Collins pounded on the door again. “Tell us where your uncle is,” says he, “and we won’t hurt you.”
“You won’t h-h-hurt us, anyhow,” says Mark.
“Where is he?”
“He’s where you won’t ever find him,” I says.
“Guess we’ll wait for him, then. Maybe you won’t like staying in the house till he comes. Might get hungry, eh?” I know he was thinking of Mark when he said that.
“J-just what I thought,” says Mark. “It was their only chance. They’re g-g-g-going to keep us shut up so’s we c-c-can’t git to Binney’s uncle to warn him.”
“Yes,” says I, “but s’pose he comes home and finds them besiegin’ us? What then? We could holler to him.”
Mark sniffed. “’Twon’t take m-more than one of them to guard us. The other can g-g-go lookin’ for Uncle Hieronymous.”
“But they’d never find him,” says I.
“P-p-pickles,” stuttered Mark, as disgusted as could be.