e
side gate and carry the saddle in the cellar where it belongs. Hang it
on the first peg you see.'

"Tip-Top tried to say something, but the servant shut the door with a
bang. Then Tip-Top did as he was bid. He went through the side gate,
and found the cellar without any trouble, but instead of hanging the
saddle on a peg, he placed it on the floor and sat on it.

"After waiting patiently a while, wondering when the Mayor would call
him, Tip-Top heard voices on the other side of the wall. He listened
closely, and soon found that the housemaid who had driven him away
from the Mayor's door was talking to her brother, who had just
returned from a long journey.

"'The Mayor has gold,' said the brother. 'You must tell me where he
keeps it. I have a companion in my travels, and to-night we shall come
and take the treasure.'

"For a long time the housemaid refused to tell where the Mayor kept
his gold, but the brother threatened and coaxed, and finally she told
him where the treasure lay.

"'It is in a closet by the chimney in the first room to the right at
the head of the stairs. The gold is in an iron box and it is very
heavy.'

"'My companion has long hair and a strong arm,' said the brother. 'He
is cross-eyed and knock-kneed. It wouldn't do for you to meet him in
the hallway. Go to bed early and lock your door, and if you hear any
outcry during the night cover your head with a pillow and go to sleep
again.'

"Then the housemaid and her brother went away.

"'Well,' said Tip-Top, 'this is no place for me.'

"He waited a while, and then went out of the cellar into the yard with
his saddle on his head. The cook, seeing him there, told him to carry
the saddle to the stable where the horses were kept. Tip-Top went to
the stable, placed his saddle in an empty stall, and sat on it.

"After a while he heard two persons come in from the street. They went
into a stall near by and began to talk. One was the coachman and the
other was his nephew, who had just returned from a long journey.

"'The Mayor has fine horses,' said the nephew. 'I must have two of
them to-night, otherwise I am ruined forever.'

"The coachman refused to listen at first, but after a while he
consented. He told his nephew that the stable-boy slept in the manger.

"'I have a companion in my travels,' said his nephew, 'and to-night
we shall come and take the horses away. My companion has short hair
and a heavy hand. Close your eyes and cover your h