It was lunchtime and I walked into a small branch office on the West Side. I had come to   36  a checking account. The only officer on   37  was a fortyish black man, standing   38  a small counter from a young white boy who was wearing a V-necked sweater. I think I was especially   39  of the boy because he looked more like a kid from a prep school than a   40  in a West Side bank.
The boy continued to   41  my attention because of what happened next. He was holding an open savings-account book and   42  an expression of disappointment. “But I don’t understand. I opened the account myself, so why can’t I   43  any money?” the boy said, his voice breaking.
“I know it is, but those are the rules. I’ve already explained to you that a fourteen-year-old is not   44  to withdraw money without a letter from his parents,” the officer explained patiently.
Suddenly I noticed the account had a series of small deposits and withdraws. Then I questioned the officer, “How do you   45  that? Why did you let him withdraw money before, but not now?” He looked   46 . “Because the tellers were not aware of his age before and now they are. It’s really very   47 .” I turned to the boy with a shrug. “You’re really getting   48 ,” I said. “You ought to get your parents to come in here and   49 .” The boy looked destroyed.   50 , 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 got   51 .” I couldn’t believe what this idiot was saying. “We were   52  this morning that some neighborhood bully has been shaking down (敲詐) this boy for more than a month. The other guy was   53  him to take money out every week and hand it over. The poor kid was   54  too scared to tell anyone. Anyway, the police are on the case and they’ll probably make a(n)  55  today."
“You mean there is no rule about being too young to withdraw money from a savings account?”
“Not that I ever heard of. Now, sir, what can we do for you?”