Immediately a man's voice called out, "Who's there! Hi! Help! Thieves!
Help!"
Roy darted into the kitchen, and confronted a tall, hollow-cheeked man
who had scrambled out of his bed in the chimney corner, and stood
trembling from head to foot clutching hold of the bed-post, and coughing
violently.
He did not seem at all appeased at the sight of the boys, but shook his
fist at them in a paroxysm of fright and rage.
"Go away, you young blackguards--a robbin' honest folk, and a darin' to
show yer impudent faces, and disturbin' a dyin' man, knowin' as he's too
bad to give yer the hidin' ye desarve!"
Roy was quite taken aback.
"You're quite mistaken--let us explain--we've come to see you and do you
good. Don't you know who we are? We live at the Manor. Look--get back
into bed again, you'll take cold. We've brought you some pudding."
Here a parcel of currant pudding was taken out of his jacket pocket and
held out temptingly.
"A' don't believe a word! Ye've been in the pantry a smashin' the
missus' things, and a eatin' and a drinkin' all ye can lay hands
on--begone, I tell ye!"
"That was me," put in Dudley, edging up to the irate invalid; "you see
the door was locked and we had to come in at the window, and I'm rather
fat about the shoulders, and Roy jerked me through too quick and I fell
amongst some plates.
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