Three source cards in the East Seam file record not only a marker value but the direction from which it was read. The digest circulated to ward delegates counted the readings and left the direction column out. Without that column, a series that moved from one side of the brace to another looked more uniform than the field cards show.
The cards were compared with the survey office copy and the foreman’s pre-entry book. The numbers match across all three records. No erased mark or changed figure was found, and the clerk who prepared the digest said its short form was intended to keep the summary to one slate.
That explanation does not settle whether the digest was useful. A marker can appear steady when readings are averaged even though each side of a brace is moving differently. The survey office has asked for the direction and instrument to remain attached to future summaries, alongside any result that is treated as a comparison.
The second instrument has not cleared the face. The crew is still waiting on a repeat from the opposite wall, and the investigation found no basis to say the omitted column caused a dangerous entry. It found a record that made the decision harder to audit than it needed to be.
