Silas Bradford's Boy by Joseph C. Lincoln

At two o'clock that afternoon Mr. Ebenezer Tadgett, in what he called the "other back room" of his place of business on Main Street, was kneeling before a battered piece of furniture and humming a tune. The other back room in Mr. Tadgett's shop must not be confused with the back room; they were separate and quite individual apartments. The back room was small; the other back room was of good size.

The former was Mr. Tadgett's office. His flat-topped desk and desk chair were there; also a table, two other chairs and a small and ancient iron safe. Ebenezer had bought the safe of its former owner several years before, but at the time of its purchase the key could not be found, nor had it been found since. When asked, Mr. Tadgett was accustomed to say that he had been meaning to fit another key to that safe, but that he hadn't got round to it yet. Consequently, the safe was never locked.