" he cried, and as I stood thus held, I received a
sharp, back-handed blow on the mouth, which made my lip bleed.

"Bring it out, Dicksee."

The latter wanted no second telling, but dived down into poor Mercer's
treasure-chest, and brought out the pot of preserving paste.

"There!" cried Burr major, taking up the pot with a face wrinkled up
with disgust; "now we've found him out. See this, boys. Poison!"

"Oh!" chorused the little party of his parasites.

"That's the way he does it. He's worse than a witch. This is what he
keeps to give to the fellows, and pretends it's physic, same as his
nasty old father uses."

"I don't, boys--it isn't true; and my father's a gentleman, not an old
snip."

"Do you want me to kick you again?" said Burr major savagely.

"Yes, if you dare," cried Mercer defiantly.

"Just you wait a bit, my lad, till I'm done. Yes, boys, that's it
Dicksee, he gave you some of that, and it made you so ill the other
day."

"Then we'll show it to the Doctor," cried Dicksee.

"I didn't!" cried Mercer. "That's to preserve with."

"Yes, that's it," cried Burr major--"to preserve with. Do you hear,
boys? He keeps that to put in jam."

There was a shout at this, and I saw Mercer writhe in his impotence.

"Tell you what, we'll rout out the whole lot, and take them down in the
stable-yard and burn them."

"You let them alone," cried Mercer frantically, as Burr major scraped
out a double handful of the hoarded treasures and threw them on the
floor.

"Hold him down tight, or I shall hurt him," said Burr major
contemptuously.

But his words came too late, for Mercer made a sudden heave, which threw
the boy on his chest off sidewise, sprang up into a sitting position,
and hit out at the boy on his legs, who howled on receiving a crack on
the ear; and this so roused me to action that I too wrested myself free
and followed suit. I flew at Dicksee, and struck him full in the
breast, sending him in his surprise down in a sitting position, just as
Mercer struck our tyrant a sounding smack on the cheek.

Burr major staggered back and held his hand to his face.

"Oh, that's it, is it?" he said with a snarl. "All right, boys, Senna
Tea wants me to boil him up again."

"You stand by me, Burr junior, won't you?" cried Mercer, who looked now
as if he were a little startled at his daring.

"Yes," I said desperately, though I felt horribly afraid.

"Oh no, you don't," said Burr major, taking of