Page:The Wouldbegoods.djvu/101

 Oswald said, "Why?"

He said, "Because if you don't I'll come up and make you, and pretty quick too, so I tell you."

Dicky said, "Did you bolt the door?"

The man said, "I did so, my young cock."

Alice said—and Oswald wished to goodness she had held her tongue, because he saw right enough the man was not friendly—"Oh, do come and let us out—do, please."

While she was saying it Oswald suddenly saw that he did not want the man to come up. So he scurried down the stairs because he thought he had seen something on the door on the top side, and sure enough there were two bolts, and he shot them into their sockets. This bold act was not put in the Golden Deed book, because when Alice wanted to, the others said it was not good of Oswald to think of this, but only clever. I think sometimes, in moments of danger and disaster, it is as good to be clever as it is to be good. But Oswald would never demean himself to argue about this.

When he got back the man was still standing staring up. Alice said:

"Oh, Oswald, he says he won't let us out unless we give him all our money. And we might be here for days and days and all night as well. No one knows where we are to come and look for us. Oh, do let's give it him all."

She thought the lion of the English nation, which does not know when it is beaten, would be