he held up the monster key like an eyeglass before
his eye, and through it he regarded his brother with a knowing look.

"Do you know that?" asked the Consul.

"_Mais oui_!" answered Richard, in a tone which showed his delight at
finding his brother in a mood which betokened a visit to the
wine-cellar.

The two old gentlemen went off arm-in-arm, until they reached the top of
the kitchen stairs. At the kitchen door they stopped, and the Consul
called for the lights. A commotion was heard inside, and in a few
seconds Miss Cordsen appeared with two ancient candlesticks.

Each took his own light--they never made any mistake as to which was
which--and descended the stairs which led to the dark cellar. They first
arrived at a large outer cellar, where it was comparatively light, in
which were stored the wines which were in ordinary use, such as St.
Julien, Rhine wine, Graves, and brandy. This was all under the charge of
Miss Cordsen, who, in accordance with the _regime_ which had come down
from the old Consul's time, produced the different wines according to
the number and importance of the guests. In the darkest corner of the
cellar there was an old keyhole, only known to the Consul, but he could
find it in the dark. All the same, both of them held out their lights to
look for it, and the young Consul never omitted to remark upon the
clever way in which his father had concealed the secret door.

The key turned twice in the lock with a rusty sound, which the brothers
could distinguish from any other sound in the world, and an atmosphere
redolent of wine and mould met them as they entered. The Consul shut the
door, and said, "There now, the world will have to get on without us for
a little while." The inner wine-cellar looked as if it were considerably
older than the house itself, and the groined roof had a resemblance to
the cloister of an old monastery. It was so low that Richard had to bend
his head a little, and even the Consul felt inclined to stoop when he
was down there.

In the old bins lay bottles of different shapes covered with dust and
cobwebs, and in the recess of what had been a grated window, but was now
walled up on the outside, there stood two old long-stemmed Dutch
glasses, while in one corner there lay a large wine-cask. In front of
the cask was placed an empty tub, between an armchair without a back,
and from the seat of which the horsehair was protruding, and an ancient
rocking-horse that had lost i