put away something not likely to be asked for, eh?"

"Yes," said the butler, shaking his head sagely; "but what is there? We
may have a dinner-party any day, and everything have to be shown."

"Must be lots of things in the vault."

"Course there is."

"I say, ain't it rum that they don't send the things to their bankers?"

"Not a bit, when they've got a strong closet of their own, Orthur, my
boy. I heard 'em talking about it one day at dinner, and Jemmy said
something about their old bank breaking, and a lot of the family plate
and jewels being lost. The rogues had been hard up for long enough and
sold it."

"Ah! there's a sight o' rogues in the world," said Arthur, quietly.

"We've got some capital now."

"Yes, but let's think of a rainy day. Now, look here, there must be no
end of things in the vault as they're never like to ask for."

"No end," said the butler.

"Never been in it?"

"Never."

"Well, couldn't we have a look in, and pick out something small and
handy?--say jools. They do lock them there when they go down to The
Towers. I do know that."

"Yes, my lad, they do; and I believe there's a lot of old gold, family
plate and diamonds as they never do want."

"That's the stuff for us--in case we want it, of course. Don't hurt
them to borrow it, and it finds us the capital to do us good."

"Yes, but how are we to get at it?"

"Keys."

"Where are they kept?"

"Oh, we could soon find out that."

"Well, I can't. I've been on the look-out this two years, and I believe
Jemmy keeps 'em somewhere, but I never could find out where."

"Then you had thought of that plan, old man?"

"Of course I had. Where you ain't trusted it sets you thinking.
They're well-bred, but somehow the Clareboroughs ain't real gentlemen.
They trust me with some of the plate, and I'm supposed to be butler, but
what about the wine? Do they ever let me have the key of the cellar?"

"No, that's Bob's job," said the footman, thoughtfully.

"Yes, and a couple of paltry dozen at a time. How am I to know if the
wine's keeping sound or not? But there are ways, Orthur," continued
Roach, with a wink, and he rose slowly, went to a chest of drawers,
unlocked it, took out a box, unlocked that, and drew forth a couple of
new-looking keys.

"Hullo!" said the footman in a whisper; "cellar?"

"That one is," replied the butler, as his companion turned over the big
bright key he had taken up.

"Good. And what's this?"