at the monthly sales had been unusually heavy, and a page
of the balance had been mislaid. The head book-keeper spent upwards of
an hour in casting up both the entries of himself and his subordinates
after the establishment had closed its doors for the day.

Then he went home to supper, determined to return and locate the
deficit, if he didn't get a wink of sleep until morning.

Book-keepers, it must be borne in mind, have highly sensitive organisms,
which are susceptible to the smallest atom reflecting upon their probity
or skill. At half-past eight the book-keeper returned and commenced anew
his critical calculations. He worked precisely three hours and a half;
at the end of which period he suddenly clapped his hand to his forehead
and exclaimed:--

"Idiot! Why haven't you looked in the safe for a missing sheet? Ten
chances to one they have been improperly numbered!"

He turned over the pages of the balance on his desk, and, sure enough,
the usual numerical mark or designation in the upper left-hand corner
which should follow eleven was missing. Page twelve, in all likelihood,
had slipped into some remote corner of the safe.

The safe was a large one, partially receding into the wall and
containing all the papers, documents, and several day receipts in cash
and drafts of the firm.

The head book-keeper, in his efforts at unearthing the lost page of the
cash balance, was obliged to intrude his entire person into the safe.
Fearful lest the candle he held should attract attention from the
street, showing out as it did against the black recesses of the safe,
upon entering he drew the door slightly ajar.

As he stepped in the tail of his coat caught on an angle of the huge
riveted lock; the massive gate swung to as if it weighed no more than a
pound, and the book-keeper was a prisoner.

He heard a resonant click--that was all. His candle went out.

The book-keeper at the outset lost his presence of mind. He fought like
a caged animal. He first exerted almost superhuman strength against the
four sides of the iron tomb. Then his body collapsed and, not for an
instant losing consciousness, he found himself sitting in a partially
upright posture, unable to so much as stir a muscle.

It was almost at the same moment, although hours seemed to have passed,
that the drum of his ear, now abnormally sensitive, was almost split
into fragments. A frightful monotonous clangour rent the interior of the
safe.

[Illustration: