The gipsies set up a taunting laugh. Suddenly, from one of the tents, a tiny figure darted.
"Oh, I knew you'd come! I knew you'd come," it cried.
It was the poor little Wren. She had been stripped of her nice clothes and put into some filthy rags, her face was stained with crying and there was a bruise on her forehead.
With a curse Beppo seized the child by one arm, swung her round and dealt her a savage box on the ear.
"Get back where you belong!" he roared.
The next instant Beppo had measured his length on the ground and beneath one of his eyes a beautiful plum-colored swelling was developing. As has been said, Roy could hit a powerful blow.
CHAPTER XXVII.
DELIVERANCE.
The next minute all was wild confusion. The boys found themselves on the ground, being scratched and bitten and kicked by men and women alike. They did not have a chance against this horde of half savage wanderers. At length beaten and bruised they were tied with ropes and thrown into one of the tents and a man set to guard it.