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2
Page Ref: 10
Objective: Learning Objective 1
Difficulty : Easy
AACSB: Analytic
5) Information that reduces uncertainty, improves decision makers' ability to make predictions, or
confirms or corrects their prior expectations, is said to be
A) complete.
B) relevant.
C) reliable.
D) timely.
Answer: B
Page Ref: 5
Difficulty : Easy
AACSB: Analytic
6) Information that is free from error or bias and accurately represents the events or activities of the
organization is
A) relevant.
B) reliable.
C) verifiable.
D) timely.
Answer: B
Page Ref: 5
Difficulty : Easy
AACSB: Analytic
7) Information that does not omit important aspects of the underlying events or activities that it measures
is
A) complete.
B) accessible.
C) relevant.
D) timely.
Answer: A
Page Ref: 5
Difficulty : Easy
AACSB: Analytic

3
8) When two knowledgeable people acting independently each produce the same information, this
information is said to be
A) complete.
B) relevant.
C) reliable.
D) verifiable.
Answer: D
Page Ref: 5
Difficulty : Easy
AACSB: Analytic
9) Data must be converted into information to be considered useful and meaningful for decision-making.
There are six characteristics that make information both useful and meaningful. If information is free
from error or bias and accurately represents the events or activities of the organization, it is
representative of the characteristic of
A) relevancy.
B) timeliness.
C) understandability.
D) reliability.
Answer: D
Page Ref: 5
Difficulty : Easy
AACSB: Analytic
10) An accounting information system must be able to perform which of the following tasks?
A) collect transaction data
B) process transaction data
C) provide adequate controls
D) all of the above
Answer: D
Page Ref: 10
Difficulty : Easy
AACSB: Analytic
11) Which of the following is not an example of a common activity in an AIS?
A) buy and pay for goods and services
B) sell goods and services and collect cash
C) summarize and report results to interested parties
D) recording of sales calls for marketing purposes
Answer: D
Page Ref: 8
Difficulty : Easy
AACSB: Analytic

4
12) Which of the following is not one of the components of an AIS?
A) Internal controls and security measures
B) People
C) Procedures and instructions
D) Hardware
Answer: D
Page Ref: 10
Difficulty : Easy
AACSB: Analytic
13) One group that relies on both the adequate collection and transformation of data for decision-making
purposes for an organization is
A) management.
B) interested outsiders.
C) competitors.
D) the government.
Answer: A
Page Ref: 12
Difficulty : Easy
AACSB: Analytic
14) The primary objective of accounting is to
A) implement strong internal controls.
B) provide useful information to decision makers.
C) prepare financial statements.
D) ensure the profitability of an organization.
Answer: B
Page Ref: 12
Difficulty : Moderate
AACSB: Analytic

5
15) The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) has recognized the importance of
AIS and the major impact information technology has on the area of accounting. To recognize individual
CPAs who have met educational and experiential requirements in this area, the group formally created
the designation known as
A) the Certified Management Accountant.
B) the Certified Information Technology Professional.
C) the Certified Internal Auditor.
D) the Certified Data Processing Professional.
Answer: B
Page Ref: 11
AACSB: Analytic
16) The AIS must include controls to ensure
A) safety and availability of data.
B) marketing initiatives match corporate goals.
C) information produced from data is accurate.
D) both A and C
Answer: D
Page Ref: 10
Difficulty : Easy
AACSB: Analytic
17) A change in the AIS that makes information more easily accessible and widely available within an
organization is most likely to first influence the
A) organizational culture.
B) customer base.
C) external financial statement users.
D) production activity.
Answer: A
Page Ref: 13
Difficulty : Easy
AACSB: Analytic
18) The process of creating value for customers is the result of nine activities that form a
A) value chain.
B) profitable operation.
C) successful business.
D) support system.
Answer: A
Page Ref: 13
Difficulty : Easy
AACSB: Analytic

6
19) The value chain concept is composed of two types of activities known as
A) primary and support.
B) primary and secondary.
C) support and value.
D) technology and support.
Answer: A
Page Ref: 13-14
AACSB: Analytic
20) Which of the following is a primary activity in the value chain?
A) infrastructure
B) technology
C) purchasing
D) marketing and sales
Answer: D
Page Ref: 14
Difficulty : Easy
AACSB: Analytic
21) In value chain analysis, what is the activity of arranging the delivery of products to customers
called?
A) outbound logistics
B) inbound logistics
C) shipping
D) delivery
Answer: A
Page Ref: 14
AACSB: Analytic
22) An AIS provides value by
A) improving products or services through information that increases quality and reduces costs.
B) providing timely and reliable information to decision makers.
C) creating new products.
D) both A and B
Answer: D
Page Ref: 11
Difficulty : Easy
AACSB: Analytic

7
23) In Chapter 1, Figure 1-4 shows the factors that influence the design of AIS. The diagram shows a bi-
directional arrow between the organizational culture and the AIS. The reason for this two-way
interchange between organizational culture and AIS is
A) that the AIS should not influence the values of the organizational culture.
B) because the organization's culture influences the AIS, and likewise the AIS influences the
organization's culture by controlling the flow of information within the organization.
C) due to the transfer of managers between the two corporate elements.
D) the AIS impacts the organization's key strategies.
Answer: B
Page Ref: 13
Difficulty : Easy
AACSB: Analytic
24) An example of inbound logistics would consist of
A) the activities that transform inputs into final products or services.
B) the activities that help customers to buy the organization's products or services.
C) the activities that provide post-sale support to customers.
D) the activities that consist of receiving, storing, and distributing the materials used as inputs by the
organization to create goods and/or services it sells.
Answer: D
Page Ref: 13
Difficulty : Easy
AACSB: Analytic
25) A good example of how an AIS is used to share knowledge within an organization is
A) the use of a corporate database to help staff identify the relevant experts who can help with a
particular client.
B) the use of laptop computers to access a network for messaging worldwide.
C) the monitoring of production equipment to watch for defects.
D) the use of point-of-sale data to determine hot-selling items.
Answer: A
Page Ref: 11
AACSB: Analytic

8
26) One activity within the value chain is research and development. This activity can be identified as a
A) firm infrastructure activity.
B) human resources activity.
C) technology activity.
D) purchasing activity.
Answer: C
Page Ref: 14
AACSB: Analytic
27) When the AIS provides information in a timely and accurate manner, it stands as an example of
A) improved decision making.
B) improving the quality and reducing the costs of products or services.
C) improving efficiency.
D) all of the above
Answer: D
Page Ref: 11
Difficulty : Easy
AACSB: Analytic
28) Accounting information plays major roles in managerial decision making by
A) identifying situations requiring management action.
B) reducing uncertainty.
C) providing a basis for choosing among alternative actions.
D) all of the above
Answer: D
Page Ref: 12
Difficulty : Easy
AACSB: Analytic
29) A well-designed AIS can improve the decision-making function within the organization. Which
statement below would describe a limitation, rather than a benefit, of an efficient AIS?
A) An AIS reduces uncertainty, and therefore accounting information can provide a basis for choosing
among alternative courses of action.
B) An AIS identifies situations requiring management action.
C) An AIS provides to its users an abundance of information without any filtering or condensing of such
information.
D) An AIS provides information about the results of previous decisions which provides decision makers
with feedback that can be used in future decision making.
Answer: C
Page Ref: 12
Difficulty : Easy
AACSB: Analytic

9
30) Jill Fredson is in charge of the mail room at Gammon University. Every Friday morning she receives
a report via email that summarizes the number of outgoing and incoming pieces of mail by source and
destination department. Every Friday afternoon, Jill deletes the report without reading it because it has
no bearing on mail room operations. Which of the following characteristics of useful information is
absent in the situation described above?
A) Relevant
B) Reliable
C) Complete
D) Timely
E) Understandable
F) Verifiable
G) Accessible
Answer: A
Page Ref: 5
AACSB: Analytic
31) Inventory information is provided in real time by a firm's accounting information system. The
accuracy of this information is questionable, however, since the production manager often reports stock
outs of components that the system indicates are in stock. Which of the following characteristics of
useful information is absent in the situation described above?
A) Relevant
B) Reliable
C) Complete
D) Timely
E) Understandable
F) Verifiable
G) Accessible
Answer: B
Page Ref: 5
AACSB: Analytic

10
32) Joe Marzetti has been the controller of Fairview Tires for 25 years. Ownership of the firm recently
changed hands and the new owners are conducting an audit of the financial records. The audit has been
unable to reproduce financial reports that were prepared by Marzetti. While there is no evidence of
wrongdoing, the auditors are concerned that the discrepancies might contribute to poor decisions. Which
of the following characteristics of useful information is absent in the situation described above?
A) Relevant
B) Reliable
C) Complete
D) Timely
E) Understandable
F) Verifiable
G) Accessible
Answer: F
Page Ref: 5
AACSB: Analytic
33) In 2003, Custer Manufacturing implemented a Web-based information system that allows all
employees to access mission-critical information. The intention was to increase production efficiency.
Unfortunately, it had the opposite effect, as deliveries fell behind schedule and costs increased. Jeff
Akspen, the director of information technology services, asked Joyce Jenkins to come in and talk with
him about the system. Joyce is a long-time employee of Custer, and her opinion is valued by her peers
and by her supervisor. "So Joyce, how's it going down there in the shop?""Not so good, Jeff. Used to be
we got a weekly pick list so we knew how to plan production. Now, we got that computer system. Most
of us can't figure out how to use it to do our jobs. Is there some way to print out a pick list?"Jeff thought
for a while before responding. "Well, Joyce, to tell you the truth, I'm not so sure how to do it myself, but
there must be a way. We'll bring in the consultants that helped us build the system. Maybe they can
help." Which of the following characteristics of useful information is absent in the situation described
above?
A) Relevant
B) Reliable
C) Complete
D) Timely
E) Understandable
F) Verifiable
G) Accessible
Answer: E
Page Ref: 5
AACSB: Analytic

11
34) Razzmataz, Wisconsin, is a popular tourist destination. During the winter months, the population
dwindles to a meager few, but when summer comes, the size of the town surges. Chuck Hewitt is the
town sanitation engineer. When the size of the town surges, so do his responsibilities. Among them is
management of the sewage processing volume.In an interview with the local paper, Chuck complained
that a report on tourist population that he uses to adjust processing volume refers to data that was
collected five days ago and it takes him a week to make adjustments.Which of the following
characteristics of useful information is absent in the situation described above?
A) Relevant
B) Reliable
C) Complete
D) Timely
E) Understandable
F) Verifiable
G) Accessible
Answer: D
Page Ref: 5
AACSB: Analytic
35) A frantic Stro Frinzel called the home office from Des Moines."You have got to help me. I am about
to close a great sale, but I have to be able to guarantee delivery by the fourteenth. I can't get through to
the company Web site to verify delivery!""Thank you for calling. Your call is very important to us.
However, all of our lines are currently in use. Please try again later."Which of the following
characteristics of useful information is absent in the situation described above?
A) Relevant
B) Reliable
C) Complete
D) Timely
E) Understandable
F) Verifiable
G) Accessible
Answer: G
Page Ref: 5
Difficulty : Easy
AACSB: Analytic

12
36) Message left on an answering machine: "Hi Bob! Just got into town. How about dinner this evening
if you're available. Call me!"Which of the following characteristics of useful information is absent in the
situation described above?
A) Relevant
B) Reliable
C) Complete
D) Timely
E) Understandable
F) Verifiable
G) Accessible
Answer: C
Page Ref: 5
AACSB: Analytic
37) Robinson Crusoe has formed a business that sells carved gourmet coconuts. He has hired five
employees. The most senior is Friday, who manages the carving process. Monday is the newest
employee. She collects the coconuts. Tuesday, as you might expect, takes calls from curstomers, oops, I
mean customers, who are unhappy with their coconuts. Wednesday tosses finished coconuts into the sea,
whereupon they drift to the wholesaler. Thursday sends smoke signals to the wholesaler extolling the
virtues of the latest production run of nuts that are drifting across the bay.Which of the following
functions in the value chain is Monday performing?
A) Inbound logistics
B) Operations
C) Outbound logistics
D) Marketing and sales
E) Service
Answer: A
Page Ref: 13
AACSB: Analytic

13
functions in the value chain is Friday performing?
B) Operations
E) Service
Answer: B
Page Ref: 13
AACSB: Analytic
functions in the value chain is Wednesday performing?
B) Operations
E) Service
Answer: C
Page Ref: 14
AACSB: Analytic

14
functions in the value chain is Thursday performing?
B) Operations
E) Service
Answer: D
Page Ref: 14
Difficulty : Easy
AACSB: Analytic
functions in the value chain is Tuesday performing?
B) Operations
E) Service
Answer: E
Page Ref: 14
AACSB: Analytic

15
42)
Refer to the chart above. At what point, measured in terms of the net cost of information, does
information overload begin?
A) 0
B) 5
C) 10
D) 12
Answer: C
Page Ref: 4
Difficulty : Easy
AACSB: Analytic
43) Tri-Anything, Limited, is a British company operating in New York state. It offers stylized, boutique
public relations services to upscale retailers in quaint New England towns. A major source of revenue is
a weekly newsletter that reports on current and projected tourist travel and spending patterns.
Preparation of the newsletter requires study and analysis of weather conditions, economic activity, and
travel costs. It is available at an annual subscription rate of $299.99. There are currently 190 subscribers.
Preparation and distribution of the newsletter costs $12,000 annually. The value of information to
subscribers is:
A) $236.83
B) $44,998.10
C) Less than $63.16
D) At least $300.00
Answer: D
Page Ref: 4
Difficulty : Easy
AACSB: Analytic

16
44) Many modern accounting software packages offer separate transaction cycle modules. What is the
reason for this?
A) Every organization does not need to implement all of the available transaction cycle modules.
B) Most businesses do not need the revenue cycle module as part of their AIS.
C) The nature of a given transaction cycle is the same irrespective of the type of organization.
D) A properly designed AIS does not use the concept of separate business transaction cycles to process
transactions.
Answer: A
Page Ref: 9
AACSB: Analytic
45) The business owners obtain financing from outside investors, which results in an inflow of cash into
the company. This transaction is considered to be part of which cycle?
A) the revenue cycle
B) the payroll cycle
C) the production cycle
D) the financing cycle
Answer: D
Page Ref: 7-8
Difficulty : Easy
AACSB: Analytic
46) Which of the following is not a transaction cycle?
A) revenue
B) expenditure
C) human resources
D) general ledger and reporting
Answer: D
Page Ref: 7-9
AACSB: Analytic
47) Which of the following statements is false?
A) Retail stores do not have a production cycle.
B) Financial institutions have installment-loan cycles.
C) A service company does not have an inventory system.
D) Every organization should implement every transaction cycle module.
Answer: D
Page Ref: 9
Difficulty : Easy
AACSB: Analytic

17
48) Transaction cycles can be summarized on a high level as "give-get" transactions. An example of
"give-get" in the expenditure cycle would be
A) give cash, get cash.
B) give cash, get goods.
C) give cash, get labor.
D) give goods, get cash.
Answer: B
Page Ref: 7
Difficulty : Easy
AACSB: Analytic
49) Transaction cycles can be summarized on a high level as "give-get" transactions. An example of
"give-get" in the revenue cycle would be
A) give cash, get goods.
B) give goods, get cash.
C) give cash, get labor.
D) give cash, get cash.
Answer: B
Page Ref: 7
Difficulty : Easy
AACSB: Analytic
50) Groups of related business activities such as the acquisition of merchandise and payment of vendors
are called
A) transaction cycles.
B) economic cycles.
C) business events.
D) transactions.
Answer: A
Page Ref: 6-7
Difficulty : Easy
AACSB: Analytic
51) Which of the following is a true statement?
A) Business strategy directly influences AIS, but not information technology.
B) Information technology directly influences organizational culture, but not business strategy.
C) Organizational culture directly influences business strategy, but not AIS.
D) AIS directly influences information technology, but not business strategy.
Answer: A
Page Ref: 13
Difficulty : Difficult
AACSB: Analytic
52) The transaction cycle that includes the events of hiring employees and paying them is known as the

18
A) revenue cycle.
B) expenditure cycle.
C) human resources cycle.
D) financing cycle.
Answer: C
Page Ref: 7-8
Difficulty : Easy
AACSB: Analytic
53) The transaction cycle approach leads to efficient processing of a large number of transactions
because
A) transaction cycles are easier to computerize.
B) a large number of transactions within a given cycle can be categorized into a relatively small number
of distinct types.
C) the transaction cycle approach represents the natural order of business.
D) transaction cycles are easy to understand.
Answer: B
Page Ref: 7
AACSB: Analytic
54) Which of the following is not an example of how an AIS adds value to an organization?
A) All employees at a hospital can access and update patient records from any computer terminal in the
hospital.
B) A customer service representative can find a customer's account data, purchase history, payment
history, and salesperson's name while on the phone with the customer, to resolve issues quickly.
C) Suppliers are able to access sales data directly from the point-of-sale system of a retailer and deliver
inventory automatically when needed.
D) Client tax files are encrypted and made available on the CPA firm's network to any employee with an
access code.
Answer: A
Page Ref: 11
AACSB: Analytic

19
55) Rolleigh Corp. identifies growth by new product development and product improvement as the
number one corporate goal. An employee at Wrigley's, one of Rolleigh's wholly-owned subsidiaries,
developed an innovation to an existing product that would directly address a shortcoming in the similar
product offered by Rolleigh's closest competitor. Wrigley's current Return on Investment (ROI) is 15%,
but the product innovation is expected to generate ROI of only 12%. Awarding bonuses to subsidiary
managers based on ROI could result in:
A) goal conflict
B) information overload
C) goal congruence
D) decreased value of information
Answer: A
Page Ref: 4
AACSB: Analytic
56) Which of the following tradeoffs between characteristics of useful information is least
objectionable?
A) Incomplete information received on a timely basis
B) Irrelevant information received in an understandable format
C) Unreliable information easily accessible
D) Verifiable information received in unreadable format
Answer: A
Page Ref: 5
AACSB: Analytic
57) Paid time-off policies, job descriptions, and procedures manuals are examples of information needed
to support key decisions in what business process?
A) Hire and train employees
B) Acquire inventory
C) Sell merchandise
D) Collect payment from customers
Answer: A
Page Ref: 6
Difficulty : Easy
AACSB: Analytic

20
58) Which of the following is not a key decision to be made when starting a business?
A) How to estimate the allowance for uncollectible accounts
B) Whether to advertise on TV, radio, or newspaper
C) How to raise capital
D) Whether to accept American Express
Answer: A
Page Ref: 5
AACSB: Analytic
59) Paying federal payroll taxes is part of which transaction cycle?
A) Human resources/payroll
B) Expenditure
C) Financing
D) Revenue
Answer: A
Page Ref: 8
AACSB: Analytic
60) Who of the following would not be involved in the revenue cycle?
A) Accounts payable clerk
B) Customer
C) Cashier
D) Credit manager
Answer: A
Page Ref: 7-8
Difficulty : Easy
AACSB: Analytic
61) Which of the following is not one of the three basic types of data about a specific sales transaction
that should be captured by an Accounting Information System?
A) Name of the employee who completed the sale
B) Daily sales quota
C) Product sold
D) Date
Answer: B
Page Ref: 4
Difficulty : Easy
AACSB: Analytic

21
62) Who of the following is not a stakeholder with whom an accounting information system typically
communicates directly?
A) Wall Street industry analyst
B) Venture capitalist
C) Company that supplies raw materials
D) Company that purchases finished goods for resale to consumers
Answer: A
Page Ref: 6
AACSB: Analytic
63) Define the concept of a system.
Answer: A system is a set of two or more components that are somehow interrelated and interact
together to achieve a specific goal.
Page Ref: 4
Difficulty : Easy
AACSB: Analytic
64) Define data, information, and how the value of information is determined.
Answer: Data: facts that are collected, entered, recorded, stored, and processed by an AIS. Information:
data that has been organized and processed and is meaningful to its users. Such information is
accessible, relevant, timely, reliable, verifiable, complete, and understandable. Information is of value
when the benefits received from using or acting upon it outweighs the cost to produce the information.
Page Ref: 4
Difficulty : Easy
AACSB: Analytic
65) Define an accounting information system.
Answer: An AIS is a system that collects, records, stores, and processes data to produce information for
decision makers.
Page Ref: 10
Difficulty : Easy
AACSB: Analytic
66) Identify the components of an accounting information system.
Answer: A well-designed AIS consists of people, procedures and instructions, data, software,
information technology infrastructure, and internal controls and security measures.
Page Ref: 10
AACSB: Analytic

22
67) What is the CITP designation and why is it important to AIS?
Answer: The CITP designation stands for "Certified Information Technology Professional." It is
awarded to CPAs who have demonstrated a broad range of knowledge and skill sets in the areas of
accounting and information systems and technology. The AICPA (American Institute of CPAs) has
acknowledged the importance and close relationship that accounting and information systems share in
creating this specialty designation for accounting information system professionals.
Page Ref: 11
Difficulty : Easy
AACSB: Analytic
68) Differentiate between an AIS course and other accounting courses.
Answer: Other accounting courses assume the preparation or reporting of accounting information is for
external or internal users. However, the AIS course focuses on the flow of accounting information in the
organization from a systems perspective. The AIS course traces the origin, processing, storing, and
ultimate disposal of information. An AIS course also focuses on business processes, organization
structure, information systems, and corporate planning and goals.
Page Ref: 10-12
AACSB: Analytic
69) What is the purpose behind the five primary activities in the value chain?
Answer: The goal of the five primary activities in the value chain is to facilitate the business in
providing value to its customers. The five primary activities allow the business to create, market, and
deliver its products and services to its customers, as well as providing postsale support.
Page Ref: 13
AACSB: Analytic
70) How can an AIS add value to the organization?
Answer: An AIS can increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the value chain by improving the
quality and lowering costs of products or services, improving efficiency of operations, improving
decision making, enhancing the sharing of knowledge, improving the efficiency and effectiveness of its
supply chain and improving the internal control structure.
Page Ref: 11-12
AACSB: Analytic

23
71) How can a well-designed AIS improve the efficiency and effectiveness of a company's value chain?
Answer: The AIS can be designed to allow customers direct access to a company's inventory and sales
order entry systems. This allows the customer to do more of the work that traditionally has been done by
sales, marketing, and administration personnel. This allows for faster ordering, and cuts the company's
labor costs. It may also have the effect of allowing the customer more control in a purchase transaction
that may bring more satisfaction and value to the customer.
Page Ref: 11
AACSB: Analytic
72) Discuss the concept of a system and the issues of goal conflict and goal congruence.
Answer: A system is a set of two or more components that are somehow interrelated and interact
together to achieve a specific goal. A system usually consists of smaller components called subsystems.
These subsystems have specific and defined functions, which interact with and support the larger
system. The concept of systems is key to information technology and AIS. All systems, including the
AIS, must work to achieve one or more organizational goals. Goal conflict results when a decision or
action of a subsystem is inconsistent with another subsystem or the system (organization) as a whole.
Goal congruence results when a subsystem achieves its goals while contributing to the organization's
overall goal. Subsystems should maximize organizational goals.
Page Ref: 4
AACSB: Analytic
73) Discuss the seven characteristics of useful information.
Answer: The seven characteristics of useful information are: relevant, reliable, complete, timely,
understandable, verifiable and accessible. These characteristics are qualities that information should
possess to be useful in a business environment. Briefly stated, in order for information to be useful it
must be: 1) relevant, meaning that it reduces uncertainty and adds to the decision-making process; 2)
reliable information is information that is free from error, and is accurate in its nature; 3) complete
information is information that does not omit any important data, facts, or aspects about events or
activities; 4) information is timely when it is fully available to enable the decision-making process to
proceed; 5) understandable information must be both in an intelligible and useful format; 6) information
is considered verifiable if two people, acting independently of each other, produce the same information
or the same results. 7) Information is accessible if it is available to users when they need it and in a
format they can use.
Page Ref: 5
AACSB: Analytic

24
74) Explain what an AIS is, describe the basic tasks it performs in an organization, and give some
examples of the types of accounting transactions it processes.
Answer: An AIS consists of six components: people, procedures and instructions, data, software,
information technology infrastructure, and internal controls and security measures. The AIS performs
three major functions: 1) it collects and stores data about activities and transactions so that the
organization's management, employees, and interested outsiders can review what has happened; 2) the
AIS processes data (that is, facts that have been collected and stored) into information that is useful for
making decisions, and is of value to the organization; and 3) the AIS provides adequate controls
designed to safeguard the organization's assets, including its data and information. Common examples of
accounting transactions that an AIS helps to process and track are the sales of products to customers,
cash collections, cash payments, and the recording and payment of the employees' payroll.
Page Ref: 10
AACSB: Analytic
75) Discuss the components of a supply chain.
Answer: The supply chain shows how an organization interacts with suppliers, distributors, and
customers to provide value in the products it sells. The supply chain depicts the creation and sale of a
product the chain is somewhat different when a service is involved. The supply chain has five
components: raw materials; manufacturer; distributor; retailer; and the consumer. Raw materials come
from any number of suppliers, which in turn become part of a manufacturing process, which produces a
product. The business then provides the product to distributors, who in turn sell the product to retail
businesses. The product is ultimately purchased and used by consumers (who may be individuals or
businesses). It is important to realize that AIS can greatly impact the traditional supply chain by creating
a more efficient and timely environment in which a business can operate. More efficient operations are
more effective, which in turn lowers costs, and add greater value and create improved customer
satisfaction.
Page Ref: 14-15
Difficulty : Easy
AACSB: Analytic
76) How can an AIS become part of the firm's value chain and add value to the business?
Answer: The AIS can add value by: helping to improve products and services an organization offers for
sale; increasing the quality of products and services; creating greater efficiency by reducing costs and
saving time; and improving the overall efficiency of the organization. Decision making is enhanced by
the better availability of timely, complete, reliable, verifiable, and relevant information. A firm can
enjoy a competitive advantage with better customer ordering, billing, and customer service made
possible by an improved AIS. The AIS can also enhance overall communication and use of knowledge
in a business by making the knowledge readily available to interested parties.
Page Ref: 11
AACSB: Analytic

25
77) How can the value of the information produced by an accounting information system be
determined? What would a measurement and verification expert think about quantification and
verification of such information?
Answer: A well-designed AIS improves the efficiency and effectiveness of the value chain by
improving the quality and lowering the overall cost of products or services, improving efficiency of
operations, improving decision making, and enhancing the sharing of knowledge. These are the benefits
of possessing and using information. Drawbacks to possessing and using such information are the costs
of obtaining and maintaining such information. These costs include investments in people, processes,
and computing and networking hardware and software on an ongoing basis. Costs of the information are
quantifiable to some extent. However, some of the benefits of using the information involve numerous
estimates and assumptions. As such, the quantification of the benefits of utilizing such information
depends on the accuracy of the assumptions.
Page Ref: 11
AACSB: Analytic
78) Why have accounting software packages been designed with separate transaction modules?
Answer: Since every organization does not necessarily use all of the transaction cycles in its operations,
it is to the advantage of the organization to be able to "pick and choose" from among various software
modules that track and record different transaction cycles. For example, a law firm would have no need
to implement a production cycle module. Also, the nature of a transaction cycle varies across the broad
spectrum of business organizations. Again, a law firm would have a revenue cycle, but it would not
involve the purchase, receipt, and payment for products or merchandise; likewise a retail store chain
may not sell any consulting services to its customers.
Page Ref: 9
Difficulty : Easy
AACSB: Analytic
79) How are "Give and Take" transactions classified in business today and what impact does this have
on AIS?
Answer: The concept of "Give and Take" transactions has been used to classify business transactions
into "cycles" that have starting points, processes, and end points (or closure). The majority of business
transactions can be classified as revenue, expenditure, human resources (payroll), production, and
financing cycles. AIS has been modeled after these transaction cycles to achieve its basic functions of
collecting and processing data, providing information useful for decision making, and establishing
adequate controls.
Page Ref: 5-7
AACSB: Analytic

Exploring the Variety of Random
Documents with Different Content

"It's true. I wanted to throw the wine-glasses about, I wanted to
dance on the table. She always makes me feel like that. What am I
to do? How are we to live peaceably together?"
"My mother never quarrels with anyone."
"If she only would! Doesn't she worry you?"
"Not at all."
"Not when she tells you what you think?"
"Why should I mind that?"
"Oh, I can't explain! I'm afraid you're rather like her!" She looked up
at a portrait on the wall. "I like your father. He knows just how I feel,
and he would have liked me. Are you angry with me?"
He passed a hand across his eyes. "No, dear."
"Are you ashamed?"
"No, darling."
"What is it, then?"
"I love you."
"Does it hurt so much?" she whispered softly.
"Sometimes."
"Oh, dear. Would you like to do without me?"
"Theresa! Theresa!"
"Basil," she said, "if you'll love me very much, I'll try to cultivate
patience, though I look upon it as a sin. And I hate the intrusion of
qualities that will make me different. That's not self-satisfaction—it's
love of an old friend!"
He returned to his old thought. "Theresa, what have you been doing
with yourself all these years? You talk like a child."
"I've been making up stories. That doesn't give you time to grow up.
Does it matter? Shall I try to grow?" She looked at him with serious

eyes, but there was a betraying twist to her lips. "My one anxiety is
to oblige."
He made a gesture of deprecation, bewilderment and love, and she
jumped up with an energy that spurned her foolishness.
"Let's get to work," she said. "Where are the plans?"
She was deft, alert and quick. He told her how his money was
invested, and she nodded. On paper he showed her the extent of his
land, pointed out the farms, told her of the tenants and what rent
they paid, the fields and what crops they bore, he talked of woods
and forestry, and she listened, making no comments, biding her
time.
"You are wonderful, Theresa," he said. "You understand everything."
"Don't say that," she said gravely. "Why shouldn't I? Will you take
me to see all these places and these people, especially the people? I
want to talk to them."
He hesitated. "You will be discreet, won't you, darling? Don't
misunderstand me——"
She waved him into silence. "Do you think I don't know how to talk
to people?" She straightened her back. "I was Mr. Smith's secretary
for two years."
It puzzled him that she should still think this her greatest claim to
honour.
CHAPTER XXV
That was the beginning of their happy time. Morton taught Theresa
to ride and, mounted on a steady grey animal while he bestrode one
more mettlesome, she went with him into every corner of his land,
and began to understand his pride of possession. He was a good

landlord, and there was nothing he did not oversee, little of which
she could complain, and she said so frankly; but she startled him
with a question as they rode out one morning, waving farewell to a
Mrs. Morton who was beginning to find herself neglected by young
people unnaturally busy over cottages and plans.
"Basil, were you going to give me a wedding present?"
"Of course."
"Then may I choose it?"
"I wanted to give you a surprise."
"No, no, let me choose."
"Tell me, then."
"I don't want diamonds, or pearls, or gold. I want lead—I think it's
lead. Perhaps it's iron. Yes, I think it is. I want you to take water into
those old cottages on the peppermint land."
"Where do you mean, dear?"
"I mean the land Mrs. Morton bought, not the hereditary domain!
Wasn't it bought with peppermint, and sticks of bright pink rock, and
yards of liquorice? I like to think of ragged little children putting their
dirty faces against dirty window panes, and gloating over masses of
your grandfather's sweets. Don't you?"
"I'm afraid I have often wished he had made money, if he had to
make it, in a different way."
"That's because you have more false pride than imagination. Why,
he has made a fairy feast for children! Think of the dark winter
streets, wet, perhaps, and the lamps just lighted and bright
reflections in the pavements, and children staring at pyramids of
sweetness. It's lovely—magical, like being a perpetual Father
Christmas. So when I call it the peppermint land, I do not sneer, and
you'll lay on the water, won't you?"
"There's a well quite near, darling."

"It's across a field."
"A small field."
"Quite big enough."
"Theresa, you know I treat my tenants like human beings, but you
want to pamper them."
"No I don't. I know it's the tendency, but I don't. Oh, my good soul,
if you had ever done any housework, you would know the value of
water! Have you ever done any? Have you ever so much as washed
up a dish? No; I thought not. I have. And I've scrubbed floors—don't
shudder; it's good exercise—and I've cooked; but I have not had
several children to look after at the same time, and that's what many
of these women have to do. I know it's pastoral and patriarchal to
go to the well, but it's not so pleasant to come back with two heavy
pails. And it has to be done a good many times a day if there's to be
cleanliness. I'm not a stickler for too much cleaning, but I saw a
woman the other day carrying pails when she wasn't fit to lift a
weight. She rested four times between the well and the house. I
reached her in time to prevent her going on a second journey. It was
when you were seeing about those young trees."
"The larches?"
"Yes." She frowned. She had avoided naming them, and now he
stabbed her with their remembered scent.
"Did you—what did you say to her?"
"I told her she wasn't to do it. No; I didn't complain about the
landlord! But she wanted the water for washing, so I fetched it
myself."
"Theresa!"
"There, you see! And I'm a strong young woman. Imagine—oh, try
to imagine me in her position!"
"I'll do it."

She leaned to touch his hand. "Thank you. You only need to see
things. 'The bride presented the bridegroom with a pair of
spectacles, and the bridegroom's gift to the bride was a ton of iron
piping!'" She shook her reins. "Shall we gallop? I wish this old
omnibus were a bit friskier. He gives me nothing to do. Can't I be
promoted to something else?"
"I have been seeing about a splendid chestnut," he said slyly, "but
that was to be part of your wedding-present."
"Ah well, it's better to be a ministering angel than a fiery
horsewoman, and the rushing of the water in those pipes will be
sweeter to me than the sound of clattering hoofs. A-ha! Oh, do give
this old beast a good knock with your whip!"
She was happy. Mrs. Morton continued to ruffle the smoothness of
life, but she could do no more, and she was allowed few
opportunities of attempting it, for on most evenings she sat alone in
the drawing-room, and in the daytime Basil and Theresa were far
afield. This was not the daughter-in-law she had desired. Where
were the afternoon calls, the drives with Theresa by her side and
Basil opposite, the pleasant hours after dinner, with a little music, a
little talk, a little work? Theresa could not even play the piano, her
hands were idle, and Mrs. Morton was really glad when she did not
talk, for she feared what she might say; but the sound of her voice
coming across the wide hall when the smoking-room door was open,
her sharp exclamations and her laughter gave the elder woman a
new sense of isolation. In some subtle way the house seemed to be
no longer hers. Theresa, who had been the stranger, had taken a
possession stronger than that of keys and command, and whereas
the girl had once stood out glaringly against the sober, peaceful
background of the house, it had now become but an appendage of
herself. The quick thud of her feet as she ran down the stairs, her
manner of opening doors, the whistling call with which she
summoned Basil—these, by the vividness of her strength, had
overcome the old stillness, the old ordered atmosphere.

And, indeed, the place had become a home to Theresa. Her
irritability was soothed by Morton's loyal companionship. They were
friends as well as lovers; she was breaking down his fences, and she
loved power. She knew she was changing his attitude in a hundred
little ways. She was moulding him to the kind of man with whom it
was possible to live, and daily she liked him better. But she had
another cause for happiness. She was still making up her stories,
and as she wandered about the house she was accompanied by little
illusive figures with sunny heads. They went before her in the
passages, they ran up and down the stairs and scampered across
the broad polished floors, and for her, too, the silence and decorum
of the house were banished. And the garden was inhabited. There
were more voices than those of the rooks among the elms and she
saw happy people by the lakeside. She saw herself among them,
dabbling with the water, racing across the lawn or climbing trees,
and she surprised herself with the positive belief that this life was far
better than one of fame. She felt that through her means some
joyous spirit of childhood had burst its bonds and broken into these
separate fragments which were to be her children, and the thought
brightened her eyes and her voice. It solaced her for the tiny
disappointments that pricked, but were too small to have a name,
almost too small to be felt.
She waved her hand towards an upper window, one afternoon as
they rode down the drive, and he looked sharply at the house and
then at her. "To whom are you waving?" he asked.
"To someone you could not see, my good grammarian," she said,
and hoped a little fearfully for further questions.
He turned in the saddle and looked back, and for the sake of the
strong, easy twist of his body she forgave his lack of curiosity as he
said: "Fancies again?"
And she said: "Yes; fancies."
He was content to remain ignorant of them, as he had often been
before. He had no desire to enter into that very real part of her

existence, and she blocked out her disappointment with a quick
word of another nature.
"I like you best in your riding things." She was never tired of
summing up the things she liked in him.
He smiled and let his eyes run over her trim, green figure, the thick
plaits of hair under the little hat. She nodded.
"I know what you are thinking. You are congratulating yourself that
I'm quite presentable, in spite of my intolerable past."
"Will you never stop teasing me about that? As if I'm not as proud of
it as you are!"
"Then I have taught you how to be."
"I'm willing to acknowledge my teacher. But I wasn't thinking that.
You look so fair and free—like the breath of the morning."
"Oh ho! Aren't we being nice to each other? And who is having
fancies now? Basil"—she could never let a wound fester in her
—"Basil, I wish you'd want me to tell you everything."
"But I do. What is it you want to say?"
She controlled the petulance of her lips. "Would you like me to have
secrets?"
"I can't imagine your having them."
Under her gauntlets the muscles of her hands were tightened. The
promise of possession had very slightly changed his attitude towards
her, and she resented his security. She was not willing that he should
have no doubts, even had there been no cause for them. She
wanted the old uncertainty, the old waiting on her moods. He grew
more loving, more demonstrative, but he was less her servant, and
she stretched against the bonds; but if he were so little eager to
know the utmost of her, so impervious to jealousy or to hints, then
she could in honesty keep her cherished silence. She changed the
subject. They were happiest when their talk was clear of
personalities. Discussions about tenants, the wisdom of giving help

there or refusing it here, and information from Morton about crops
and the raising of cattle, drew them into a closer comradeship. But
to-day Theresa's questions were half-hearted, and had Morton been
less enthusiastic he would have noticed that she did not listen.
The day was of a new-washed clearness, but it seemed to her that
someone had smudged it with a dirty hand; and in her breast was
the vague longing that was like a hole there, while the clamorous
voices, stilled for a little while, were taking deep breaths as if they
would test their powers.
She blamed herself, she blamed her restlessness, but she looked
frowningly at Morton, and while she owned her fault she could put
the burden of some of it on his back. It seemed to Theresa that he
loved the surface of her and would not look into the depths, that a
principle of his life was to avoid looking into depths; and as she had
been eager to know the evil of the world and the turmoil and the
stain of it, and below that the great serenity, so she longed for a like
capacity to see into his soul, to show him all, or nearly all, of hers.
He baulked her constantly, and the more successfully, by his very
ignorance of her need. Other barriers she had broken down, but
here she failed.
She put an abrupt question as they rode home.
"Had you ever been in love before you saw me?"
"Never until I saw you, and now—for always."
He took for granted her own singleness of affection. He was benign,
smiling a little, and content. Little flushes of colour came and went in
her cheeks. She straightened herself, and then drooped in the
saddle.
"You are tired," he said tenderly.
"No." And with a jerk she added: "I am cross."
That, too, he accepted without question. There was no doubt that
he was very patient. He watched her as he rode close to assure her
of his care, and when he helped her to dismount he held her for an

instant, in spite of the groom; but, making no response, she hurried
to her room and to her secret treasure there.
She was unpleasant all that evening and very much ashamed of
herself, but she could not shake the blackness from her, though she
tried. She heard in Morton's voice a distressing likeness to his
mother's, and the way he handled his knife and fork seemed to her
sufficient excuse for murder. At table she felt like a naughty
schoolgirl, and she went early to bed; but as she sat beside her fire
the remembrance of Basil standing, puzzled, in the hall as she went
up the stairs, smote her with the shame she would have felt if she
had hurt a child. She was not fit to have children—she, who had no
self-control. She was capricious, vain, exacting. She asked more than
she was willing to give, yet she was willing to give more than Basil
asked. She knew she was endangered by his complaisance, and she
wanted to be loyal. She would be loyal. She stared at the fire
through mist and strands of hair, and slowly the mist gathered itself
into drops that fell with a little crack on her silken petticoat. She was
cold, though the flames were bright. She was not conscious of the
room. All round her there was a dark loneliness like nothing she had
ever seen or tasted. It was not the lonely terror of the sea, nor the
great cleansing solitude of the mountains, but something formless,
perilous. Now, everything was obscure, but she had a fear that if she
could not save herself she would emerge into a clearness that would
be terrible and enduring—a prison from which she could never
escape, whose walls were formed of what was ignoble in herself.
How long she sat there she could not tell. Now she did not cry, and
thought had left her; yet, in some dim way, she had made her
resolution, and news of it was carried to her mind.
She combed out her hair steadily and plaited it; she put on her
lavender dressing-gown, and the shoes that matched it, and she
bathed her face. It was white, and seemed to have fallen thinner in
that hour, for she had touched a deeper tragedy than her mother's
death. She must be honest, but such an honesty tore the heart from
her.

She unlocked the little box where she kept no other thing than
Alexander's letter. She took it out and held it fast between her
palms, but she did not read it. She raised the upper hand, and laid
her cheek in its place.
"I ought not to have kept you," she said, and gave a little moan.
"But it's not because you're a man, Alexander; it's because you are a
spirit. You and Father are the only ones I've known. Must I resign
you to keep the other things? You see, Alexander, I do want the
other things—a home, and love, and—other things. But oh, there's
no need to tell you, for you know—you know."
She opened her door softly. The landing lights were out, no light
came from the hall, but as she followed the staircase curve she saw
a golden streak under the door of the smoking-room. A little nearer,
and she smelt tobacco. She entered, and saw Morton deep in a
leather-covered chair. He sprang to his feet.
She appeared to him like a sprite. She was pale and small, she
seemed to be overweighted by her hair, and the movements of her
dressing-gown revealed white ankles and white arms. The tender
little hollow of her neck was plain to him, and though he had seen it
that very night it had seemed a more modest thing than this
between the close folds of her gown.
She shut the door. "Basil. I want to talk to you."
"Not now, dear." He put the cigar on the mantelpiece, and held his
hands behind his back. "You must go to bed now. It's after twelve.
Haven't you been to sleep?"
"No; I've been thinking." She looked at him with wide, strained eyes.
He had never seen her so simple and so frail. "There's something I
must tell you."
"Is it so very important?"
Her voice quivered. "You may not think so."
"Can't it wait? Darling, you mustn't sit here with me at this hour of
night with all the house asleep."

"For me, there's no one in the house but you, and you are awake."
She put out her left hand, but dropped it when he did not take it.
She went on, with the hand at her throat. "There's a great gap in my
life I've never told you of. I don't feel honest. I want to tell you
everything to-night, and go on clear."
"Are you sure you're not asleep now, Theresa darling?" He drew
nearer, and she leaned against him.
"Basil, help me."
He held her off. "Not now. You must go back. You are over-tired,
dear. You've not been well all day."
"It's my soul that's sick," she said.
"It will be better in the morning. Hush! Did you hear something?" He
opened the door and listened. "Mother sleeps so lightly. Go back,
Theresa. Good-night, darling—good-night. Why, your eyes are heavy
with sleep."
"No," she said, and she had the look of someone starved—"no,
that's with crying."
He seized her hand and drew her limp figure to him. "Why, my
sweet—why? Because we didn't have a happy day? Darling, I'll think
no more of it. And you shall tell me everything in the morning. Only
go now. You mustn't wander about like this at night."
She was leaning against the door. Her lips twitched with an emotion
which was no longer one of distress.
"What are you afraid of?" she said.
He hesitated. "Your—good name," he answered.
She lifted her hands and dropped them, and for a moment he
thought something terrible was going to happen, for her eyes closed
sharply, and in her pale face her opened mouth was like a blot.
"Oh!" she cried. "Oh! oh! oh!" She laughed weakly, uncontrollably.
She dropped into a chair, while the tears rolled down her cheeks and

her body was shaken with her mirth.
He stared at her stonily and turned away to look into the fire. The
sound of her laughter shocked him, for it had entirely gone beyond
her keeping, but gradually it grew quieter and he thought he heard
in it the break of sobs. He looked at her. She was leaning her head
on her hand and crying softly, but as he turned she smiled and
began to shake again.
"Why don't you laugh, too?" she said. "You are so funny."
"I can see nothing to laugh at. Go to bed at once. You are
overwrought."
"I am in the best of health," she said. "Oh dear, I wish I could stop
laughing! But I'll go to bed."
"And you'll talk to me in the morning?"
"Yes, I'll talk to you in the morning." That was an answer he had not
expected, and he would have kissed her, but she turned her face
aside. He noticed that she had a little roll of paper in her right hand.
CHAPTER XXVI
An immense and palpable calm surrounded her as she undressed,
and when she stretched herself between the sheets she fell at once
into an untroubled sleep. For a little while the firelight licked the
walls, danced on the chair where her clothes were tumbled and leapt
to the ceiling to look down on her in the bed, lying pale and flaccid
with her cheek on Alexander's letter. Then the fire's heart called back
the flames, and they were gathered into a red and tranquil glow
which faded, while the dropping coals slowly ticked out their life. But
that noise had ceased and the room was entirely dark when Theresa
woke and sat up.

She thought there was someone in the room, but she was not afraid.
She listened, leaning on her hands.
"What is it?" she whispered.
The room was quiet, but its stillness was heavy as with a presence.
She looked behind her; only the wall was there.
"What is it?" she repeated.
There was something she had to do, and even while she strove to
discover it she had slipped from bed and pattered across the floor.
She ran with a swift sureness down the stairs and through the hall.
The locks and bolts of the front-door yielded to her fever, and then
the night air smote her and the cold of the steps shocked her feet.
"What am I doing?" she asked.
What little wind there was moaned stealthily among the elms, and
on the house-wall the ivy-leaves scratched each other. The lawn
stretched before her like water of an unimagined blackness.
"I must have been asleep," she murmured, looking at the night for
confirmation, but its waiting patience made her no answer. She
thought all the trees had faces that looked kindly on her. She was
not afraid of the night, yet it was imminent and sorrowful with
doom. Something was going to happen.
"I had to do something," she said in a strange voice, and closed the
door. Her fingers were weak now, and slow. Her strength had gone
and she was very cold. She stood shivering in the hall, trying to
solve this mystery. Had she been warned in some way? Was the
house on fire? She sniffed earnestly. There were no signs anywhere
of danger or disturbance, and she turned to climb the stairs. Half-
way up she began to run. Where was her letter? She had forgotten
her letter. Someone had stolen it, and, stealing it, had waked her.
But she found it, crumpled, in the bed.
"I don't understand," she said, and lay long awake, conquering the
cold of her body and the puzzle of her mind.

When the morning came through the windows, she was lying deep
in the bed, as though she were rooted to it and she was conscious
of a fatigue she had not known before. It was her habit to spring
from bed with the first opening of her eyes, but this morning she
had to be reminded of coming battle before she could be roused,
and then the adventurous spirit that welcomed any new experience,
and would have dreadful ones rather than none, took command over
her tired frame.
She had an enigmatical smile for Morton at the breakfast table, and
afterwards, when he would have smoked a pipe before the fire, she
was imperative.
"Come into the garden quickly," she said.
"He would like to read the newspaper first, dear. He always likes to
read the paper and have a pipe."
She clapped her hands together. "He must come into the garden
with me."
He glanced at her feet. "Put your shoes on first, darling."
"And you would like my woolly shawl."
"My slippers are thick, and I don't want a shawl, or anything, thank
you. I'm burning. Are you coming, Basil? Can't you see—can't you
see that you must come?"
She ran out before him and on to the lawn, and the wind caught her
hair and buffeted her so that she had to lean against it to find rest.
She watched his slow approach, and as soon as he was close to her
she said clearly, loudly, because of the wind: "I can't marry you."
"What?" He took her by the arm and stooped. "What did you say?"
She freed herself. "I can't marry you."
He heard. "Can we get out of the wind?" he said.
She made a gesture that told him to lead on, and she followed him
to a dusty summer-house. The sudden quiet of the place was like a

blow and there was a singing in her ears.
"It's dirty, I'm afraid."
"I don't want to sit down. Did you hear what I said, Basil?"
"You don't want to sit down?"
"No. I can't marry you."
He saw no ring on her hand. "Why?" he breathed. He was shocked
into the use of his imagination. "Is it—it isn't Vincent?"
"Vincent?" She had to frown before she could remember him. "Oh
no, no, no!"
"Why?" he asked again, and his voice seemed to hold back the word
as it was uttered.
"I don't know. I'm very fond of you." She smiled with a touch of
drollery. "I think I love you, as one loves some people, but not—
one's lover. I thought I did, except when I heard voices."
He frowned, uncertain of her sanity. He shook his head.
"I don't know what you're talking about, Theresa. What have I
done?"
"Nothing. But I've known secretly all the time—nearly all the time—
that in saying I would marry you I fell below myself. Not"—she
smiled again—"because I think you are unworthy, but just because
you are not—the man for me. I made you into him for a little while,
but truth is stronger than my will. It's possible that a very good man
may do one more harm than a very bad one. But I'm not thinking of
my safety. It's just my necessity, and I don't know what is going to
follow. I can't explain. There are no words, for, you see, it's
something that belongs to the wordless things. I ought to have
found out before. I might have, if I had been quite honest."
The word had a memory for him. "Was this what you came to say
last night?"
"No."

"What was it?"
"I can't tell you now."
"I think I have a right to know."
"You had last night; not now."
He showed her a terrible, drawn face. "Theresa, forgive me for last
night. Let us begin again. We are so different—but I want to learn
from you. Let us begin again."
"We can't." She twisted her hands together, and shook them with
the faint shaking of her body.
"A little thing like that—Theresa, I love you."
"I know." She stood silent, with head bowed, but she lifted it with a
thought. "You've never wanted the best of me, Basil. And—I can't
give it to you. There's a dam, somewhere. And I've never been true
to you. Ah, you see, you don't understand. Isn't that proof enough?
I thought I loved you, but all my life I've been playing parts, half
consciously. There has only been one day—only one—when I did not
think about myself."
"When was that?" It was the first time she had seen him curious.
She smiled waveringly, as though she would soon cry.
"It was before I met you. Will you let me finish? I want to tell you.
It's not your fault. It's something in myself. Don't think I'm blaming
you. You've never seen me, Basil. You've seen a woman who likes
being spoilt, who likes being loved, who knows how to get what she
wants, and yet contrives to do it with a kind of fiendish decency, for
I haven't a blatant fashion of alluring. And you've seen the other
woman who likes power. Perhaps it is the same woman on her more
intellectual side. Yes, power! When I look back, I see that it is a
distorted kind of power I've wanted. And to know one's self loved is
to have power. You see how I was tempted, yet I did not know that I
was falling. Now I know—and there's an end to it. I have to ask your

pardon for making you the victim, and to—to thank you for all your
sweetness—too much sweetness."
She was like a bit of smiling steel, he thought—a sword, sorry to
have to wound, yet bound to do it. He had no hope of mastering her,
though he saw pity dragged from her heart into her eyes. He was
haggard. She had been right to call him victim.
"But why after last night?" he asked.
"It had to be some time, hadn't it? Before marriage, or after it."
"But why last night? There's something you're not telling me."
"Haven't I said enough?"
"You needn't be afraid of hurting. I shall be glad of it."
She nodded comprehension. "I had a fight last night. I had to give
you all my confidences or none, and I wanted to keep you because I
like you, and because I'd entangled you with some of my dearest
thoughts. But it was hard to tell you what I was going to tell you,
and then you wouldn't listen, and you made me laugh, and I saw—
oh, clearly—that you would never have understood, and I felt—oh,
must I tell you?—I felt I'd saved something very precious from
destruction. And so there was an end."
He was sitting on the dusty, wooden bench, staring before him.
"If only there weren't any people," she said for him. He started. "It's
hateful for you, dear. All those good friends of yours, looking so
sorrowful and being so curious. Oh, I am sorry! You can tell them
anything you like about me, and nothing will be bad enough."
"Please don't, Theresa."
She began to count the cobwebs hanging from the roof.
"Why don't you have this place kept clean?"
"I do, in the summer."
Over and over again she counted them. She made calculations of
the height of the walls, the length and breadth of the floor, while the

sight of Morton sitting there, inert and miserable, roused her to an
irritated, helpless pity.
"Do you think I could go home this morning, please?" she asked
softly.
"I'll see about it."
"You won't want to tell Mrs. Morton, will you? I'll do it."
"Be kind to her, Theresa."
"My dear, she'll thank God for an escape."
"Ah, don't——"
"No. Good-bye."
He stood up. He seemed very tall and broken, resting one hand
heavily on the little rustic table.
"Basil," she said thoughtfully, "did you come into my room last
night?"
"Your room? Your bedroom?"
"Yes, long after I had left you?"
"No dear. Of course not! Why?"
"I had a queer feeling that someone was in the room."
He stumbled over his words. "I—I dreamt of you last night."
Her mouth drooped; he saw the quiver of her nostril. "Oh—don't
dream of me any more," she said. "Good-bye."
"Good-bye, Theresa."
"May I kiss you? Stoop down. Lower, lower. How tall you are!" She
kissed him on each cheek. "I always liked that little hollow place,"
she said, and left him with the sound of her sobbing breath for
company.

George and Edward Webb, eating their hybrid meal at seven o'clock,
were startled by the entrance of Theresa. Above her coat collar and
below the veil banded across her forehead, her eyes were luminous
and black-rimmed.
Edward Webb sprang up and, forgetting the restricting presence of
his brother, exclaimed anxiously: "My dear, my dearest! what is the
matter?"
"Nothing, dear. It's nice to see you."
"You look ill, Theresa."
"I've had a journey, and the train jolted so."
"Where's Basil?"
"In his home, I hope." She became flippant for the benefit of Uncle
George. "I'd better tell you. I have resigned the situation. Do you
think I can have some of your tea?"
"H'm, and now, I suppose, you'll be wanting another?"
"Will you find me one, Uncle George? If not, I've no doubt Mr. Smith
will take me back."
Edward Webb still held Theresa's hand. "I think," he said with
dignity, "we need not discuss the matter until Theresa has had some
tea. You're cold, my dear."
"Desperately," she said.
He seated her by the fire, and brought her tea, and ordered Bessie
to bring hot toast.
"Lots of it, please, Bessie," said Theresa.
"And more coal, and perhaps we'd better have Miss Grace."
"No, not Miss Grace until to-morrow."
"But, my dear, I'm afraid you're going to be ill. You're shivering."
"It's just a cold. I want to be alone with you to-night."

"Well, I'm going to finish my tea, anyhow," said Uncle George.
She nodded at him, laughing. He nodded back, in his grim way. This
was how they always told each other of their friendship.
"And there was a time when I didn't like you!" she exclaimed
involuntarily.
He ducked his head again. "I'm quite aware of that, my girl."
He went to his harmonium, and Bessie, with a thousand fancies in
her romantic heart, retired to wash up the dishes.
"Now tell me," said Edward Webb.
"It was only because I didn't love him enough," she said, and burst
into a foolish weakness of tears.
He was pacing behind her chair, and she heard him muttering:
"Thank God! thank God! Are you crying, Theresa? You mustn't do
that, my dear. You've come home. I've got you back again. You must
be happy." He patted her clumsily on the shoulder, and she dabbed
her eyes with her handkerchief. "It's good to have you back. We've
missed you. Even George admitted that."
"Don't tell me such things," she said. "They've been the ruin of me.
And you must let me be miserable for a little while! It's all I can do
for Basil. I think I'll go to bed."
"Not yet. I told Bessie to light the fire."
"But what extravagance!"
"You don't come home every day," he said, and he spoke as though
she had come on a far journey.
Afterwards, when she lay warm and comforted in bed, he came to
see her. He made up the fire, he altered the opening of the window
by an inch, he felt the heat of the hot-water bottle, and hovered on
the threshold to find more to do.
"I wish I had a thermometer," he murmured.

"I'm glad I broke it. I refuse to have my temperature taken. I'm
much too sleepy. Good-night, dear. I'm so comfortable."
"Good-night, my child," he said, and crept down the stairs in a great
happiness of hope.
CHAPTER XXVII
Very late, on a dark and moonless night in March, when the larches
were stiff and silent under the frost that bound the hills, and the air
was of an imprisoned stillness, Janet, sewing by lamplight, heard a
dog's bark cut through the quiet, and then hurried footsteps that
were Alec's.
Her fingers lost their steadiness for an instant, but as he opened the
door she peered round the lamp and said sharply: "So you're here at
last! You've not touched my doorstep for four weeks, and now you
come at this time of night and expect a welcome! What made you
think I would be up?"
"I didn't think," he said. "I just came."
He was within the circle of the lamplight, and she looked at him. He
was frost-powdered from head to foot, from ruffled hair to heavy
boots, and his eyes were dull in a face the whiter for the tan it had
to conquer. She went on with her sewing:
"Where have you been?" she said.
"God knows."
"That'll be why I didn't go to bed," she said quietly.
"I've been walking since dark, nearly." He moved away into the
gloom, and there he went back and forth, across the kitchen's width,
with a restlessness like his father's.
"And I've had the devil for company."

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