a lark, or perhaps not known
about anyone being up there. So we rushed up, and Oswald told the others
in a few hasty but well-chosen words, and we all leaned over between the
battlements, and shouted, 'Hi! you there!'

Then from under the arches of the quite-downstairs part of the tower a
figure came forth--and it was the sailor who had had our milk sixpence.
He looked up and he spoke to us. He did not speak loud, but he spoke
loud enough for us to hear every word quite plainly. He said--

'Drop that.'

Oswald said, 'Drop what?'

He said, 'That row.'

Oswald said, 'Why?'

He said, 'Because if you don't I'll come up and make you, and pretty
quick too, so I tell you.'

Dicky said, 'Did you bolt the door?'

The man said, 'I did so, my young cock.'

Alice said--and Oswald wished to goodness she had held her tongue,
because he saw right enough the man was not friendly--'Oh, do come and
let us out--do, please.'

While she was saying it Oswald suddenly saw that he did not want the
man to come up. So he scurried down the stairs because he thought he had
seen something on the door on the top side, and sure enough there were
two bolts, and he shot them into their sockets. This bold act was not
put in the Golden Deed book, because when Alice wanted to, the others
said it was not GOOD of Oswald to think of this, but only CLEVER. I
think sometimes, in moments of danger and disaster, it is as good to
be clever as it is to be good. But Oswald would never demean himself to
argue about this.

When he got back the man was still standing staring up. Alice said--

'Oh, Oswald, he says he won't let us out unless we give him all our
money. And we might be here for days and days and all night as well. No
one knows where we are to come and look for us. Oh, do let's give it him
ALL.'

She thought the lion of the English nation, which does not know when
it is beaten, would be ramping in her brother's breast. But Oswald kept
calm. He said--

'All right,' and he made the others turn out their pockets. Denny had a
bad shilling, with a head on both sides, and three halfpence. H. O. had
a halfpenny. Noel had a French penny, which is only good for chocolate
machines at railway stations. Dicky had tenpence-halfpenny, and Oswald
had a two-shilling piece of his own that he was saving up to buy a gun
with. Oswald tied the whole lot up in his handkerchief, and looking over
the battlements, he said--

'You are an ungrateful beast. We g