brass-bound door, must first prevail upon him to unlock it.

For some time all went well. The king went to the treasury every morning,
and found everything in its place. Evidently he had been too clever for
the thieves.

In the mean time the architect was lying ill in bed, and day by day he
grew weaker and weaker; until at length he knew that his end was
approaching, and, calling his two sons to his bedside, he told them of the
secret way into the treasure-chamber.

"I have little of my own to leave you, my sons," he said, "and I have but
little influence at court; but by the aid of this secret, which I devised
for your sake, you may become rich men, and hold the office of king's
treasurers for life."

The young men were delighted at his words, and so impatient were they to
enjoy their good fortune, that on the very night of their father's funeral
they stole away quietly to the place where the treasure-house stood. They
found the sliding stone exactly as their father had described it. The
younger and slimmer of the two brothers crawled through the opening and
found himself in a dark chamber, surrounded by heavy chests and jars with
sealed covers. Breaking open one of the latter, he put in his hand and
drew out a handful of gold, which sparkled and twinkled at him even in the
faint light which came through the hole in the wall. Handful after handful
he drew out and passed to his brother, at the same time filling the bags
he had brought with him, until both had as much as they could conveniently
carry. Then they replaced the stone, and returned to lay the treasure
before their mother; for in those days stealing was considered rather a
clever trick, and even the thief's mother did not scold him, so long as he
was not so clumsy as to be caught.

Imagine the consternation of King Rhampsinitus when he visited the chamber
the following morning! Everything seemed as secure as ever, and yet, when
he opened the door, there lay one of the great jars turned over and empty,
while the lid of one of the chests was broken open and part of the
contents scattered on the floor. He examined every nook and cranny of the
chamber from floor to ceiling, and there was no sign of any one's having
forced an entrance. The fastenings of the door were firm, and the lock was
one which it was perfectly impossible to pick. For greater security,
however, Rhampsinitus sent at once for a locksmith, and commanded him to
fit the door with a second lock