评论
打印
"It may seem ridiculous to you," he replied in a voice rising slightly in irritation, "but that is the bank's policy and I have no other choice but to follow the rules".
The boy had stood hopefully next to me during this exchange, but now I was just as helpless. Suddenly I noticed that the open savings book he continued to grasp showed a balance of about $100. It also showed that there had been a series of small deposits and withdrawals.
I had my opening.
"Have you withdrawn money before by yourself?" I asked the boy.
"Yes," he said.
I moved in for the kill.
"How do you explain that?" I zeroed in on the officer. "Why did you let him withdraw money before, but not now?"
He looked annoyed. "Because the tellers were not aware of his age before and now they are. It's really very simple".
I turned to the boy with a shrug. "You're really getting cheated," I said. "You ought to get your parents to come in here and protest."
The boy looked destroyed. Silently, he put his savings book in a rear-pocket and walked out of the bank.
The officer turned to me. "You know," he said, "you really shouldn't have interfered."
"Shouldn't have interfered?" I shouted. "Well, it damn well seemed to me that he needed someone to represent his interests."
