"It is the most beautiful clock I ever saw," said the Idiot, quickly, realizing the possibilities of Mollie's two or three words. "That's what I fink," said Mollie, "and I'm goin' to tell mamma that you said so." "All right," said the Idiot. "Suppose you and Tommy run right up and tell her now." "I'd rather hear you talk, pa," said Tommy. "He does take after you, doesn't he?" said Mr. Pedagog. "Yes," said the Idiot, "he does. He likes to hear me talk as much as I do, bless him!" "It is a commendable sign in a son," observed Mr. Pedagog. "But tell about the two professionals. Did they get anything?" "They did," said the Idiot. "And at the same time I lost nothing. The first chap came on the scene, along about two o'clock in the morning. He was a very industrious mechanic, and I regret to say he was not adequately paid for his services. He tackled the safe." At this point the Idiot threw back his head and laughed heartily. "I have seen the safe," said Mr. Pedagog, "and to tell you the truth, my dear Idiot, I have wondered at your choosing so obvious a receptacle for your valuables. It does not, to my mind, deny itself as a safe should. It advertises the fact that your silver, your wife's jewels perhaps, are within. I have spoken once or twice to our friend Mr. Brief about it." "No doubt," replied the Idiot. "However, I can't see why a safe has any disadvantages." "It lies in this," said Mr. Pedagog, impressively. "You confess at once to the burglar the exact location of the things he's after. Without a safe your silver, or Mrs. Idiot's jewels, such as they are, might be found anywhere in the house. But when you take the trouble to buy a safe, any burglar in creation who has ordinary common-sense must know that your valuables are concentrated in that one spot." "That, I rejoice to say," said the Idiot, "is the burglar's view." "You should not rejoice," said Mr. Pedagog, with some of his old-time severity. "You make his work so comparatively easy that he is content to follow a base profession, as you have termed it. Truly, I wonder at you. You place on your first floor a bald safe--" "I haven't seen any advertised as having a full head of hair," observed the Idiot, complacently. "You misunderstand me," said Mr. Pedagog. "When I say bald I mean evident, plain, obvious. You practically say: Here are the things which I value. What is to be found within this safe, Mr. Burglar, _are the very things you are after_. Therefore, say you to the burglar: Attack this safe. Break it open, rifle it of its contents; in other words, here is the swag, as I believe it is called." "You are wholly right," said the Idiot. "I bought that safe for that precise reason, and I bought a big one and a strong one. But you don't know the story of that safe, do you, Mr. Pedagog?" "I do not," said the Schoolmaster.