The girls uttered an exclamation. “If only we’d left you Hobo,” Peggy cried.
“I’m afraid he wouldn’t have been much protection against two such ruffians. Each one of them carried a heavy stick, and I dare say they were armed beside. As soon as I saw them, I called for them to go away, that I had nothing for them, but they were bold enough to stay and argue the point.”
“What did they say, Aunt Abigail?”
“Don’t ask me. I kept my self-possession perfectly, but at the same time I was excited, and didn’t understand what they were saying. I presume they were demanding food and money and I kept declaring that I would give them nothing. At last they gave up and went off in the direction of Mrs. Snooks, and then I rushed down-stairs and locked everything up just as you found it.”
It was clear that Aunt Abigail had found her experience trying. She was pale and seemed very unlike her usual composed self. Conscience stricken over having left her by herself, the girls petted her and asked innumerable questions, few of which Aunt Abigail was able to answer. But she described her unwelcome callers in detail, and Peggy found herself thinking that they bore more than a superficial resemblance to the desperadoes of Treasure Island. She could not help wondering if Aunt Abigail’s lively imagination, excited first by her reading, and then by her vivid dream, had not added some touches to the picture.
“Well, girls,” Peggy said at length, in a tone surprisingly matter-of-fact considering the circumstances, “I guess supper is the next thing in order. After we’ve had something to eat–”
She stopped abruptly. A loud knocking at the back door echoed through the cottage. Amy uttered a scream, clapping her hands over her mouth instantly, to stifle the sound. The others instinctively moved closer to one another, exchanging frightened glances. Hobo growled softly, the hair on his neck bristling and giving him a peculiarly savage appearance.
The knocking broke off for a moment, and then was resumed. “They’ve come back,” said Aunt Abigail.
“Why, perhaps it’s only Mrs. Snooks come to borrow something,” Peggy was beginning hopefully, when out at the rear of the cottage somebody laughed. Whatever the cause of the unseemly merriment, Mrs. Snooks was not responsible for it. Peggy’s sudden anger went to her head. She felt as if she had forgotten the meaning of fear. “I’m going to tell them,” she exclaimed, “that if they don’t go away, I’ll set the dog on them.”
She marched out into the kitchen, Hobo following, and as she reached the door, the knocking began for the third time. “If you don’t go away,” shouted Peggy through the keyhole, “my dog–”