Part 16 (2/2)

”Why, you--” roared thethe arm he had at liberty round the boy's waist and lifted hiround, perfectly helpless, with the greatlike a band of iron, to do more than try to deliver some ineffective blohich his assailant easily avoided

”Ah! Would you?” he growled, fiercely ”You're a nice young ga a step forward, to stand on the very edge of the shelf ”Keep that hand quiet, or I'll hurl you down a the rocks You'll look worse then than you do now”

”Do, if you dare,” cried the lad, defiantly

”You tell rowled the man; ”is what you said true?”

”I won't tell you while you grip my wrist”

”You'd better speak,” cried the man ”D'yer see, you're like a feather to o to the bottorinding his teeth and striving hard to bear the pain he suffered

”Oh, I dare--I could if I liked! nobody would see out here It would kill yer, and nobody would kno it happened; but they'd say when they found you that you'd slipped and fell when you was egging They would, wouldn't they? That's true, arn't it?”

”I suppose so,” said the boy, huskily

”And that's what I' me, unless you tellround out the boy through his set teeth, and a gri it look for theakin to ad fellow,” growled the o of my wrist”

”Will yer promise not to hit?”

Aleck nodded

”Nor yet kick?”

The boy nodded again

”There,” said thethe prisoned wrist ”Now, tell htily

”I'll believe yer,” growled thethe boy to his feet ”Then you won't look for where the stuff's stowed?”

Aleck burst into a hoarse laugh

”Then there is soave hier

”Lookye here,” he said, more quietly, ”I don't say there is, and I don't say there arn't; but suppose there is, you're going to swear as you won't take no notice”