“You told me to stay here, and let no one come out,” Michael answered stupidly. “I’m doing it.”
“Pig! All of you are pigs,” Toplinsky blustered. “I meant, of course, for you to exercise some judgment.”
The giant turned the door knob and pushed. The door was fastened tightly on the inside with a bolt but he heard a loud sputtering that Epworth choked off quickly.
“Shut up!” Epworth roared. “I’ll choke the life out of you.”
“What are you doing to my comrade in there?” Toplinsky demanded. “I——”
“Just choking him a little,” Epworth responded amiably. “Of course you do not mind a little thing like that. It hasn’t been two hours since you left him in the storeroom to die. However, if he obeys me he will not be hurt. I am only making a good fellow out of him.”
“Ah, ha, let it be so.” Toplinsky turned away. “He deserves some punishment for falling into your hands.”
“Shall we leave our comrade in there without anything to eat?” Michael asked innocently.
Toplinsky stopped short.
“We will have to feed them,” he replied thoughtfully. “I could not think of leaving him there without food—or the girl either. As for the two Americans—well we cannot feed our comrade and the girl without feeding them, so when the dinner hour arrives you may instruct the cook to bring them something to eat.”