I merely stated the figures, and they read in your
favor."
The boy laughed outright.
"I believe, Mr. Burns," he said, "that you would more easily forgive a
man who attacked you personally than one who gave you an incorrect list
of figures."
"Certainly I would," the statistician replied. "I could hit back in the
first case, but in the second who can tell how far I might be led
astray!"
"Well," the boy answered, "I'm glad at any rate that my figures tallied
up all right."
"I don't want to seem inquisitive," said the older man, "but when did
you get in the population examination?"
"There was some talk of my being accepted without going through the
exam," said Hamilton, "because of the fact that I was doing census work
of a more difficult character already, but I thought I would rather feel
that everything had been done in the usual manner. I took the exam at
New Haven, one afternoon."
"But are you going to do the population work there?"
"No, Mr. Burns," the boy explained. "The Director wrote to me that I
would be allowed to send in a formal application in the regular way
through the supervisor of the enumeration district to which I had asked
to be assigned.
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