the second long drawer. Then in
some excitement I withdrew the first, and placed it exactly upon the top
of the second, so that I might see if they were of the same size. _The
second was the deeper by an inch and a half._

I thrust my arms into the empty frame, feeling feverishly for a bolt or
catch, which should be holding a panel in place at the back of where the
first drawer had lain. At first I could find nothing, then my right hand
encountered a round hole in the wood, just large enough to admit a man's
finger. Almost immediately I came upon a similar hole on the left-hand
side. Their office was plain....

A moment later, and I had drawn the panel out of its standing and clear
of the chest.

My hands were trembling as I thrust them into the dusty hiding-place.

* * * * *

"Hullo! Aren't you going to dress?" said Jonah some two minutes later.

But I was still staring at a heavy riding-whip whose handle was wrought
about with gold.

CHAPTER III

HOW A MAN MAY FOLLOW HIS OWN HAT, AND BERRY TOOK A LAMP IN HIS HAND.

"What are you doing this morning?" said Daphne.

Berry turned to the mantelpiece and selected a pipe before replying.

"I have," he said, "several duties to discharge. All, curiously enough,
to myself. First, if not foremost, I must hire some sock-suspenders.
Secondly, I must select some socks for the sock-suspenders to suspend.
Is that clear? Neither last nor least----"

"As a matter of fact," said his wife, "you're going to help me choose a
present for Maisie Dukedom. Besides, I've got to go to Fortnum and
Mason's, and I want you----"

"To carry the string-bag. I know. And we can get the chops at the same
time. We'd better take some newspaper with us. And a perambulator."

"Tell you what," said Jonah, "let's all join together and give her a
Persian rug."

"That's rather an idea," said my sister. "And they wear for ever."

"You're sure of that, aren't you?" said Berry. "I mean, I shouldn't like
her to have to get a new one in about six hundred years. I like a
present to last."

Before Daphne could reply--

"How d'you spell 'business'?" said Jill, looking up from a letter.

"Personally," said I, "I don't. It's one of the words I avoid. If you
must, I should write it down both ways and see what it looks like."

The telephone bell began to ring.

"Wrong number, for a fiver," said Jonah. "They always do it about this
time."

Berry crossed the