'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 gave you sixpence freely of our
own will.'

The man did look a little bit ashamed, but he mumbled something
about having his living to get. Then Oswald said--

'Here you are. Catch!' and he flung down the handkerchief with the
money in it.

The man muffed the catch--butter-fingered idiot!-- but he picked up
the handkerchief and undid it, and when he saw what was in it he
swore dreadfully. The cad!