rown his coat over his shoulders and slipped his well arm into one of
the sleeves, he was ready to follow the robbers downstairs and into the
cellar; for he thought that was where he would have to go sooner or
later. He drew a long breath of relief when he was conducted into the
sitting-room, where his mother was waiting for him guarded by two more
robbers, whose hands and faces were covered with something that looked
like shoe-blacking. Although she was pale she did not appear to be badly
frightened, for she smiled pleasantly as the boy seated himself on the
sofa by her side, and said:

"I hope they did not handle you very roughly, Marcy."

"Oh, no; they didn't put a hand on me."

"An' what's more, missus, we aint going to, if you do jes like we tell
you," said the robber who had thus far done the talking. "You white
folks is rich, an' we black ones is pore. You've got money, an' we aint
got none."

"And you want us to give you some, I suppose," added Marcy, putting his
hand into his pocket and drawing forth the small buckskin purse in which
he carried his change. "There's my pile. How much have you, mother?"

"Look a-here!" exclaimed the man, forgetting himself in his rage and
speaking in his ordinary tone of voice. "That won't go down. You've got
more, an' we know it; an' if you don't trot it out without no more of
this foolishness----"

"So far as I know, these purses contain every cent of money there is in
the house or about it," interrupted Marcy, taking both the articles in
question in his hand and extending them toward the robber. "The darkies
may have some, but if they have I don't know it."

With a muttered curse the man hit Marcy's hand a heavy blow and sent the
purses flying to the farthest corner of the room. He expended so much
strength in the blow that he almost pulled the boy from his seat on the
sofa, and drew an involuntary exclamation of surprise and indignation
from his mother.

"Look a-here, ole woman! You'll say 'Oh, my dear boy!' a good many times
afore we uns is done with you if you don't trot out that money,"
declared the robber, in savage tones. "We know jes what we're doing, an'
you might as well give in without wasting no more time over it. Where is
it? I ask you for the last time."

"It is in those purses," replied Marcy. "If you want it, go and pick
them up. You knocked them there."

"We'll take some of that there sass out of you in two minutes by the
watch," snarled the robber,