shown her, there was a
secret place for letters. You pushed back an innocent-looking little
brass inlaid knob, and the blue velvet back fell forward, leaving a
space behind.

From the day she had been shown this dear little secret space, the key
of the safe had lain there, excepting on the very rare occasions when
she was able to take it out and use it. Of course she never did this
unless she knew that Manfred was to be away for the whole day from
Witanbury, and even then she trembled and shook with fright lest he
should suddenly come in and surprise her. But what she had learnt made
her tremors worth while.

It was pleasant, indeed, to know that a lot of money--nice golden
sovereigns and crisp five-pound notes--was lying there, and that Manfred
must be always adding to the store. Last time she had looked into the
safe there was eight hundred pounds! Two-thirds in gold, one-third in
five-pound notes. She had sometimes thought it odd that Manfred kept
such a lot of gold, but that was his business, not hers.

It was very unkind of him not to have told her of all this money. After
all, she helped to earn it! But she knew he believed her to be
extravagant.

What sillies men were! As if the fact that he had this money put away,
no doubt accumulating in order that they might pay off the mortgage
quicker, would make her spend more. Why, it had actually had the effect
of making her more careful.

In addition to the money in the safe, there were one or two deeds
connected with little bits of house property Manfred had acquired in
Witanbury during the last six years. And then, on the top shelf of the
safe, there were a lot of letters--letters written in German, of which
of course she could make neither head nor tail. Once a month a
registered letter arrived, sometimes from Holland, sometimes from
Brussels, for Manfred; and it had gradually become clear to her that it
was these letters which he kept in the safe.

* * * * *

There came a loud impatient knock at the door. She started guiltily.

"Open!" cried her husband imperiously. "Open, Polly, at once! I have
already forbidden you to lock the door."

But she knew by the tone of his voice that he was no longer really angry
with her. So, walking rather slowly, she went across and unlocked the
door.

She stepped back quickly--the door opened, and a moment later she was in
her husband's arms, and he was kissing her.

"Well, little one! Y