“Give me food!” said the stranger, in a hoarse voice.
Harry took some bread and meat from the basket and handed them to the stranger, who devoured them in silence. His appetite seemed enormous, and the boys saw in dismay that if he kept on there would be very little left. It was necessary in self-defence to limit the man’s rapacity.
“More, more!” he cried, when he had eaten all that had been given him.
“We have given you all we can spare,” said Harry firmly.
“Give me the basket, or I will kill you both!” exclaimed the tramp, his eyes suffused with blood, and gleaming with fierce anger.
As he spoke he raised a knotted stick which had served him as a cane, and swung it menacingly above his head.
Harry and Jack were brave boys, and not easily daunted, but the attitude of the stranger was so menacing, and his frame so indicative of strength, that they were both alarmed. Had their need of the provisions been less urgent they would have surrendered them without a struggle, but they felt that it was a question possibly of continued life or starvation, and this inspired them to resistance.
Holding the basket in his hand, Harry retreated behind a tree, and began to parley.
“You are asking too much,” he said. “We have given you a meal. We need the rest for ourselves.”
“No palavering, boy!” said the tramp roughly. “I need it more than you do. Give it to me, or I will kill you.”