“Don’t you touch me,” he said. “I’m a poor homeless fellow, and I’m doing no harm sleeping here.”
“How did you get in?” said the red-faced man.
“Through the coal-hole,” said Fatty.
“Aha” said the man, and the thin-lipped one pursed up his mouth so that his lips completely vanished.
He looked very hard and cruel, Fatty thought.
“Does any one else know you’re here?” said the red-faced man.
“How do I know?” said Fatty. “If any one had seen me getting down the coal-hole they’d know I was here. But if they didn’t see me, how would they know?”
“He is evading the question,” said the thin-lipped man. “We can only make him talk properly by giving him much pain. We will do so. A little beating first, I think.”
Fatty felt afraid. He was quite sure that this man would go to any lengths to get what be wanted to know. He stared sulkily at him.
Quite suddenly, without any warning, the thin-lipped man dealt Fatty a terrific blow on his right ear. Then, before the boy could recover, he dealt him another blow, this time on his left ear. Fatty gasped. Bright stars danced in front of his eyes, and he blinked.