Chapter 2 Robber's Chest - 1

No one planned to leave Martha alone that afternoon.But as it happened, for various reasons, everyone was called out.Mrs. McFarlane was at a meeting of the Women's Anti-Gambling League; her sister Nell's boyfriend was taking her on a sudden drive; Dad was in the office as usual; and Mary Ann was out.As for Emmeline, of course she should stay at home and take care of the little girl, but Emmeline has a restless nature. "If you don't mind, madam, I'd like to have a word with Mrs. Carton's little girl down the street," she said to Martha. "Certainly. You'd better lock the back door and take the key, because I'm going upstairs," answered Martha.

"Okay! Miss, I will definitely do what you say." Amylin ran away happily.She and her friends whiled away an afternoon.Martha was alone in the big house, and she was locked in again. The little girl read a few pages, embroidered a few more stitches in her embroidery, and then she began to "receive" Her four favored dolls hang.At this time, she remembered that there was a "doll's house" in the attic, which had not been used for several months.She decided to clean it up, and it was time to tidy it up, too. With this thought in mind, the little girl climbed the winding staircase and entered a large room under the roof.

The three large windows lighted the room brightly and warmly, making it pleasant.There were many crates and trunks lined around the walls; old carpets, pieces of old furniture, bundles of worn clothes, and other rubbish of more or less value were piled up. At that time, every regular house had a loft of this kind, so it is not necessary to describe it in detail. "A Doll's House" has moved places.Martha searched for a while before she saw that it had been lodged in a corner near the chimney. She pulled the Doll Hanging House out and found a big black wooden box behind it. Uncle Walter sent it back from Italy many, many years ago.At that time, Martha was not born yet.

Her mother had told her about it one day.Said there was no key to open the box, as Uncle Walter wished to open it again when he returned home.Walter liked to roam and was an excellent hunter, and then he went to Africa to hunt elephants, and he has not been heard from since then. The little girl looked at the box carefully, obviously it aroused her curiosity. The suitcase was huge—even bigger than Mom's luggage.The case was studded with discolored copper rivets.The box was so heavy that when Martha tried to lift one end of it, it wouldn't budge.There is a keyhole in the lid of the case.She bent down, checked the lock, and figured it would take a rather large key to open it.

Now, as you might have guessed, the little girl was looking forward to opening Uncle Walter's trunk. She just wanted to see what was in the box.In fact, we also have the same curiosity. She thought, "Uncle Walter may not come back. Daddy said once that he must have been killed by an elephant. If only I had a key..." She stopped thinking and clapped her hands excitedly. Two little hands.She remembered that there was a basket of keys on a shelf in the closet.There are all kinds of keys, large and small, perhaps, one of them can open this mysterious box. She flew downstairs, found the basket, and carried it back to the attic.She sat down in front of the box full of copper nails, and tried key by key to open the strange lock.Some keys are too big, but most are too small.Some can fit into a lock, but cannot turn; there is a key that fits in, but cannot get out.For a moment she feared that the key would go into the lock and never come out again.At last, when the basket was almost empty, an ancient brass key of a strange shape was easily inserted into the lock by the little girl.Martha was so happy that she turned the key with both hands.At this time, she heard a sharp "click", and the heavy box lid popped open automatically.

The little girl immediately leaned on the side of the box, but what appeared in front of her eyes made her withdraw her head in surprise. Slowly and tremblingly, a man breaks free from the box and jumps swiftly to the floor. He stretched his arms and legs, and then, taking off his hat, he bowed politely to the alarmed Martha. He was tall and lanky, and his face looked tanned and scorched by the sun. At this time, another man appeared in the box.He yawned, rubbed his eyes, and looked like a sleepy schoolboy.He was of medium height, with the same skin as the first man. Just as Martha opened her mouth and stared at the spectacle in front of her, a third man crawled out of the box: he was short and fat, and his skin was also scorched by the sun.

These three people were dressed strangely.They wore red velvet jackets trimmed with gold bars, and sky-blue knee-length shorts with silver beats.Beautiful ribbons of red, yellow, and blue adorn their stockings.Their hats had broad brims and towering crowns of flowers from which flowed long, brightly colored ribbons. They wore large gold earrings and had rows of knives and pistols in their belts.Their eyes are black and bright.They had big beards that curled at the ends like pig's tails. "My God! You're so heavy," said the fat man as he took off his velvet jacket and dusted off his sky-blue shorts. "You're weighing me down."

"It's unavoidable, Luigi," replied the tall thin man softly. "The lid of the box is on me, and I'm on top of you. I just apologize to you." "As for me, the medium-sized man absently rolled a cigarette and lit it. Then he said: 'You must admit that I have been your closest friend for many years, so don't mind it. " Martha woke up immediately after smelling the smoke, "You can't smoke in the attic, it will cause a fire and burn down the house." People of medium stature hadn't noticed her before.When he heard the little girl speak, he turned around and bowed to the little girl.

"Since it's the little girl's request, I'm willing to throw away my cigarette." He said, throwing the cigarette on the floor and stamping it out with his feet. "Who are you?" Martha was so shocked that she had forgotten to be afraid.Now she asked such a sentence. "Please allow us to introduce ourselves." The tall and thin man shook his hat gracefully and said, "He is Luji." The fat man nodded, "He is Benny." The man of medium build bowed: "I It's Victor, and the three of us are bandits—Italian bandits." "Bandits!" Martha cried in terror.

"Yes, there may not be such vicious robbers as us in the world." Victor said proudly. "Not bad at all." Fatty nodded solemnly in agreement. "It's evil!" cried Martha. "Yes, indeed." Victor replied, "We are very evil. Perhaps in this world, you will never find more evil people than these three people standing in front of you." "That's right." Fatty agreed. "But you shouldn't be so vicious. It's—it's nonsense," said the little girl. Victor listened and lowered his eyes, ashamed. "Nonsense!" Penny gasped in horror, repeating what the little girl had said.

"That word is too embarrassing for people today." Luji said sadly, covering his face with his hands. "That's an idea," whispered Viktor sadly, "that we should be insulted so much—and from a little girl! But perhaps you're speaking too lightly. Think it over, miss, our crimes are justified.Let me ask you this: How can we be robbers if we are not sinners? "