"But how did you manage to open the door when it was locked and the key inside?" inquired the count.
Satan Laczi showed him the tools which he used to turn keys from the outside.
"Any burglar can open a door from the outside if the key is left in the lock, Herr Count. Only those doors can be securely locked which have no keyholes outside."
"I have no idea how that could be arranged," said Count Vavel.
"I am acquainted with a jack of all trades here in the neighborhood who could make such a door for you if I told him how to make it. He is a carpenter, locksmith, and clock-maker, all in one person."
The count shook his head wonderingly. The robber was to direct the locksmith how to fashion a lock that no one could open!
"Shall I send the man to the castle?" asked Satan Laczi.
"Yes; if the fellow is sensible, and does not chatter."
"But he is a fool that never knows when to stop talking. But he talks only on one subject, so you need not be afraid to employ him. He understands everything you tell him, will do just as you say, but will not talk about what he is doing for you. There is only one subject on which he will chatter, and that is, how Napoleon might be beaten. He is continually talking about stratagems, infernal machines, and how to win a battle. On this subject he is crazy. He will make doors for the Herr Count that can't be opened, and tell everybody else only how to make infernal machines, and how to build fortifications."
"Very good; then send him to me."