐家弹钢琴似的跳动着。他把金币哗啦啦地往柜台上一倒，金币从他灵活的指尖掠过大理石柜台面时叮叮当当响成一片。当他数到五毛和两毛五分的钱币时，空中全是辅币的声响。他连一毛和五分的辅币都数到了。他随身还带着弹簧秤，把保险库里的每一袋银币都过了秤。他询问多尔西每一笔现金账的情况——上一天营业转过来的支票、传票——虽然非常客气，可是呆板的态度似乎极其神秘而了不起，害得那个出纳员满脸通红，结结巴巴地连话也说不上了。
This newlyimported examiner was so different from Sam Turner. It had been Sams way to enter the bank with a shout， pass the cigars， and tell the latest stories he had picked up on his rounds. His customary greeting to Dorsey had been， “Hello， Perry！ Havent skipped out with the boodle yet， I see.” Turners way of counting the cash had been different， too. He would finger the packages of bills in a tired kind of way， and then go into the vault and kick over a few sacks of silver， and the thing was done. Halves and quarters and dimes？ Not for Sam Turner. “No chicken feed for me.” he would say when they were set before him. “Im not in the agricultural department.” But， then， Turner was a Texan， an old friend of the banks president， and had known Dorsey since he was a baby.
这位新来的稽核和萨姆·特纳大不一样。萨姆走进银行时总是高声招呼，请大家抽雪茄，把他在路上听来的新闻告诉大家。他招呼多尔西时总是这么说：“喂，佩里！敢情你还没有卷逃。”特纳检查现金的方式也不同。他只是不耐烦地摸摸一扎扎的钞票，然后到保险库里，踢踢几袋银币，事情就完了。五毛、两毛五和一毛的辅币吗？萨姆·特纳才不去数呢。“别把鸡食拿给我，”他们把辅币搬到他面前时，他会这样说，“我不在农业部干活。”不过特纳是得克萨斯人，是银行总经理的老朋友，从小就认识多尔西。
While the examiner was counting the cash， Major Thomas B. Kingman—known to every one as “Major Tom”—the president of the First National， drove up to the side door with his old dundunn.催促者， 讨债者， 催债v.催讨adj.暗褐色的， 微暗的 horse and buggy， and came inside. He saw the examiner busy with the money， and， going into the little “pony corral” as he called it， in which his desk was railed off， he began to look over his letters.
稽核在数现金的时候，第一国民银行总经理托马斯·皮·金曼少校——大伙都管他叫“汤姆少校”——乘了一匹褐色马拉的轻便马车到了边门口，走了进来。他看到稽核正忙着数钱，使自顾自走到他称之为小“马栏”的围着栅栏的办公桌那儿，开始翻阅信件。
Earlier， a little incident had occurred that even the sharp eyes of the examiner had failed to notice. When he had begun his work at the cash counter， Mr. Edlinger had winked significantly at Roy Wilson， the youthful bank messenger， and nodded his head slightly toward the front door. Roy understood， got his hat， and walked leisurely out， with his collectors book under his arm. Once outside， he made a beeline for the Stockmens National. That bank was also getting ready to open. No customers had， as yet， presented themselves.
先前，银行里发生了一件小事，即使目光锐利的稽核也没有注意到。当他在现金柜台开始工作时，埃德林格先生朝那个年轻的信差罗伊·威尔森使个眼色，朝前门略微一点头。罗伊心领神会，拿起帽子，把收款簿往腋下一夹，不慌不忙地出去了。一出门口，他转了一圈儿，然后向国家畜牧银行走去。那家银行也准备就绪，开始营业了。不过还没有主顾上门。
“Say， you people！” cried Roy， with the familiarity of youth and long acquaintance， “You want to get a move on you. Theres a new bank examiner over at the First， and hes a stemwinder. Hes counting nickles on Perry， and hes got the whole outfit bluffed. Mr. Edlinger gave me the tip to let you know.”
“喂，诸位！”罗伊同他们很熟，毫无顾忌地嚷道，“你们赶快准备。第一国民银行里来了一个新稽核，这家伙真了不起。他把佩里的辅币都数遍了，大家被他搞得手忙脚乱。埃德林格报呼我通知你们一声。”
Mr. Buckley， president of the Stockmens National—a stout， elderly man， looking like a farmer dressed for Sunday—heard Roy from his private office at the rear and called him.
国家畜牧银行总经理巴克利先生——一个结实的，上了年纪的人，活像穿着做礼拜时的好衣服的农场主——在后面的那个办公室里听到了罗伊的话，便叫他进去。
“Has Major Kingman come down to the bank yet？” he asked of the boy.
“金曼少校有没有去银行？”他问罗伊。
“Yes， sir， he was just driving up as I left.” said Roy.
“去了，先生，我出来时他的马车刚到。”罗伊说。
“I want you to take him a note. Put it into his own hands as soon as you get back.”
“我请你带一个便条给他。你一回去就交给他本人。”
Mr. Buckley sat down and began to write.
巴克利先生坐下来写便条。
Roy returned and handed to Major Kingman the envelope containing the note. The major read it， folded it， and slipped it into his vest pocket. He leaned back in his chair for a few moments as if he were meditating deeply， and then rose and went into the vault. He came out with the bulky， oldfashioned leather note case stamped on the back in gilt letters， “Bills Discounted”。 In this were the notes due the bank with their attached securities， and the major， in his rough way， dumped the lot upon his desk and began to sort them over.
罗伊回去后把装着便条的信封交给金曼少校。少校看后把便条折好，往坎肩口袋里一塞。他在椅子里往后靠了一会儿，仿佛在苦苦思索，接着站起来，走进保险库。他出来时拿着一只装得鼓鼓囊囊的，老式的皮面票据夹，上面烫金的字样是“贴现票据”。这里面藏着银行应收票据和附属抵押品。少校粗手粗脚地把它全倒在桌子上，开始清理。
By this time Nettlewick had finished his count of the cash. His pencil fluttered like a swallowswallow n.[鸟］燕子， 吞咽， 喉vt.咽， 淹没， 吞没，取消， 忍受， 轻信， 压制， 耗尽vi.吞下， 咽下 over the sheet of paper on which he had set his figures. He opened his black wallet， which seemed to be also a kind of secret memorandum book， made a few rapid figures in it， wheeled and transfixed Dorsey with the glare of his spectacles. That look seemed to say： “Youre safe this time， but—”
这时，内特尔威克已经数完了现金。他的铅笔在一张记数的单子上像燕子似的飞掠着。他打开一个仿佛也是秘密记事册的黑皮夹，迅捷地在上面写了几个字，转过身，那副闪闪发光的眼镜对着多尔西，镜片后面的眼色好像在说．“你这次没有出毛病，不过——
“Cash all correct”。 snapped the examiner. He made a dash for the individual bookkeeper， and， for a few minutes there was a fluttering of ledger leaves and a sailing of balance sheets through the air.
“现金全部符合。”稽核简单地说。说罢，他到个人存户记账员那里，几分钟后，账页索索直响，借贷对照表到处乱飞。
“How often do you balance your passbooks？” he demanded， suddenly.
“你多久才结一次存折？”他突然问道。
“Er—once a month”。 falteredfalter vt.支吾地说， 结巴地讲出vi.支吾， 蹒跚踉跄，摇摆，（声音）颤抖n.颤抖， 支吾， 踌躇 the individual bookkeeper， wondering how many years they would give him.
“呃——一个月一次。”个人存户记账员结结巴巴地说，不知道自己会被判几年刑。
“All right.” said the examiner， turning and charging upon the general bookkeeper， who had the statements of his foreign banks and their reconcilementreconcilementn.调停， 一致 memoranda ready. Everything there was found to be all right. Then the stub book of the certificates of deposit. Flutter— flutter—zip—zip—check！ All right. List of overdrafts， please. Thanks. Hm—m. Unsigned bills of the bank， next. All right.