"_Siamo desperati_," said Number Six, with a sinister gleam in his eyes, which neither of the boys liked.
"Come, Clive," said David, "let"s go back. Dinner must be ready by this time."
And they turned to go.
But as they turned, Number Five and Number Six placed themselves in the way.
"_Date qualche cosa_," they whined; and each of them seized a boy by the arm. The boys tried to jerk their arms away, but could not.
"Let us go," cried David, "or it will be the worse for you."
The two beggars now talked in Italian without relaxing their hold.
Then they tried to pull the boys away; but the boys resisted bravely, and began to shout for help. At this the other beggars came forward menacingly, and Number Five and Number Six put their arms round the boys, and their hands over their mouths. Neither David nor Clive could now utter a cry. They could scarcely breathe. They were at the mercy of these miscreants!
It was, in truth, a perilous position in which David and Clive found themselves. Those ragged rascals, the beggars, were as remorseless as they were ragged. They had the boys at their mercy.
The place was sufficiently far from the town to be out of hearing; and though the road was near, yet there were no people living in the vicinity. It was, therefore, sufficiently solitary to permit of any deed of violence being done with impunity.
David and Clive gave themselves up for lost With a last frantic effort, David tore his head loose, dashed his fist into the face of beggar Number Six, who was holding him, and tried to escape.
"_Scelerate!_" cried Number Six; and he threw David to the ground, and held him down, while he caught him by the throat. But though thus overpowered, David still struggled, and it was with some difficulty that the big brute who held him was able to keep him under.
Suddenly, at this moment, when all hope seemed lost, a loud cry was heard. There was a rush of two figures upon the scene; and the next instant Number Six was torn away, and rolled over on his back.
A firm grasp was fixed on his throat, and a tremendous blow descended on his head from a stout stick, which was wielded by the youthful but sinewy arm of Frank Wilmot. At the same instant, also, Bob Clark had bounded at Number Five, leaped on his back, and began beating him about the head.
The attack had been so sudden, and so utterly unexpected, that it carried all before it. Away, with a wild cry of terror, fled the four decrepit beggars, leaving Number Five and Number Six on the field to themselves and the four boys. Number Six groaned with pain, and struggled furiously. He wrenched himself from beneath his a.s.sailants, but they again got the upper hand, and held on firmly. But Number Six was too strong to be easily grappled with, and it went hard with his a.s.sailants.
Meanwhile Clive, relieved by Bob, had become an a.s.sailant also.
s.n.a.t.c.hing up a stone, he dashed it full in the face of Number Five.
The man staggered back and fell, and Bob narrowly escaped falling under him. But Number Five sprang up instantly, and before Bob or Clive could close with him again, darted off without attempting to help Number Six, and ran for his life. Cowardly by nature, the beggars did not think of the size of their a.s.sailants; their fears magnified the boys to men; and they only thought of safety in a panic flight But Number Six was there yet, with Frank Wilmot"s sinewy arms about him, and Bob and Clive now rushed to take part in that struggle. This addition to the attacking force turned the scale completely.
The struggle that now followed was most violent, the Italian making the most furious efforts to free himself; but Frank was very large and strong for his years; he was possessed of bull-dog tenacity and high-strung courage, and was strenuously a.s.sisted by the other three; so that the union of all their forces formed something to which one man was scarcely equal. In a very short time, therefore, after the arrival of Bob and Clive, the would-be robber was lying on his face, held firmly down by the four boys.
"Boys," said Frank, who was sitting on his shoulders, "fold his arms over his back."
As they did this, he twisted his handkerchief tightly, and then bound it around the man"s hands as firmly as if it had been a rope.
Bob and Clive held him down by sitting on his legs, while David sat on his neck. Frank now asked for their hand, kerchiefs, twisted them, tied them together, and then directed Bob to fasten the man"s feet. This was Bob"s task, and he did it as neatly as though he had been brought up to that particular business exclusively.
The man was now bound hard and fast, and lay on his face without a word, and only an occasional struggle. The weight of the boys was so disposed that it was not possible for him to get rid of them, and Frank watched all his attempted movements so vigilantly, that every effort was baffled at the outset. Frank also watched Bob as he tied the knots, and then, seeing that the work was well done, he started up.
"Come, boys," said he, "let"s give the rascal a chance to breathe."
At this the boys all got up, and the Italian, relieved from their weight, rolled over on his back, and then on his side, staring all around, and making desperate efforts to free himself. He was like the immortal Gulliver when bound by the Lilliputians, except that one of his a.s.sailants, at least, was no Lilliputian, for in brawn, and sinew, and solid muscle, Frank, boy though he might be, was not very much, if at all, his inferior. As he struggled, and stared, and rolled about, the boys looked on; and Frank watched him carefully, ready to spring at him at the first sign of the bonds giving way.
But the knots had been too carefully tied, and this the Italian soon found out. He therefore ceased his useless efforts, and sat up; then, drawing up his feet, he leaned his chin on his knees, and stared sulkily at the ground.
"And now," said David, "what are we to do?"
"I don"t know," said Frank.
"Let"s go for Uncle Moses," said Bob, "or Michael Angelo."
"We"d better hunt up a policeman," said Clive.
"No," said Frank, "let"s get Uncle Moses here first. You go, Bob; and be quick, or else those other beggars"ll be back here and release him."
Upon this Bob set out, and the others guarded the prisoner. Bob was not gone long, however, but soon returned in company with Uncle Moses. Bob had found him at the inn, and in a breathless way had told him all, but he had scarcely understood it; and as he now came upon the scene, he looked around in wonder, and seemed utterly bewildered. Had he found his beloved boys captured by bandits, he would have been shocked, but not very much surprised--for that was the one terror of his life; but to find the tables turned, and a bandit captured by his boys, was a thing which was so completely opposed to all his ordinary thoughts, that he stood for a moment fairly stupefied. Nor was it until David had told the whole story, and thus given him a second and Davidian edition of it, that he began to master the situation.
"Dear! dear! dear!" he cried, looking slowly at each of the boys in succession, and then at their silent and sulky captive, "and so you railly and truly were attacked and made prisoners by bandits.
Dear! dear! dear!"
He looked inexpressibly shocked, and for some time stood in silence amid the loud clatter of the boys.
"Well, Uncle Moses," said Frank, at last, "what are we to do with him?"
To this Uncle Moses made no reply. It was certainly a somewhat puzzling inquiry; and his own life had been so peaceful and uneventful, that the question of the best way of dealing with a captured bandit was, very naturally, a somewhat perplexing one to answer. He stood, therefore, with his head bent forward, his right hand supporting his left elbow, and his left hand supporting his forehead, while his mild eyes regarded the captive robber with a meek and almost paternal glance, and his mind occupied itself in weighing that captives destiny.
"Well, Uncle Moses," said Frank a second time, somewhat impatiently, "what, are we to do with him? We must do something,--and be quick about it too,--or else the other beggars"ll be back."
"Wal," said Uncle Moses, slowly and thoughtfully, "that"s the very identical pint that I"m a meditatin on. An the long an the short of it is, that I"m beginnin to think, that the very best thing you can do is to take your handkerchees back, and come back with me to the inn, and get some dinner. For I"ve every reason to believe that dinner"s ready about this time, bein as I remember hearin a bell a ringin jest before Bob came for me."
At this the boys stared in amazement at Uncle Moses, not knowing what in the world to make of this.
"What do you mean," said Frank, "about our handkerchiefs, when we"ve tied up the bandit with them?"
"Why," said Uncle Moses, "I think if you come you may as well bring yer handkerchees with you--as I s"pose you prefer havin em."
"But we"d have to untie them," said Bob.
"Wal, yes," said Uncle Moses, dryly; "that follers as a nat"ral consequence."
"What!" cried Frank, in an indignant voice, "untie him? Let him go? And after he has nearly killed David and Clive?"
"Wal, he didn"t _quite_ kill em," said Uncle Moses, turning his eyes benignantly upon the two boys. "They seem to me jest now to be oncommon spry--arter it all. They don"t look very nigh death, as far as appearances go. No harm"s done, I guess; an so, I dare say, we"d best jest let em go."
At this Frank looked ineffably disgusted.
"You see, boys," said Uncle Moses, "here we air, in a very peculiar situation. What air we? Strangers and sojourners in a strange land; don"t know a word of the outlandish lingo; surrounded by beggars and Philistines. Air there any law courts here? Air there any lawyers? Air there any judges? I pause for a reply. There ain"t one. No. An if we keep this man tied up, what can we do with him?
We can"t take him back with us in the coach. We can"t keep him and feed him at the hotel like a pet animule. I don"t know whar the lock-up is, an hain"t seen a policeman in the whole place. Besides, if we do hand this bandit over to the _po_lice, do you think it"s goin to end there? No, sir. Not it. If this man"s arrested, we"ll be arrested too. We"ll have to be witnesses agin him. An that"s what I don"t want to do, if I can help it. My idee an aim allus is to keep clear of the lawyers; I"d rather be imposed on; I"d rather pay out money unjustly, be cheated, humbugged, and do any thin, than put myself in the power of lawyers. Depend upon it, they"re as bad here as they air home. They"d have us all in jail, as witnesses. Now, I don"t want to go to jail."
The words of Uncle Moses produced a strong impression upon the boys. Even Frank saw that handing the man over to the authorities would involve some trouble, at least, on their part. He hated what he called "bother." Besides, he had no vengeful feelings against the Italian, nor had Bob. As for David and Clive, they were the only ones who had been really wronged by the fellow; but they were the last in the world to harbor resentment or think of revenge. Their victory had also made them merciful. So the end of it was, that they did according to Uncle Moses" suggestion, and untied the bonds.
Number Six was evidently amazed. He rose to his feet, looked warily at the party, as though expecting some new attack, then looked all around, and then, with a bound, he sprang away, and running towards the road, soon disappeared. The rest did not delay much longer, but returned as soon as possible to the inn, where they found their dinner ready. This they ate, and then drove back to Naples.
The opportune arrival of Frank and Bob was soon explained. They had been riding on donkeys, and had seen the crowd around David and Clive, and the struggle. Fearing some danger for their companions, they had hastened to the spot, and reached it in time to be of service. The adventure might have been most serious to David and Clive; but as it happened, the results were of no very grave character. They felt a little sore; that is all. Bob, also had a bad bruise on his left arm; but on the whole, very little harm had been done, nor did the boys regret afterwards that they had let the scoundrel go free.
As for their guide, Michael Angelo, he had been busy in another direction, during this adventure, and when he heard of it, he was very anxious to have them arrested; but Uncle Moses, for reasons already stated, declined to do anything.