oached, rattled something significantly inside the box, and then
handed it to Mat; and Mat put his finger and thumb into his waistcoat
pocket, winked, nodded, and handed some money to the squalid shopman.
The brief ceremony of giving and taking thus completed, these two
originals turned away from each other without a word of farewell; the
hunchback returning to the counter, and his customer proceeding to the
shaving shop.

Mat opened the box for an instant, on his way to the barber's; and,
taking out the false key, (which, though made of baser metal, was almost
as bright as the original), put it carefully into his waistcoat pocket.
He then stopped at an oil and candle shop, and bought a wax taper and
a box of matches. "The garden door's safest: I'll chance it with the
garden-door," thought Mat, as he sat down in the shaving-shop chair, and
ordered the barber to operate on his chin.

Punctually at seven o'clock Mr. Blyth's visitors rang at his bell.

When they entered the studio, they found Valentine all ready for them,
with his drawing-board at his side, and his cartoon-sketch for the
proposed new picture of Hercules bringing to King Eurystheus the
Erymanthian Boar, lying rolled up at feet. He said he had got rid of his
headache, and felt perfectly well now; but Zack observed that he was not
in his good spirits. Mat, on his side, observed nothing but the
garden door, towards which he lounged carelessly as soon as the first
salutations were over.

"This way, my dear sir," said Valentine, walking after him. "I have
taken down the drawing you were so good as to admire this morning, as
I said I would. Here it is on this painting-stand, if you would like to
look at it."

Mat, whose first glance at the garden door had assured him that it was
bolted and locked for the night, wheeled round immediately: and, to Mr.
Blyth's great delight, inspected the sketch of the old five-barred gate
with the most extraordinary and flattering attention. "Wants doing up,
don't it?" said Mat, referring to the picturesquely-ruinous original
of the gate represented. "Yes, indeed," answered Valentine, thinking
he spoke of the creased and ragged condition of the paper on which
the sketch was made; "a morsel of paste and a sheet of fresh paper to
stretch it on, would make quite another thing of it." Mat stared. "Paste
and paper for a five-barred gate? A nice carpenter _you_ would make!"
he felt inclined to say. Zack, however, spoke at that momen