tightening his grip; "I'll soon see about that.
Here you, Micky, bring that there rope here."

The boy struggled to his feet, and came slowly to us with the rope,
which the man scanned eagerly.

"I don't want to make no mistakes," he growled. "Let's see it. If it's
your rope, you shall have it, but--now then! d'yer hear?"

This was to the boy, who took advantage of my helpless position to give
me a couple of savage kicks in the leg as he stood there; but as he had
no shoes on, the kicks did not do much harm.

"Why, o' course it is our rope," growled the fellow. "Gahn with you,
what d'yer mean by coming here with a tale like that?"

He gave me a shake, and the woman interfered.

"Let him go, Ned," she said, "or ther'll be a row."

The man took one hand from my shoulder, and doubled his great fist,
which he held close to the woman's face in a menacing way. Then turning
sharply he made believe to strike me with all his might right in the
mouth, when, as I flinched, he growled out with a savage grin:

"Ah! yer know'd yer deserved it. Now I dunno whether I'm going to keep
yer here, or whether I shall let yer go; but whichever I does, don't you
go a sweering that this here's your rope, a cause it's mine. D'yer
hear, mine?"

The door was kicked open at that moment, and a couple of the
rough-looking fellows I had seen at the entrance to the court stood half
inside, leaning against the door-posts and looking stolidly on.

I was about to appeal to them for help, but my instinct told me that
such an application would be in vain, while their first words told me
how right I was.

"Give it him, Ned. What's he a-doin' here?" said one.

"See if he's got any tin," said the other.

"Ah! make him pay up," said the first.

"'Ow much have yer got, eh?" said my captor, giving me a shake, which
was the signal for the boy to kick at me again with all his might.

"Gahn, will yer," cried the man, "or I'll wrap that rope's end round
yer."

The woman just then made a step forward and struck at the boy, who
dodged the blow, and retreated to the far end of the room, the woman
shrinking away too as the man growled:

"Let him alone; will yer?"

I seized the opportunity to wrench myself partly away, and to catch hold
of the rope, which the man had now beneath one of his feet.

"Ah, would yer!" he shouted, tearing the rope away from me. "Comes up
here, mates, bold as brass, and says it's his'n."

I felt more enraged and