Then, her mind disturbed by visions of thieves bent on plunder, she had hit on a plan.

A floorboard was loose in the kitchen.

She had levered this up, and probed with a stick till she touched solid earth.

Then the yellow coin, rolled carefully in a ball of paper, was dropped into the hole.

And for years she had added to her unseen treasure, dropping her precious coins into that dark hole with more security than a man deposits thousands in the bank.