The miser knew he was dying and he wanted to take his $30,000 life saving with him when he goes.
He summon his 3 friends to his bedside. He knew he could trust them, but not completely as to entrust the entire sum to any one of them. So he split the savings to the 3 of them, $10,000 each, with instructions that they should put the money into his coffin when he being buried. The 3 men, a priest, a policeman, and a lawyer, solemly agreed to do so.
The miser, was then reliefed, he knew that they would do as he bid, or at least one of them would, and he would have his money even onto death.
Soon he passed away.
After the miser was buried, the 3 men stood together and looked at the ground.
The priest said: " I have a confession to make, you know the $10,000, I think it is a waste to put all that money into the coffin, so I took $1,000 and put the rest into the coffin."
The policeman said shamefully: "I too thought the same way, but I took $5,000 and put the rest into the coffin."
The lawyer declared: "I am ashamed of the two of you."
And proudly said: " I.... put in a cheque for the full amount."
